BOOZE BATTLE
Swarthmore again will vote on alcohol sales A look at contested races on county ballot Hotly contested district judge races on tap
Bartender at the Inn at Swarthmore pours a chocolate martini for a patron this week. Swarth moreans will vote in a referendum on the May Primary ballot whether to allow alcohol sales in the borough. Right now the Inn, owned by Swarthmore College, has the only liquor license in town.
On May 16, voters return to the polls to cast another set of votes – and these may, debatably, have a bigger impact on them than any chosen last November.
And, wherever the voters are the choices are aplenty: Three Magisterial District Judge races, school board contests in 11 districts, a three-way mayor and council race in Colwyn, another round between Paula Brown and Helen Thomas for Darby mayor, races in Media, Millbourne, Swarthmore, Yeadon, Clifton Heights, Edgmont, Middletown, Trainer and Upland.
And, for the fourth time ever in its history, the question of allowing Swarthmore businesses to serve alcohol surfacing on the ballot.
It’s a heavy ballot, regardless where in Delaware County voters are, even though turnout is typically light in times like these.
Throughout Swarthmore, orange, white and black signs have been popping up, urging the public to “Support Economic Opportunity in Your Town Center – Vote Yes on the Referendum on May 16.”
This “economic opportunity” would be the borough permitting for two “R” or “E” liquor licenses for establishments with at least 300-square-feet and 30 seats as supported by the volunteer group, Swarthmore21. Borough residents Vince Barrett and Pat Rancher are a part of that effort and were among those who collected 1,300 signatures to get the question on the ballot.
“When I came here, I said, ‘Wow, what a fantastic town in general,’” Barrett, a three-year resident, said. “We moved here for the sidewalks, the trees, the schools, the kids, the dogs …
“And, then, when we started to spend time in the town, we see all these empty storefronts and old buildings that need some love,” he said.
Barrett wanted to find a way to spur growth in the business district.
“I knew it was a dry town,” he said. “There’s a lot of towns in America that had seen better days and were dry and in the name of economic development, too this step. If you think about it, it’s to remove barriers to investment.”
Francher, an almost 30year resident, agreed.
“I got here in ‘90 and there were no empty storefronts, not a one,” he said. “And over the years, you saw them just deteriorate and some of them were long time merchants that were here. You just saw the emptiness coming in. Nothing good comes from an empty storefront.”
Barrett and Francher explain the correlation between alcohol and economic development.
Barrett said the Internet and big box retail have made it very difficult for Main Streets to survive.
“The only thing that they can do where they don’t have to face the competition of the Internet is service businesses – nail boutiques, hair, dry cleaning, restaurants,” he said. “But, to get restaurants, to get people to actually open a restaurant, they have to be able to sell beer and wine. That’s where they make their money.”
Francher said restaurants that serve alcohol are a driver.
“People will stay longer and spend more money in the district where they are located,” he said, pointing to Narberth, Pa. and Haddonfield, N.J. “You’ve got to get the people in, you’ve got to get them to walk around.”
He said he personally spoke to officials in Slippery Rock, Pa., where a similar transformation occurred following a 1999 economic revitalization study that suggested allowing alcohol.
“It’s been a real shot in the arm for the business district in the town,” Francher said.
He also pointed to a March 2016 Atlantic article which identified one of the 11 characteristics that a town will succeed as the presence of craft breweries, or by his extrapolation, alcohol.
If it passes, the ballot will provide for two licenses that cost between $200,000 to $250,000 automatically. Any others would have to be approved by both Swarthmore borough council and the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board.
It’s not the first time alcohol has come to a vote in Swarthmore.
The first time was in 1949 and was soundly defeated by a vote of 1,111 to 55.
In 2001, an effort passed 797 to 711 but only very specifically for a restaurant on a college campus, intended for the Broad Table Tavern at the Inn at Swarthmore. Ten years later, a broader
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