Conshohocken Councilmember Wants 'New Energy' For Moncto Treasurer

When Jason Salus moved to Conshohocken in 2005, the borough was already somewhat known for its reputation as a town undergoing revitalization.

“At the time it seemed like [the borough] was far along, but since then its revitalization has only accelerated,” he said. “Now we’ve got so many new restaurants, new retail and things that we’ve really put ourselves on the map.”

Salus hopes to bring the spirit of revitalization to Montgomery County. The Ward 1 councilman is running for County Treasurer in Tuesday’s election.

Salus, who was raised in Springfield, Montgomery County, says that he has always been politically minded. Long before running for borough council in 2007, Salus volunteered for political involvement, including spending time volunteering in the 1992 Presidential election.

“I had always paid attention to politics,” he said. “I was on the planning commission before borough council, so I was familiar with issues in Conshohocken. When our election came up, our town had changed a lot and I saw an opportunity to bring a fresh perspective to the council.”

He says that his focus while on the council has been to bring a new set of eyes to problems that have been present in borough for years.

“I tried to offer a new way at looking at problems that had been around forever,” he said. “There was a real focus on working together with the council to bring Conshohocken forward. We have worked together to try and come up with new ideas and new solutions and I think part of that is brining new energy to the council.”

While on the borough council, Salus said he focused on increasing communication between the local government and the borough’s residents, through social media outlets like Facebook and Twitter, as well as a revamping of the borough’s website, which he says is now “better than it has been in years.”

Salus said that he hadn’t considered running for a county spot until this year.

“I looked at what was going on in the county and though, with my professional background and my work on the county, I could be beneficial to the county,” he said.

Salus, who works in economic development, cites the borough council’s work in collecting over $1 million in delinquent taxes between 2007 and 2011 as an example of local practices that could have a countywide impact.

“There is a roll the county can play in attracting new retail and working with small businesses to help revitalize our economy,” he said.

Salus also cited increased communication on wise spending, as well as a focus on using banks over check-cashing institutions as a means of promoting economic growth in the county.

For a man with long-time political interested, campaigning is part of the game. Salus said that, while he was used to door knocking from his 2007 campaign, his run for the county has had some extra caveats, namely a growing family.

“When I ran for council I wasn’t married and I didn’t have a child,” he said. “I went door-to-door, but it was only for five blocks. Now there are events all over the county, but I still get out there and knock on doors.”