Pattye Benson

Community Matters

Tredyffrin District 1 Supervisor Vacancy: 4 Residents Apply – Julie Gosse, Raffi Terzian, Judy DiFilippo & Bryan Humbarger – Public Interview Monday, August 5, 7 PM

The recent resignation of long-serving Republican supervisor Paul Olson in Tredyffrin Township District 1 (he was first elected in 1976 and served 43 years!) requires the appointment of an interim appointment. Persons interested in the interim supervisor appointment were asked to submit letters of interest (with resumes) through Friday, July 26 to Tredyffrin Township.

On Monday, August 5 at 7 PM at Tredyffrin Township municipal building, the Personnel Committee of the Board of Supervisors — Murph Wysocki (D), Kevin O’Nell (D) and Heather Greenberg (R) – will interview the interim supervisor candidates in a public meeting. Following the interview, Wysocki, O’Nell and Greenberg will make a recommendation to the Board of Supervisors and the Board will vote on the appointment at its Monday, August 19 meeting.

With the District 1 (East) seat on the November ballot, the interim appointed supervisor will serve 4-1/2 months, until the end of 2019. Julie Gosse (D) and Raffi Terzian (R) are the endorsed candidates for the District 1 (East) seat and were expected to apply for the interim supervisor position.

Gosse and Terzian did apply for the District 1 interim supervisor appointment but they are not the only candidates! Twenty year veteran of the Tredyffrin Board of Supervisors Judy DiFilippo (R) has applied for the interim position as has Bryan Humbarger (R), an active Berwyn Fire Company firefighter/EMT since 1994. Both previously elected township officials, former supervisor DiFilippo and township auditor Humbarger are interested in the District 1 interim position but are not on the ballot as candidates in the general election in November.

There is much on the agenda for the Board of Supervisors this fall. Included, but not limited to:

  • 2020 budget process and capital improvement plan
  • Long-term sustainable funding solutions for Fire/EMS
  • 2020 Comprehensive Plan
  • Historic Preservation Ordinance
  • Storm Water management issues
  • Update on zoning ordinances – including digital billboard signage!

The above is but a sampling of the important issues facing the township in the upcoming months. An interim supervisor appointment of four months is not sufficient time for someone to learn on the job — the public deserves an interim District 1 supervisor who can hit the ground running on day one.

All four candidates are qualified but who of the applicants (Gosse, Terzian, DiFilippo or Humbarger) has the relevant background, experience and expertise to fill the leadership vacancy?

It is in the hands of the personnel committee – township supervisors Murph Wysocki and Kevin O’Nell and republican Heather Greenberg to recommend the candidate that can best serve the residents when appointed as District 1 (East) interim supervisor on August 16.

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  1. With the board of supervisors in Democrat control, you are naive if you think they will appoint anyone other than the D candidate, regardless of experience.

  2. I want to start out by revealing that I am not a resident of Tredyffrin Township. Someone pointed out to me recently how important it is to acknowledge resident status especially when commenting about decisions that affect taxpayers.

    I know Heather Greenberg and have spoken with her at length about Township fiscal matters and I appreciate her and Easttown Supervisor Betsy Fadems hard work and team work in safe guarding our tax dollars. They’re smart and dedicated and spend a lot of time on getting it right.

    I know Heather will do a great job picking the right candidate.

    Thank-you Heather and Betsy.

  3. With so many issues ahead, residents would be well served with an experienced hand in the crew.

    Hope springs eternal ….

  4. Supervisors, please take the politics out of this appointment. There’s ONE person that has the experience needed to serve as interim supervisor and you all know it! Judy DiFilippo is the only candidate that has the experience to hit the ground running! How will you rationalize choosing any other candidate?

    1. As my screen name reveals, I’m not a resident in Tredyffrin and not a follower of Township matters, Easttown or Tredyffrin. I do know that our township services overlap a lot and that’s why I feel entitled to comment. Correct me if I’m wrong Pattye, I remember you reporting that Betsy Fadem (Easttown Supervisor) wrote a check to the Berwyn EMT (Tredyffrin) or fire department a few years ago. Is that correct? I’m all for it, appreciate the fire and police departments in both townships but would like to hear more about how it works. And I think that Tredyffrin police help out Easttown police and vice versus. Is that correct? Maybe someone from the Fire Department could comment. Does Easttown have an EMT? Or do we use Tredyffrins?

      Could someone describe Judy Diflippos credentials and party. It sounds like she’s a fav.

      1. Judy DiFilippo has a long history of service to Tredyffin. Here’s a snapshot of her contributions. 20 years as Supervisor for Tredyffrin (6 as Chair and 4 as Vice Chair). She served on most (if not all) committees and major projects such Wilson Farm Park and Tredyffrin 300. She was instrumental in training many of the newly elected supervisors for years. In my observations she was dedicated, measured and non-partisan.

        She also served for 17+ years on the Chester County Planning Commission, 8+ on Main Line School Night Board of Directors, 15 with the Tredyffrin Historic Preservation Trust, etc…as well as co-owner of a Heating and Air Conditioning Company.

        Disclosure: I’ve never worked with her and am unaware of her positions on the current critical issues facing Tredyffrin such as future development or funding for Infrastructure, Stormwater Management, MS4, and Fire/EMT services. Pattye may fill in the blanks.

        1. Thank- you Carol. Who did the Commissioners choose to fill long serving Paul Olsen’s seat? Did they choose Judy Difillipo?

          To Keith Knauss (former School Board Director for UCFSD.)

          Hi Keith,

          Even though you don’t live here or pay taxes here, I appreciate your input and would like you to explain why Board Directors and Administrators support and protect School employees who repeatedly engage in behaviors that break rules, hurt students and cheat taxpayers. The employees know they won’t be held accountable so there is no incentive for them to change their behavior. Do you have any insight? Thanks.

          Liz Mercogliano, as a former School Board Director, I would like to hear your comment as well. Thanks.

          1. To clarify: In the post, I explained that the personnel committee (supervisors Murph Wysocki, Kevin O’Nell and Heather Greenberg) interviewed the 4 interim supervisor candidates on Monday – public was invited to attend. The next step in the process is that Wysocki, O’Nell and Greenberg will make an their candidate recommendation to the full board of supervisors at the next board meeting on Monday, August 19. The Board will then vote on the recommended candidate at that meeting.

  5. Easttown Resident
    I think it would be inappropriate to change the topic of this thread from “open supervisor position” to “ineffective school management”. It’s a good topic, but not in this thread.

    1. Keith,

      Yes, you’re right, good point and was brought to my attention too——slipped my mind.

      Okay, maybe Pattye can write about it in the future. I think it’s a good topic too.

      I was thinking that ex teachers who comment on this site could weigh in too.

  6. As a long time resident of the township, I would strongly prefer a new person with fresh eyes and ideas to be appointed instead of one previously elected. Not a fan of the two previously elected township officials.

  7. The interviews revealed four good candidates with very different attributes to bring to the township over the next four months. My few word summary will not do them justice, but the candidates ranged from the scientific, facts and data-oriented Julie Gosse, through the passionate and personable Raffi Terzian, the dedicated EMT and sales professional Bryan Humbarger, to the experienced community leader Judy DiFilippo.

    Not a simple choice for the Supervisors. The issues facing us are not new ones and need both short and long term action. As the Supervisors develop the plan for next year will they be best served by someone who has wrestled with them before or by a new voice? By someone pledging to complete the mission to which Paul Olson’s constituents elected him or by someone less steeped in that tradition?

    Personally, I’d go with Judy, for balance, experience and immunity to election pressures.

  8. What the community needs or deserves does not matter. It seems obvious that the Democrat led BOS will select their candidate to give her an advantage at the ballot box in November. Gosse’s lack of township experience will not be a factor in the decision.

  9. When the personnel committee – township supervisors Murph Wysocki and Kevin O’Nell and Republican Heather Greenberg considers which candidate can best serve the residents when appointed as District 1 (East) interim supervisor on August 16, please think about which candidate is most likely to open their yellow packet before the scheduled township meetings.

    I remember when Michele Kichljne lost her seat over her support for the development of the Daylesford retirement home on Lancaster Ave. in Paoli. Friends, neighbors and countrymen banded together but lost their fight to stop the building of the retirement home.

    I don’t know Michele, have never met her but liked her as a township public official. I think she was surprised at the least when she lost her seat at the next election cycle. People were angry, and although, at their own admission, she was the only Commissioner who “opened her yellow packet before the meeting” so was always prepared, knew her stuff, and seemed to genuinely deeply care about the Township, she was going down and they were going to make sure of it!

    That was a big lesson for me. That was the first time I saw first hand, on a local level how ordinary citizens like myself could in fact influence decisions. I don’t live in Tredyffrin Township, so I had no hand in their quest to oust Michele but I watched from the sidelines as they worked hard to unseat her. They inspire me to this day!

    So Heather, pick someone who opens their yellow packet before the scheduled meeting date.

  10. How does the general public find out what is going on? I have lived in the township over fifty years and about the only thing I get from the township is a tax bill and a quarterly news letter I was trying to find good information on one of the candidates qualifications and this interim appointment came up. When the choice is made will the supervisors tell why they picked the winner?

    1. Hello Mr. Shaw — the Board of Supervisors voted and appointed Julie Gosse to serve the remainder of the term, until the end of the year. She is also on the ballot in the November election. For some background, here’s the link to my update: https://pattyebenson.org/2019/08/20/partisan-vitriol-over-tredyffrin-interim-supervisor-appointment-local-politics-should-set-a-better-example/ At the end of the post, there is a link to the Board of Supervisors meeting and you will hear about Ms. Gosse’s resume.

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