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County Seat is Democratic
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November 4, 2007
For Immediate Release
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Contact
Neil Samuels
Deputy Chair
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Dems make history
By: CHRISTINA KRISTOFIC (Thu, Nov/08/2007)
When two Democrats won Doylestown Council seats Tuesday night, they didn't just win a few extra seats on a little borough council.
They won a majority the borough has never had in recent memory — and possibly in its nearly 170-year history.
They also won control of the county seat.
The big victory puts local Democrats in a position to keep the plans for the proposed county courthouse in check.
“I don't think there was a whole lot of disagreement over the borough's role in the courthouse issue. Obviously that's a decision for county government,” said Jordan Yeager, chairman of the Doylestown Democrats. “I think there was unanimity across party lines in the borough that it doesn't make sense to put a parking garage plan out there before you know how many cars you're going to park there.”
Incumbent Councilman David Bull said council has been asking for years for detailed renderings of the courthouse along with the parking garage plans.
He and the other council Democrats — incumbent and elect — said they will continue to ask for the renderings.
“We can't really approve the parking garage plans until we have more indication of what the courthouse itself will look like, how many employees will be there and who will park where,” said Lou White, an incumbent who won re-election Tuesday.
“If people are going to be coming in to the old courthouse from other locations, how will that add to the need for employee parking? We can't have them on the street. There's no room on the street.”
Newcomer Joan Doyle said she doesn't think the borough should approve parking garage plans until the county commissioners have decided for certain that the courthouse will be built.
The Democrats' biggest concern is whether courthouse and parking garage construction will interfere with residents' enjoyment of their community.
“We want to make sure it doesn't damage our downtown,” said Det Ansinn, an incumbent.
Other big concerns the Democrats have for their early days of dominance include not asserting that dominance too strongly.
They believe they won the race with their promises of bringing bipartisanship.
Yeager said he thinks people remembered the Republican boycott of three February meetings to prevent a Democrat — Doyle — from being appointed to a council vacancy.
He calls the event the “February fiasco.”
“It really was a destructive act,” Yeager said. “I think (the voters) said that's not acceptable. We don't elect people to shut government down. I'm certain that had something to do with it.”
Ansinn said he thinks the boycott caused people to wonder what council members' priorities were.
Newcomer Don Berk, who beat Republican incumbent John “Chip” Thome Tuesday, said he wants to “put people ahead of politics.”
The Democrats know that with their power comes responsibility.
All of them said they are looking forward to working with the Republicans who remain on council — Mark Douple, Jen Corr and John Buckman.
“What we're not going to do is be vindictive or try to exclude people from the Republican Party,” White said. “I want to be sure that as we choose chairpersons for the various committees that we base it on people's skills and talents and interests, and not which party they're from.”
The Democrats also denied the pre-election rumors that they plan to replace the borough's professional staff.
Ansinn said it was Republican “fear-mongering.”
Doyle said she called borough manager John Davis first thing Wednesday morning to tell him she's looking forward to working with him for the next four years.
“Certainly John Davis is a fantastic person nobody will want to let go,” Bull said. “(Assistant borough manager) Phil (Ehlinger) is equally impressive. Between both of them and the staff in place, this town wouldn't be what it is today.”
When asked about solicitor Chuck McIlhinney Sr., father of Republican state Sen. Chuck McIlhinney Jr., many of the Democrats demurred.
Doyle said his position is a matter of discussion for the entire council.
White and Bull said McIlhinney has done a good job as solicitor.
“If Chuck's doing his job with the best interests of the community, that's what counts,” Bull said. But if McIlhinney is more concerned about the party, council might have to reconsider his position.
Ansinn said he believes residents are “largely satisfied” with the current professional staff.
“I'm not hearing people calling out in the street for us to make those changes,” he said. “And it's not responsible for us to do that.”
The Democrats said they want to make a smooth transition from the Republican-led council to the Democrat-led council.
But they also weren't too shy about talking about some of the changes they want to make.
They want council to consider the Sierra Club's Cool Cities initiative in the first few months of 2008.
Cool Cities is the Sierra Club's campaign to get municipalities to sign an agreement that requires them to cut their carbon emissions by 7 percent of what they were in 1990 before 2012. It also endorses the Kyoto Protocol, an international agreement under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. The protocol has been ratified by 175 countries, but not the United States.
Berk, who brought the initiative to council's attention earlier this year, said joining Cool Cities will send a message to other municipalities and branches of government that they need to take care of the earth.
All of the Democrats said they want to make local government more open by televising meetings.
Bucks County Democratic Committee Deputy Chairman Neil Samuels said he believes the new Democrat-controlled council “will be a model for what we expect in terms of good governance.”
Christina Kristofic can be reached at (215) 345-3079 or ckristofic@phillyBurbs.com.
Article's URL:
http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/113-11082007-1437512.html
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