Royersford Borough Council Selects New Mayor: John Guest

The Royersford Borough had 30 days to appoint a new mayor after the resignation of Dave Urner, which was effective on Sept. 30. At Tuesday night's meeting, the council appointed John Guest, a current council member, to the position of mayor.

The term ends at the end of December of 2013. Council voted unanimously in favor of Guest's appointment. There was only one other candidate up for the position.

Guest has served on the council for 20 years and is a lifelong resident of Royersford.

"I feel very honored that my colleagues thought I was the right person to fill that position," he said. "People on council come and go, but with Tom Weikel, John Kring, they’ve been on council longer than I have. I’ve worked with them for over 20 years. My father was a councilman prior to me being a councilman. So, just continuing on service to the community."

Guest has been the head of the public safety committee for 15 of those 20 years. He feels ready to take on the role of mayor in relation to those duties.

"It’s definitely a big help having that 20 years experience on the council," said Guest. "Especially on the police committee, since the mayor is basically the head of the police department. The police chief reports to the mayor. Being the head of the public safety committee for the past 15 years, it’s been an enormous help."

Furthermore, Guest hopes to continue the development of the police department and to instill a sense of public awareness of the things happening on the streets of Royersford.

"One thing I want to do is make sure the police force is running properly the way the community wants it to be," Guest said. "Getting some more community policing done than what’s being done currently. I think that’s a big thing to this community. We need a little more visibility out on the streets."

Before Guest assumes his new role, he must first write a letter of resignation. After that, an official vacancy will occur on the borough council, which must also be filled as soon as possible. Borough Manager Michael Leonard will post a public advertisement for that position. Once Guest's letter of resignation is in, he can be sworn in as mayor. He will have an open-door policy moving forward.

"One of the old sayings – my door’s always open. I have an office now," he said. "I haven’t set it up yet, I don’t know what it’s going to be, but there will definitely be office hours every month. They may change one week to another, because I’m still working full time. And of course, people can always contact me whenever they need me. I’ll always be available to the community, as I am now."