Democrat Announces Campaign For Plumstead Township Supervisor

PLUMSTEAD TOWNSHIP, PA — Democrat Matthew Given has announced his candidacy for a
six-year seat on the board of supervisors in Plumstead Township.

Born and raised in Philadelphia, Given lived in the New York area before returning to Pennsylvania where he met his wife. After they were married, the couple settled in Plumstead about seven years ago. They now have two daughters, ages 8 and 3.

“We settled here and fell in love with the area. We have met some wonderful neighbors and love the proximity to major cities and the rural nature of the area,” he said.

Given has worked for the past two years as a production manager at the Arden Theater Company in Philadelphia where he is in charge of all the technical theatrical aspects of each production. He's also in charge of hiring staff for each show, setting budgets for scenery and lighting and making sure as scenes are built they remain on budget.

Before joining the Arden, he worked for seven years at the Bucks County Playhouse in New Hope, also in production.

All told, Given has 16 years of nonprofit project management experience and all in the same vein of budgeting, project, and people management.

About four years ago, Given said he started exploring ways of getting involved in the township.

“I wanted to do my small part to help my community in some way,” he said. "In doing some research, township supervisor fit my own work history, what I do for a living, and the strengths I could bring to the community."

So why is he running for office?

"I’m running for a couple of reasons,” he said. “I have watched what is happening on the national stage and I want to make sure that doesn’t happen here in our community. I believe strongly that local politics should be about neighbors helping neighbors and realizing that we’re all in it together. We’re all pulling in the same direction. I’m hoping to promote civility in our local politics," he said.

“One of the ways to make sure that we’re all on the same page is to be more transparent about what is going on," adds Given. "Oftentimes the public has no idea about the great work that is going on," he said.

“Having two young kids I’m also interested in knowing that they will grow up in a safe, wonderful environment,” he said. “That’s what I think Plumstead is now and that's how I would like to keep it,” he said.

If elected Given would join a five-member board made up of three Republicans and one Democrat.

“For me, local politics shouldn’t be about party politics," he says. "It’s more about how we as a community can work together. Yes, I think it’s important to have another Democrat on the board to balance the board, to have opposing views, and be able to hear from different perspectives. We’re all in this together and we’re just trying to do right by our neighbors.”

Given will be facing Republican Lurleen Worthington in November's general election.