3 seats, 1 contest for Pottstown council
POTTSTOWN >> There are three open seats on borough council in the Nov. 5 election, but there is a contest for only one of them.
In the Ward 2 and Ward 4, the Democratic candidates are unchallenged.
Lisa Vanni ousted incumbent Carol Kulp for the Ward 2 seat during the May primary and incumbent Trenita Lindsay is unopposed for the
Ward 4 seat to which she was appointed in last year. She is seeking her first full term.
The contested race is in Ward 6, where incumbent Democrat Rita Paez is being challenged by Republican Michael Paules.
What follows are responses in the Ward 6 race to The Mercury’s online candidate questionnaire in the order in which they were received.
Rita Paez
Paez, 69, is the retired executive director of Centro Cultural Latinos Unidos, better known as CCLU, which is a non-profit Latino service and advocacy group
Paez, who defeated incumbent Republican Travis Gery in the 2015 election, is seeking her second term.
In her response, she wrote “it is a lot of work, as a reformer leader serving the Pottstown community for over 20 years. I am doing it with respect and integrity.”
Paez decided to run again “to continue to be the voice of our community, represent your concerns with the transparency people deserve and the equality you expect.”
Michael Paules
Paules, 51, is a quality control inspector.
He has never held elected office.
In his response, Paules wrote he decided to run because “I want to be a voice for the constituents in our ward and really want to make a difference in our beloved town.”
As for the most important issue facing the borough, Paules wrote, “since walking the whole ward twice and knocking on doors to try and garner some support, one of the biggest issues that I have heard from constituents in our ward is high taxes. I do not really know what I can do to address it but to bring it up in council and maybe work on it collectively.”