List of candidates running for Tredyffrin Township Board of Supervisors – voters will select one district supervisor from the East, one district supervisor from the West and two At-Large supervisors. See Question #4 and the candidate responses below.
DISTRICT SUPERVISOR 1st DISTRICT (EAST) CANDIDATES
Julie Gosse (D)
Raffi Terzian (R)
TOWNSHIP SUPERVISOR AT-LARGE CANDIDATES
Mark Freed (D)
Sharon Humble (D)
Gina Mazzulla (R)
Liz Mercogliano (R)
DISTRICT SUPERVISOR 3rd DISTRICT (WEST) CANDIDATES
K. S. Bhaskar (D)
Peter DiLullo (R)
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- What differentiates you from the other candidates and/or board members? Why should you be elected or re-elected?
K. S. Bhaskar Response:
I will bring the perspective of an engineer and computer scientist, different from that of lawyers and real estate developers. I will review storm-water management holistically rather than piecemeal. Frequent flooding and erosion create a mutually-reinforcing spiral. Insufficiently planned development triggers the problems, and the former quarry, now a lake, at Atwater raises a water table which does not respect township borders. Also, I will use my background in mission-critical software used in banking and healthcare to review and strengthen the township’s cyber-defenses because towns in America are being hit with ransomware attacks. Also, while the Internet of Things – such as smart light bulbs that signal when they need replacement, or remote monitors on water and sewage pumps – reduces our costs and makes it easier to provide municipal services, it also increases our potential attack surface, which must be reviewed and protected.
Peter DiLullo Response:
There are three primary reasons that I would make a great addition to the Board of Supervisors. First and foremost I have three young children utilizing all the services of Tredyffrin – schools, parks, libraries, fields, etc. With that, I have a very vested interest in keeping Tredyffrin a great place to live. Second, I spent the first part of my career as a CPA with KPMG and PWC. I understand budgets and the responsible use of our residents hard earned tax dollars. The third reason that I would make a great supervisor is that I currently work in commercial real estate giving me a deep understanding of responsible land use, smart growth, and the impact of storm water on our neighborhoods, businesses, and natural resources.
Mark Freed Response:
Experience, responsiveness and transparency. I am in my fifth year as a Township Supervisor, and believe that I have a solid grasp of the operations, finances and priorities of the Township. My experience as a municipal solicitor and environmental lawyer also helps inform my decisions. I try to be responsive to the questions and concerns of our residents. And, I try to keep interested residents apprised of what the Township is doing and why. Whether dealing with the issues of electronic billboards, commercial or residential development, assisted living facilities, police department and fire company staffing and funding, bond issues, neighborhood noise and nuisance complaints, infrastructure repair and maintenance, stormwater, historic preservation, environmental stewardship or the many other matters that come before the Board, I try to apply my experience and knowledge for the benefit of our residents.
Julie Gosse Response:
I am a scientist, small business owner, and mother. Together, these give me unmatched capabilities and perspective that will benefit Tredyffrin. My scientific background involves breaking down complex systems, thinking hard about cause-effect, and determining actions from a fact-based perspective. Through my science communications firm, I balance client requests with fiscal discipline, and manage growth with sustainability. As a team, much like the Board of Supervisors, we work together to tackle tough problems. I enjoy science because data are dispassionate, and can take the emotion out of arguments. I enjoy client business and being a parent because both reward soft skills and communication. As a Supervisor, I bring these strengths to the Board and better serve our community as a result. Finally, having grown up in Tredyffrin, I have a deep understanding and love of the township and work to represent all residents – children, young adults, working parents, and seniors.
Sharon Humble Response:
I have extensive legal, business, executive, and charitable-board experience. I’m attorney who has spent almost 25 years in private practice as outside legal counsel representing local governments to help them improve their fiscal positions and solve other legal and practical problems. I served as the Managing Partner of my firm’s Philadelphia office. In that role, I handled all the business matters of the office, including client relationships, contracts, budgeting, B2B purchases, insurance, taxes, charitable and promotional participation, governmental affairs, HR matters, etc. I also served on my firm’s national Management Committee for 12 years until my retirement from the firm on January 1, 2018. The national Management Committee oversees and votes on all of the business matters of the firm’s 40+ offices in the U.S. I’d love to bring my years of very successful and high-level business experience to serving on the Tredyffrin Board of Supervisors.
Gina Mazzulla Response:
Well, one differentiator is I am not a lawyer. My educational background is rooted in the social sciences and education and my professional background is executive development, organizational behavior, marketing and communications. My recent “extracurricular” activity is in the area of non-profit management. This background serves as a foundation for leadership built on observation of individual and group dynamics, facilitation of ideas and dialogue, integration of people and processes, and critical thinking and reasoning.
My work on the United Way community impact team has greatly influenced my readiness for the role of Supervisor and informed my framework for decision-making in the role. This includes: How many constituents are affected by the action or decision? What are the positive and negative implications? What are the consequences if we don’t act now? What is the impact on other services and stakeholders? and What are the implications for long-term (financial) sustainability?
Liz Mercogliano Response:
I am different from all the current Supervisors and running candidates. I am a behavioral health RN with hospital and forensic experience. I can run a code and save a life. I know the importance of helping families with addicted love ones. I sponsored the first Tredyffrin Backyard Opioid Event. I survived breast cancer at age 38.
I was the Chair of Diversity for the T/E Schools because I grew up in a diverse family. I married an immigrant. I was an older student when I attended the Delaware University Law School. I am not in it to climb the political ladder or play party politics. I believe Township issues are bipartisan issues. The citizens of Tredyffrin deserve better and deserve more than red tape and minimal information (after the fact). I bring a willingness to listen and treat others with dignity and respect.
Raffi Terzian Response:
I believe in public service and my focus is on community first and how best to address the needs of our community. I take a collaborative approach in bringing people together and I am a good listener who consistently acts with integrity, accountability and transparency. I am actively involved in the community through a number of activities including my service on the Tredyffrin Historic Preservation Trust, as a member of the Township Parks and Recreation Board and through my involvement in my church. I bring a unique skillset to the Board of Supervisors as an Emergency Physician with a background in public health and I have strong leadership, organizational and decision-making skills. I presently work in health advocacy with executive experience and budget responsibility. I am prepared to serve and believe that we, as neighbors, should serve each other with a common interest in seeing our community thrive. Thank you.
Thank you Pattye you are doing a wonderful service.
I am willing to put my needs aside to focus on the needs of others. I am willing to notify neighbors, say kind words to residents seeking help and include all neighbors.
The residents deserve better than partisan politics, seeking power or fame, the blue wave or the purple wave.
This is about the average neighbor not about a supervisors “I am this or that”.
Can you as a supervisor admit that they are not finance people? Can supervisors admit they need help from citizens?
Can you admit the digital bill board ordinance should have been fixed yesterday? Can we as a community redo building application and approval process?
I am willing to actually represent all stake holders from our Muslim community, Asian community, African American community, seniors, tenants and commercial entities.
The supervisors need to put their egos on hold and hold the hand of neighbors living next to large building projects, flooding properties, and digital sign pollution.
This is not an “I” game it is a non partisan personal wholistic “We” community.
Tredyffrin Township and their pension plan both produce Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports (CAFR) every year. It lists the money and assets owned by the township and the pension. It includes bank accounts, investments and enterprise activities, and is typically 4 to 8 times the amount listed in the budget, which is the document most people are familiar with. In essence the CAFR is a second set of books. There is so much money there that a fund could be set up to end taxation forever.
It is our money and we should take it back. Actuaries and mathematicians will be very interested in the CAFR. For more information go to taxretirement.com
Tom McCarey stated, “There is so much money there that a fund could be set up to end taxation forever.”
Do you really believe this? This is one of the dumbest ideas I’ve heard. Let’s use the TE school district as an example. TESD has $69M in the bank. Let’s put that all in a fund earning 5% per year. The fund would generate $3.5M each year to fund the schools. Is this enough to end “taxation forever”. Not even close. TESD collects $106M in RE taxes each year to educate the students.
Let me repeat, This is one of the dumbest ideas I’ve heard. Now, there is a small chance I’ve missed something. Tom, can you comment?