MEET THE CANDIDATES
Local council, mayor, tax collector incumbents and challengers sound off on topics in the borough
Candidates from both sides of the aisle made their case Wednesday afternoon for why they should be elected by the voters of North Wales in November.
Incumbents and challengers for five council seats, along with the positions of mayor and tax collector, shared their thoughts during a meet-and-greet organized by the North Wales Borough Business Alliance.
“This is my hometown, and I want to see it succeed. I think we have a lot of potential in this town — it’s what people are looking for in a community right now,” candidate Eion O’Neill said.
O’Neill, a Democrat who has lived in the borough for all of his 28 years, is one of the nine candidates running for five council seats in November, each of whom described their background and what changes they would like to see made to the borough.
“I’d like to see more restaurants, and more things to bring people in. I think that’s a catalyst to having a thriving downtown: restaurants, store fronts that are open a little later. Those are the types of things I’d like to see, and I think we can achieve that if we work toward a better branding of our business dis-
trict,” he said.
O’Neill is challenging two-term incumbent Republican Mike McDonald, who said he has worked to bring the tight-knit neighborhood feel he grew up with in Philadelphia into North Wales.
“I loved every minute of growing up in that neighborhood. Everybody knew me, I was in trouble before I even got home. Everybody knew my dad. If I did something bad, all of the neighbors knew. That’s what I want for my kids, and for all of your kids,” he said.
“To be able to have such a positive experience where they grew up, that it turns them into adults that want to help their community, and pay it forward. That’s what I’m passionate about,” McDonald said.
McDonald and O’Neill are facing off for a four-year term on council, and incumbent Republican John Davis and former council member and Democrat Wendy McClure will square off for a two-year term, to complete a term Davis was appointed to, and McClure had sought, when former council member Christine Hart was named borough manager in late 2015.
McClure described the various boards and commissioners she has volunteered for during more than 20 years in town. She chose not to run for council after a prior term because of other priorities, she said, but has since reflected on accomplishments she helped make happen, like revitalizing Hess Park while a member of the borough parks board.
“All of these experiences have given me the opportunity to really learn how to listen. How to listen is one of the most important things I think you can do. Listening brings power, rather than being belligerent or bossy. I’m very anxious to serve again, and I’d like to have that opportunity,” McClure said.
Davis said he has lived in town for only three years, but knows what his neighbors and tenants want to see done around town: more small businesses, like grocery or specialty stores, that residents can walk to instead of having to drive elsewhere.
“What I’m passionate about is the aesthetics of the community, making it look clean and vibrant. Us doing that will make everything else better, like getting those buildings that are empty filled up,” he said.
In Ward 2, incumbent Democrat Jim Sando, Democratic challenger Ronald S. Little Jr. and Republican David Arnold are facing off for two council seats. Little did not attend the meetand-greet, but Sando and Arnold described their visions
for the town — and what they do not want to see, particularly on the property where the former North Wales Hotel and McKeever’s Tavern stands now.
“I’ll be real frank. If a zoning change would have, for example, allowed a 42unit apartment building on the McKeever’s site, I would not have voted for that. I don’t think that’s in keeping with the community, so if that was a zoning issue put in front of me, I probably would not have supported that,” Sando said.
Arnold said he has learned from three decades in the borough, and nearly two decades as a leader of local Boy Scout Troop 84, how to instill values in young people.
“My passion is making those youths grow into young adults, and be dedicated to their community, and respect the flag, and respect everyone around you,” he said.
What would Arnold change? Zoning codes that allow empty houses in neighborhoods to be torn down and replaced with twins, he said: “A lot of people I talk to say ‘Why are we crunching these houses together?’ Why was that put in? We’ve got to take a look at our zoning code, because if we keep the zoning rules as they are today, we will die as a community, because everybody’s always looking for ways to put more new things in,” he said.
In Ward 3, incumbent Republican Jim Cherry is being challenged by Democrat Sally Neiderhiser, who did not attend the meet-andgreet.
Cherry described how his
local tree service business and time leading the parks board have helped shape his thinking.
“If there’s anything I would love to change, it would be the political divide. I want to have a sign in front of my house that doesn’t say ‘No place for hate,’ but ‘No place for politics,’ because in North Wales, a town of 3,400 people, we’re all neighbors,” he said. “I’ve worked for more than half of you in here. I know you on a personal level. We’re all neighbors, and there should be no place for political nonsense.”
Mayoral candidate Neil McDevitt, a Democrat, said he is the first deaf person to be running for mayor locally, and his involvement with the Fire Department of Montgomery Township and work for the Federal Emergency Management Agency and, more recently, at a communication center, overseeing interpreters for the hard-of-hearing, have led him to want to give back. “I am very passionate about making sure all the parts of our community feel like they have a voice. I know it sounds strange coming from a deaf person, but it’s very true. You think about people who have any type of difference, whether it be LGBT, disabilities, you name it,” McDevitt said.
Members of those communities have said told him that they feel “‘a lot of times, there’s no point in me coming out to these events, because I don’t have a voice. Nobody’s going to listen to me,’ and that’s something I’m really passionate about,” McDevitt said.
Incumbent Republican
Mayor Greg D’Angelo said he decided to run four years ago after being involved with the borough planning commission, water authority, and fire company, and he has worked to improve relationships between council, police, the fire company, and the public.
“I see the mayor as one
of the two faces of the borough, the other being the borough manager. That’s who people see, that’s who they interact with,” he said. “I’ve sworn in five police officers, and I’ve said to each of them, ‘The role of police officer isn’t to catch the bad guy. It’s to keep the people safe,’ and one of the ways you can ensure that is to increase training, and get out into the community.”
Democrat Timothy Weir and Republican Monica Tarlecki are facing off for the borough’s tax collector position, and Weir did not attend, but Tarlecki said she and her husband, Mark, a Democrat on council, have proven both parties can work well together.
“I have never been happier than living in the borough of North Wales. I’ve raised two children, four grandchildren, my husband’s on borough council, and we don’t believe in this Democrat-Republican divide,” she said.
In addition to a teaching career, Tarlecki said, she has been a member of the North Penn Volunteer Fire Company for 25 years and is a life member of the Volunteer Medical Service Corps of Lansdale.
“It has given me more pleasure to volunteer for those two organizations than anything, and made me passionate about what I can do for people,” she said.