This morning’s entry will be personal and indulgent. When I decided to start the Tredyffrin Township: Community Matters blog about 5 weeks ago, I did so for several reasons. I was very disappointed in the November Boad of Supervisor election results; and this blog provided a vehicle to talk about important ‘community’ matters. Since the blog’s inception, I have been excited by the response from the local community – in fact there has been nearly 6,000 hits in this short time.

In no small way, I believe that the success of Community Matters was driven by another local blog, John Petersen’s Tredyffrin Township Political Notebook. John and I become friends over the course of my recent campaign and I was grateful for his support. When I decided to start my blog, John was available to encourage and to answer my endless technical questions. I believe that John’s blog offers a unique, cutting-edge way of looking at our local political landscape. Often times, John would write what so many of us were thinking, but for various reasons may not have said. In some respects, my Community Matters became the counter balance to his Political Notebook. John and I often discussed that the 2 blogs cohesively existed in the same ‘sandbox’ and offered independent viewpoints on similar topics. The reader was often amused by John’s quickwit and creative take on everyday subjects. But I do I think people would be surpised to learn that the ‘real’ John Petersen is very different from the darkness that was sometimes reflected in his writings.

All of this leads up to my disappointment in John’s decision to end Tredyffrin Township Political Notebook, stating that it is no longer required. I absolutely disagree with John’s decision and have told him so; I think that we need more than one voice in this community. We need him to keep the light shining on the important issues, especially during these severe economic times. I’m hoping that with sufficient encouragement . . . John can be convinced to change his mind. To read John’s last blog entry, click here.

Here’s wishing for a change of heart from Mr. Petersen!