‘Pipeline politics’ propelled some to victories
Pipeline politics might have played an important role in several local elections Tuesday, including a Democratic sweep of four Rose Tree Media School Board seats.
“I don’t think it was a single-issue election, but I don’t think there’s any question that the pipeline had its effect,” said John Nee, chairman of the Mid-County Democrats. “This pipeline is within feet of people’s bedrooms … We’re talking about a huge effort in a high-density area. It’s not like running it across fields or farmland or what have you, where it’s out of sight, out of mind. It’s not out of sight if it’s outside your bedroom door.”
The Mariner East 2 pipeline would bring natural gas liquids including propane, ethane and butane from Marcellus shale areas in Pennsylvania and neighboring states to the Marcus Hook Industrial Complex for refining and sale. About 11.4 miles of pipeline is being routed through private and public property in Thornbury, Edgmont, Middletown, Aston and Upper Chichester.
Three of those municipalities fall into the Rose Tree Media School District, where Democrats criticized Republican incumbents for granting Sunoco an easement that allowed the pipeline to run within 650 feet of Glenwood Elementary School.
Four Democrats also won races in Uwchlan and West Goshen, Chester County, after vowing to use local zoning regulations to push pipeline construction further back from schools and homes.
“The biggest overriding factor was, and you saw it across the country, Democrats were more motivated because of national issues,” said Delaware County Republican Chairman Andrew Reilly, a Middletown resident. “The pipeline was a factor – people having open trenches in their backyards didn’t help – but I think most of it was misinformation about the pipeline that caused a little bit of anxiety and worked to the Democrats’ advantage.”
Reilly said that misinformation included a charge that Middletown had “approved” the pipeline, a decision that had actually occurred much further up the governmental chain of command at the governor’s office and the state Public Utility Commission.
Nee said there were definitely other issues at play in the school board race and in Edgmont, where Democrat James Hallam defeated incumbent Republican Randy Bates, but the pipeline was probably the sole issue for Middletown voters.
“It’s unprecedented to have these materials go into a pipeline – highly volatile gas liquids – in such a densely populated area,” said Middletown resident Allison Shabot outside Commonwealth Court in Philadelphia last month, where judges heard arguments from township residents seeking enforcement of an ordinance requiring the liquefied fuel line to be placed at least 75 feet back from homes.
“We lived next to the easement,” said Shabot. “The pipeline was being built next door to our house and we moved away. My kids were going to Glenwood Elementary … So instead of having my children in the blast zone 24-7 at home and school, we moved to a different house and we moved my son to a different elementary school, but stayed within Middletown Township.”
“It was the 1-A, B, C and D reason that people were dissatisfied,” said Democrat Walter Bok Read, who squeaked out a District 2 council win over Middletown Republican incumbent Dean Helm 553 to 539, according to unofficial machine vote totals. “I think it was the speed with which decisions were made and the feeling of (residents) being unheard in voicing their concerns.”
Nee said Read’s victory is “the first time in memory” that a Democrat won a seat in the township. Fellow Democrat Allyson L. Galloway also courted 2,330 votes in a narrow loss for council-at-large to incumbent Republican Norm Shropshire, who garnered 2,354 votes.
Read noted other areas hosting the pipeline across the state did not move on approving easements or making other considerations with the same urgency as Middletown, which he and other voters felt was “very disconcerting.”
“Assessing the potential risks, that’s not been done well, understanding how to deal with those risks – it has a horrible consequence to it if something happens, if there’s a leak of any kind,” said Nee. “I think stopping the pipeline is going to be pretty hard, but dealing with the pipeline is what needs to be done.”