Take your pick – empty storefronts and vacant office buildings, roads and bridges in desperate need of repair, unemployment, environmental issues, such as storm water, dropping real estate values, rising taxes. Where do we start . . . how do we prioritize the issues? Tredyffrin Township may have fared better than some other areas of the country, but we have not escaped these problems. It may have taken longer for us to feel the pain . . . loss of jobs or a decrease in property values, but for many in our community, the problems now are very real.
There is a dark mood in the country about the high unemployment and Washington’s constant bickering over how to solve pressing problems. The economic gloom shows in cutbacks, layoffs, bailouts and outright bankruptcies; what is it going to take to move this country forward in morale, reward and recognition.
Like everyone else in this country, the residents of Tredyffrin are looking for solutions. In four short weeks, on Tuesday, November 8, it will be Election Day . . . we need to elect people who have forward-looking vision for this community. We need problem-solvers with specific solutions.
There are obvious signs throughout the township that the countdown to Election Day has begun . . . political lawn signs appear to reproduce nightly, candidate mailers are arriving daily at our doors and in our mailboxes along with invitations to political fundraisers.
Local elections do matter. Voting matters. Voting is really about affecting the country around you. There’s a feeling that local elections don’t matter which sometimes translates into ‘why’ bother. From the federal government to the state governor’s mansion to our local school board. Top to bottom, friends, our family and ‘us’ make a difference with our votes. We saw in the recent special election for supervisor that the result came down to a few votes. Your vote could be the vote that makes a difference!
All registered voters in Tredyffrin Township have an opportunity to select township supervisors and school board directors as well as county commissioners, district attorney, district judge and township auditor. The League of Women Voters has planned a debate for the Tredyffrin supervisor candidates for Monday, October 24, 7 PM at the township building. The following night on Tuesday, October 25, a debate is planned for 7 PM at the township building for the school board candidates.
We have a responsibility to our community. Let’s keep making Tredyffrin better, by voting on November 8. Local elections do matter.