FLASH MOBS AND DEMOCRATS AND RICHLAND, OH MY!
The Free Press, September 18, 2003

Have you heard about the latest craze to sweep our society? It’s called a flash mob, where large groups of people suddenly appear at a location, do something whacky like sing happy birthday to a pet ocelot, and then disappear. These are set up by e-mail, and are usually harmless fun.

We had a flash mob in Richland last week. On Monday night, at the Board of Supervisors meeting. But this wasn’t a fun-loving group of pranksters. It was an angry band of dissidents, supporters of Patrick Murphy, who had recently been removed from his post as Emergency Management Coordinator.

Murphy had no particular skills for the job. He is a hearing-aid dealer who has lived in the township for just three years, and served on the water authority for less than one. In fact, he is a Democrat in a township that has elected Republicans since before dinosaurs roamed the earth. But the position of Emergency Management Coordinator is tough to fill, because the people with the real proper training, like police, fire, and ambulance personnel, are not eligible.

It seemed like a nice idea at the time to include the Democrats. In fact, that is pretty much the reason the Supervisors appointed Murphy, who is the husband of a local Democratic committeewoman. A political olive branch. A conscious decision to reach out and offer a Democrat the opportunity to serve in a meaningful and seemingly non-controversial position.

In the jungle of Oz, Dorothy wanted to avoid the lions and tigers and bears, oh my. In Richland’s political jungle, our elephants and donkeys usually avoid each other. Gestures like this are almost unheard of in Bucks County.

Things were over-the-rainbow swell, until Murphy spoke publicly at a Milford Township meeting, and gave many people the incorrect impression that Richland would not respond to any potential incident involving the irradiator. Furious emergency personnel contacted the Richland Supervisors, who were embarrassed and angry because they have been criticizing Quakertown Borough for this same apparent lack of cooperation. Murphy denied making the statements, but several people reported it. The Supervisors asked for his resignation. When he would not offer it, they fired him. Not just for his statements, but his other actions......

Murphy is very good friends with Mike Zowniriw, who is running on the Green Party ticket against current Supervisor Pat Keller. In order to get on the ballot as a “minor party” candidate, Z had to submit a petition signed by township residents. Murphy, after being named EMC by the current Supervisors, signed the challenger’s petition.

Think about this. Imagine you have just been given a job, and after a few weeks you signed a petition to have your boss fired. Do you think that the boss might lose a bit of confidence in you? You can bet your unemployment check that he would. Murphy may have been a volunteer, and a private citizen, but when you play with a team, you don’t bet against that team. Ask Pete Rose. Pete is out of baseball, and Pat is out of emergency management.

Murphy cried foul, saying that he was fired for political reasons. Well, duhhhh. Politics in, politics out. If you get your job through politics, you can hardly complain when you lose it the same way. For those who don’t think the world works like this, try signing a petition to replace YOUR boss. The EMC needs to be someone who inspires trust and confidence in the community, especially among emergency personnel like fire chiefs. And it was those chiefs who complained to the supervisors about Murphy.

Enter the flash mob. All gathered to take a joint shot at the Board. Most were familiar faces, dissidents who over the years have expressed personal complaints about a variety of issues - open space, the YMCA, Watson Johnson Landfill, zoning. Some were friends of Murphy. And some were The Democrats.

Not just Richland Democrats, mind you. Party bosses from other areas who smelled an opportunity to pick a fight with Republicans in power. Actually, that last sentence is a redundancy, because almost everyone in power in Upper Bucks is a Republican. So the Big Donkeys showed up to beat their chests and bray about how unfair it is that Richland voters elect only Elephants.

The most notable quote came from Bill Brosius, the Democratic committee chairman from Sellersville, who said that “This is a one-party rule, iron-fist type of authority”. Well, maybe Bill hasn’t kept up with current events in our part of the world. Let’s briefly examine the results of this “iron fist” rule. How have Richland citizens been persecuted by these tyrants? Over the last six years, the township has:

Increased the inventory of open space to over 800 acres. Created it’s own 9-person police force. Increased volunteer citizen boards to 9, with over 60 members (yes, some are Democrats!). Instituted the “Growing Greener” concept into township planning. Decreased the cost and number of permits necessary for individuals to build on their own land. Collected $2.1 million in developers’ fees for the township funds, and over $3 million in infrastructure improvements. Obtained more than $2.5 million in government grants for open space, land & swamp preservation, flood control, traffic control, and police.

And because of these developer’s fees and grants, there has been NO TAX INCREASE. Oh my, indeed.

It is no surprise that Democrats demonstrated loudly at a township meeting. The press is there, and the publicity is free. But Murphy has only himself to blame for what he said, and what he did. The supervisors had no bias against him...they appointed him in the first place! He had a golden opportunity to help his party, and he blew it. Elephants are said to have long memories, and they won’t be looking for help in the jungle again soon.