BALANCE OF POWER
Dems, GOPers face off for 3 seats on Council, control of government
The stakes are always high come any election but this year, control of Delaware County’s government could change if one of the three open seats is won by a Democrat.
Two Democrats won council seats in 2017. If another wins next month, it would be the first time since the Civil War that the majority of county council would be ruled by Democrats. With three seats up for grabs, anything can happen.
Delaware County Council Chairman John McBlain and Vice Chairman Colleen Morrone, both Republicans, are restricted by term limits from seeking re-election. Fellow Republican Councilman Michael Culp has decided to not seek re-election, leaving three slots up for grabs.
The race has been vigorous from the start. With claims and releases being issued the day after the primary, both sides have been running hard.
One fiery debate among the six candidates has been held, with two more scheduled: one for Maris Grove residents only on Wednesday, Oct. 23, and another open to the public at 6 p.m. Friday, Oct. 25 at the Springfield Township building at 90 Powell Road.
Mailboxes have also been stuffed with glossy, splashy mailers of Democrats warning of a Delaware County GOP machine corruption tax resulting in no-bid contracts and patronage jobs. Republicans claim their opponents not only keep their heads in the sand but are proven tax raisers that residents can’t afford.
On Tuesday, Nov. 5, voters will make their picks.
The Democratic candidates are Christine Reuther, Elaine Paul Schaefer and Monica Taylor.
Born in Havertown, Reuther is a tax and business attorney who ran unsuccessfully for council in 2015. She’s served as a Nether Providence commissioner and is also solicitor for Rutledge Borough. She was the attorney for Headstrong Foundation in its fight to get a zoning accommodation to temporarily house pediatric cancer patients and their families at Nick’s House in Swarthmore. Since her 2015 council bid, she’s been working behind-the-scenes supporting Democratic Count Councilmen Brian Zidek and Kevin Madden and the Delaware County Coalition for Prison Reform.
Schaefer served as the first female president of Radnor’s board of commissioners and is a founder of the Radnor Conservancy. She won her township seat after getting involved in the preservation of the Ardrossan Farm. Upon becoming township commissioner, control of the Radnor board switched from Republican to Democratic. She lives in the Newtown Square section of Radnor. Schaefer also ran for state representative in the 165th Legislative District in 2016.
Taylor is a professor and program director of Kinesiology at the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia. A member of the Pennsylvania State Democratic Committee, she has also been an Upper Darby School Board member since 2017. She’s also played basketball at the collegiate level and professionally in Ireland and worked at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point. She’s also a part of Project STEAM, an effort on introducing students to science, technology, engineering, arts and math in Philadelphia elementary schools.
The Republican candidates are Kelly Colvin, Mike Morgan and James Raith.
Colvin, of Upper Darby, was noted for her advocacy in spearheading the construction of an all-abilities playground and life skills room at Primos Elementary School. She ran unsuccessfully for Upper Darby School Board in 2017. The mom of two, one with autism and epilepsy, was associate director of Temple University’s Center on Regional Politics. She’s worked for the former U.S. Rep. Curt Weldon and U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum. She was the former regional representative for the U.S. Department of Education, managing issues across five states, and was a former chair of the Delaware County Women’s Commission.
A resident of Newtown, Morgan is chair of the Foundation of the Delaware County Chamber of Commerce. He formerly served as an executive at Accenture and was an NCAA Division 1 swimmer at the University of Virginia. Adopted as a child, he is a board member of the Adoption Center, the Episcopal Academy Parents’ Association and the Community YMCA of Eastern Delaware County. He is married to Jen Morgan, who recently was elevated to a top position at SAP in Newtown Square.
Raith is the owner of the plumbing and heating business, EJ Raith Mechanical, and serves as Thornbury supervisors chairman. He became a township supervisor in 2004 and its chairman two years later. He is chairman of the American Red Cross Delaware County Chapter and a member of the Plumbers Union Local 690. He formerly coached basketball, baseball and football for many years.
The election season has not been without its controversies.
First out of the gate were the Republicans. On the day after the primary they unveiled a plan of “Transparency and Progress for Del
aware County” that Democrats called a “laughable” attempt to emulate them. It included holding weekly council meetings in different locations throughout the county and holding half of them at night while also livestreaming the procedures.
Then, the GOP members signed a “No Sale” pledge for the Fair Acres Geriatric Center while Raith attended a county council meeting to suggest a partnership with the George W. Hill Correctional Facility to rehabilitate stray dogs for adoption. None of the Democratic candidates have proposed selling Fair Acres.
In August, the Republicans talked about establishing a 20-bed, in-patient Crisis Care Facility for those at risk of harming themselves or another person. Democrats said this measure politicized the serious issue of mental health and gun violence.
Later that month, Delaware County Republican Party Chairman Tom McGarrigle accused the Delco Democrats of hiring a Philippine-based company, Dynata Global, which identified itself as a doctor’s office to conduct telephone “polls,” and asked misleading questions with false information about GOP county council candidates. Democrats said they wouldn’t respond to “Trump-style conspiracies.”
The push to sell or merge the county’s wastewater agency also touched off more than a few sparks.
After DELCORA entered into a six-week due diligence period with Aqua Pennsylvania Wastewater in July for what the wastewater authority officials said was a concern of how to pay $1.2 billion of upcoming expenses in the next 20 years, Democrats voiced their opposition and held a press event outside DELCORA’s headquarters.
Repeating a common theme of their campaign, Taylor said, “Republican Party insiders so fear losing power this November that they are willing to sell off a public asset with little to no public input. Sadly, this kind of secrecy in the public affairs of our county government is common place under Republican leadership.”
The Democrats also penned and signed an open letter calling on their opponents to have an issuebased, civil campaign free from ad hominem attacks and unveiled a reform plan that wold end awarding noshow and part-time jobs to unqualified political insiders while posting all jobs publicly and requiring full disclosure of campaign contributions.
Republicans also revealed their own economic plan, which would create a land bank to turn vacant properties into taxgenerating hubs; have a block grant program for facade improvements and streetscapes and pocket parks; expand trades-oriented businesses; and foster a program with the region’s leading venture capital firms to support high-growth opportunities in the county.
Last month, the Fraternal Order of Police, Delaware County Lodge #27 endorsed Democrats Reuther, Schaefer and Taylor for county council. It was the first time the police union has endorsed Democratic candidates for county council.
The Democrats also claimed incumbent Republicans have neglected critical county emergency communications needs for decades while Republicans said they are dedicated to emergency communications in Delaware County and are making the needed investments.
Earlier this month, the Dems unveiled their own economic plan that would invest more in county economic and workforce development programs as well as open space natural resources and recreational facilities. They also want to increase public-private partnerships labor unions, industry leaders, small businesses and community leaders while strengthening job training programs to connect high school and college graduates to jobs. Their plan would also harness state and federal investments in underserved communities.
Republican officials said they’ve already done all this from the $10 million open space grant program to working with laid-off employees from the Philadelphia Energy Solutions refinery to working to attract investments in areas like the Chester waterfront and Clifton Heights.
Republicans also noted they have not raised property taxes in more than five years and their literature called the Democratic candidates the “Tax Hike Squad,” claiming Taylor increased property taxes every year in office; Schaefer increased property taxes by 17 percent; and Reuther hiked property taxes by 22 percent.
Democrats referred to a “GOP Machine Corruption Tax” in their ads, saying Republican campaign donors get “sweetheart deals,” sticking the rest of the county with higher taxes. Their literature said Delaware County has 26 percent higher taxes than Chester County; 35 percent higher taxes than Bucks County and 81 percent higher taxes than Montgomery County.
Schaefer herself was criticized last month for failing to immediately call for the removal of former Radnor Township Board of Commissioners President Phil Ahr from that position after Ahr after the board initially learned of a rain and search of Ahr’s home. Ahr admitted to police he possessed child pornography following a raid on his home by Delaware County detectives. At an October 2017 public meeting, Schaefer was one of three Democrats who voted against removing Ahr, also a Democrat, from his president’s post, before the formal charges against him were filed. Once charges were filed, Schaefer called for him to step down. Ahr pleaded guilty to one count each of receiving, possession and distribution of child pornography and was sentenced by a federal judge to 151 months in prison, almost 13 years, required to pay $43,000 in restitution, register under Megan’s Law and be on parole for 10 years after his release.
Schaefer’s spokesman, Devin Gosnell, previously said, “It’s a shame that the Radnor Republicans are trying to manipulate Radnor’s darkest moment for political gain. When Phil Ahr was arrested in October of 2017 and charged for his disgusting behavior, Elaine immediately called for his resignation. Any suggestion that Elaine turned a blind eye to Phil Ahr’s egregious conduct is reprehensible.”
Then there was the debate about the debates.
The topic of debates first arose at the end of May when both Democrats and Republicans agreed to face each other in a series of five debates as the GOP issued dates and times for their preferences at that time. Then, at the end of August, the status of the debates remained unclear as both sides agreed to an Oct. 10 debate hosted by the Delaware County League of Women Voters. However, the two in September were turned into GOP candidate forums as Democrats said they had scheduling conflicts and said the Republicans needed to consult with them to find dates suitable for both sides.
By mid-September, both sides agreed to a set of three debates: one Oct. 10 at Villanova University; another Oct. 23 for Maris Grove residents; and the final from 6 to 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 25 at the Springfield Township building.
Writers Pete Bannan and Linda Stein contributed to this report.