Takeaways from Borough Candidate’s Forum

Last week I attended the Borough Candidates Forum, sponsored by the League of Women Voters, to hear directly from the Republican and Democratic candidates for Mayor and Borough Council. The incumbents in these seats are not running for re-election, which means we will be seeing a significant change in our local government, no matter who wins the election.

I was pleased that the discussion among the candidates was positive and thoughtful, without the acrimony that we see on the state and national level, or even in other towns. The candidates broadly agreed on the challenges that we face on the local level: making sure that any new developments are a net positive for the community, addressing traffic and infrastructure concerns, and keeping taxes in check.

The major difference that I observed was that, on question after question, the Democratic candidates seemed much better informed and had detailed plans to address the issues at hand. They had clearly spent a great deal of time thinking about the issues that matter most to residents and about what the borough could do better to serve its taxpayers. While the other candidates were personable, they did not appear as well prepared to address our community’s numerous challenges.

Based on what I saw at the forum, I strongly support Thad Kobylarz for Mayor and Irene Treloar and Karen Koronkiewicz for Borough Council. The forum will be replayed on our local access cable channels over the next two weeks and I encourage any voters currently sitting on the fence to watch for themselves.

Deborah Barnes