On October 19th, the Daily Item sent a questionnaire regarding the election for Selinsgrove Mayor. They said myself and incumbent Jeffrey Reed both were sent the same questions. I delivered my responses on October 20; the deadline was October 25 for an article that would be published Friday, October 27. The DI then moved the anticipated publication date to Monday October 30 and finally printed the article for home delivery in the October 31’s edition. You can read their article here.
The Daily Item is limited by space, so I knew my responses would be edited for length. In the goal of full transparency, something desperately lacking our Selinsgrove community, you can read my full responses below.
The duties of a borough mayor include enforcing ordinances. How will you approach this position and what, if any, areas would you like to see improvements?
The 800 pound gorilla in the room for Selinsgrove is that we do not have a single set of municipal rules. If you are poor, if you are not socially well-connected, if you don’t kiss rings, then you have a completely different set of rules to follow; you may even find our municipal rules used against you. The mayor is in a unique position to be an unyielding advocate that our ordinances be applied uniformly; if that cannot be done for a particular ordinance it ought to be repealed.
The mayor has oversight of the police department. How involved do you feel the mayor should be in this role?
Very. While I have no interest in interfering in day-to-day operations (that is the Chief’s role and he is very good at it), the mayor not only oversees the police department but must also be its greatest advocate.
The Selinsgrove Police Department is one of our best assets and most visible functions of the municipal government. It is also our most expensive. Cultivating a positive rapport between the community and police, ensuring that the resources of the SPD are well known, is the most effective means to deter crime and guarantee citizens are getting their money’s worth. When you know your local officers well, you are more likely to trust them and go to them when you need.
Also, I would ensure that the games the borough council played during these past contract re-negotiations are not repeated. We have a great department and great officers. They should not be nickel-and-dimed so there is enough money left to give bureaucrats a pay raise.
A borough mayor is a largely ceremonial position, what do you view as the most important duty?
Some might wish for a borough mayor to be merely ceremonial, but I see that as a minimization of the responsibilities. While it would be great if the mayor could simply be the grand poo-bah leading parades or cutting ribbons, with two downtown business owners accused of major felonies and a whole slew of other social ills (symptoms of a more underlying problem) our community is past the point of the mayor’s office hiding in the easy things.
The most important duty is two-fold: 1) Work tirelessly for our borough’s betterment. There are few obligations to the office which means there is plenty of time to be the community’s most active advocate for improvement. This is not simply being an ornament for others to use, but to be the one actually seeking new opportunities for the borough.
2) The mayor is a counterbalance on the borough council, not a rubber stamp or a drinking buddy. We have seen over the past two years our council go beyond the reasonable and into the openly corrupt. Council members have used their seats to appoint their children to jobs, put pressure on the zoning board on behalf of themselves, flagrantly ignore laws, trade favors with contractors, and exploited our police department to seek revenge against critics. This needs to stop, and sweeping it under the rug is actively harming our community.
Open statement:
I am in this race to disrupt the false accomplishment of the folks from the front pews using the community apathy they created to put on theater as a means of self-congratulations and ego fluffing.
No one will vote for me by accident. I do not expect it to be a majority, but every single ballot will be notification that things need to change. Whether I receive one vote or win the statement that the self-appointed social elites of Selinsgrove are neither infallible or unchallengeable will have been made.