Can you believe it? A ground-breaking political idea, right here in Quakertown! Our Primary Elections usually rank right up there with National Flossing Week for public excitement. But not this year. Quakertown 2007. Look no further than the events leading up to May 15.
Can anyone in this town remember a primary election with eleven candidates for four council seats? Five Republicans and six Democrats mean that there are actually contests within both parties. When the music stops, some players will be without chairs.
But the biggest news is that we won't be seeing just the usual battle between R's and D's. It will be old vs. new. Fresh faces vs. status quo. Politicians actually endorsing members of the other party! The Quakertown 2007 phenomenon. At least five candidates, and party leaders from both sides, are uncharacteristically placing the good of the borough above the "good" of their own parties, and acknowledging that this town would now be best served by a mix of certain R's and D's. And they are naming names!
The Elephants have controlled borough council since 1980, and seldom has been heard a discouraging word inside the party. Incumbents are royalty, entitled to their seats for as long as they choose to rule. But this is Quakertown 2007. Old taboos are being broken. New blood is rising, reflecting the public's anger at the waste, and weak, aloof leadership, which have plagued the town. Two new Republican faces have emerged to challenge their party's three long-entrenched council members, who have each served more than 20 years.
There is no need to say "Meet Ed Scholl". If you haven't heard of him, or his family (19 first cousins in this area), you are as out of touch as current council. Ed is "Mr. Community Service". Born and raised in Qtown, he is the Chairman of the Upper Bucks Relay for Life, and organizes half-a-dozen other state and national Relay for Life and American Cancer Society events. He coaches local youth sports. And he is the model for what the new American Dream should be: family first. Three years ago he quit his nine-to-five job to run his own small business, so he could spend as much time as possible with his wife and kids.
You only have to talk to him to know that this is who we want representing our town. Enthusiasm, dedication, organization, community values. What he doesn't know, he will quickly learn. He was the first newcomer to say publicly that party affiliation is not an important qualification for office. "It's not a party I'm representing, it's the borough". He respects the Democrats, and many have privately endorsed him. That is the attitude we need in this town. Quakertown 2007.
The second Republican rising star is Michael Johnson. Coincidentally, he is Scholl's next-door neighbor. Another life-long Qtowner, three kids, high school JV baseball coach. A police sergeant in Doylestown. He was the runner-up to Scott McElree in the borough's 2004 search for a new chief, and the two trained together at the FBI National Academy. Johnson has experience in administration, budgets, and negotiations. He brings much-needed leadership, teamwork, and ethics. He favors outsourcing to save money, but would eliminate borough jobs only through attrition, not layoffs.
Johnson is a perfect fit for the Quakertown 2007 team - good candidates who haven't received any special favors, don't owe political debts, and won't be bound by old party politics: "As a councilman, you have to make decisions that are the best for the whole borough. This means that Republicans and Democrats must be able to work together to make the borough the best that it can be".
And, unlike most current council members, he understands the necessity of having open communication with the public: "I want to be accessible with any problems that may arise. I will make my e-mail address available to the residents and they can e-mail me anytime. I will be responsive to their suggestions". Oh my!
Scholl and Johnson should excite Republican primary voters, but there are also three incumbents, and only four spots on the November ballot. One gets voted off the island in May: Dennis Hallman, Jim Roberts, or Elfriede Werner. This choice is easy. President Hallman, pack your bag.
In 2005, voters served notice on council that they were fed up, ousting ineffective skittles-and-rainbows President Ray Fulmer. Apparently Hallman didn't get it. He was Fulmer's successor - and Fulmer's clone. In seeking the town's Republican party endorsement last month (which he didn't get), he proudly stated that council has done a "fine job", and blamed "special interests" for the negativity in town. Sound familiar? Fulmer redux. And while he did admit making "some (unnamed) mistakes", he claimed that they "didn't cost us anything".
This guy has blinders on his blinders. Council's few whispered "admissions" (with nary an apology to you) came only after they first vigorously denied the numerous revelations of misconduct and waste, and after they tried to blame the columnist who uncovered everything. The independent investigator they hired reported over a million dollars in improper contracts, questionable borough procedures, and a total lack of supervision. Yet Hallman repeatedly maintains that council is not a full-time job, and therefore members should not be involved in "day-to-day operations".
That is exactly the lackadaisical attitude that gave us Jim McFadden, Dave Woglom, and all of those "mistakes". But, like Fulmer, Hallman never met a problem he couldn't overlook. Instead of standing up and acknowledging that the buck stops with him, he blames others, and whines about not having time to do the job. The answer is simple, Dennis...you don't have the time, make way for those who do. Roberts and Werner are much better choices.
Next week, the Democratic field, and the final members of Quakertown 2007 as chosen by candidates and leaders of both parties.