Independent candidate for the 160^th Legislative
District David Cleary thinks local governments in Pennsylvania should be
consolidated and that legislators are wasting money by doing things other
departments are supposed to do.

Cleary is a Concord Township resident and former Navy flight
officer, originally from North Dakota. He said he’s challenging incumbent
Republican Stephen Barrar, seeking an eighth term in office, because he thinks
legislators aren’t responsive.

“I’m not impressed with the local and state government and
the inability to interact as a citizen with officials,” Cleary said. “I
expected them to be more responsive and I wasn’t impressed.”

Cleary said he had been trying to get a response for an open
records request on a township level, but felt he was blown off by Barrar and
state Sen. Dominic Pileggi when he asked them for help.

He also thinks that the legislators are duplicating work
that various departments are set up to do. Cleary specifically referred to
Barrar’s office helping out with Pennsylvania Department of Transportation
matters that PennDOT itself should be doing.

“The legislators have staffs that provide services that
PennDOT should be doing. We’re already paying PennDOT to do drivers’ license
processing and things like that. At a maximum, all the [legislator’s] staff
should do is give the contact information.”

Cleary pointed to a brochure from Barrar’s office that said
the incumbent could help with the processing of licenses, learner’s permits and
registration.

“They’re doing things for citizens that another department
in the executive branch should be doing. And if PennDOT isn’t effectively doing
it, what I expect the legislator to do is hold PennDOT accountable,” said
Cleary.

Cutting back on such duplication would allow for less
legislative staffing which, in turn, would reduce the cost of government to the
taxpayer, he said, adding that such work by incumbents adds to their chances of
being re-elected.

“It’s a subtle way of getting people to like you and vote
for you by using the office for things it wasn’t designed for,” Cleary said. ”I
think we can save the taxpayers money. I agree that people will think he’s dong
them a favor but, overall, it’s getting people more interested in voting for
that person and using taxpayer money to do things they shouldn’t be doing.”

He also believes that consolidating the 2,500 municipalities
will result in more cost effective local government.

Cleary doesn’t necessarily think that the county should be
the lowest level of government, as suggested by state Rep. Thomas Caltagirone,
a Democrat from Reading, but sees a possibility of unifying townships based on
school district.

One reason for the consolidation, he said, is for better
police protection. Cleary said he understands that individual townships can’t
necessarily afford their own police departments, but also thinks it’s wrong for
the state police to patrol the townships.

“The model for having community policing doesn’t work if
each township has to have its own police force and now the state does what
Chadds Ford and Concord do [by] having the state police be their community
police. The concept doesn’t even make sense,” he said.

In other states, the county sheriff’s department patrol
communities too small to fund a local police force, he said. Cleary added that
the fact that other states don’t use state police to patrol communities
indicates that it doesn’t make sense.

According to Cleary, there’s already been some talk about
having the Delaware County Sheriff’s Department patrol the townships.

He recognizes that having the county be the smallest level
of government might not be the best either, since various municipalities in a
given county can be too diverse. Caltagirone’s county model would have Media
make zoning laws for Upper Darby and Chadds Ford.

“[The best way] is to consolidate the local governments…The
minimum would be to have the 500 school districts align with the local
government. The advantage is that you still keep somewhat of a local effect,”
Cleary said.

Yet, he was not sure how that would work for Chadds Ford
since the township is in Delaware County, but it’s affiliated with a Chester
County-based school district.

“There’s going to be those cases all across the state,” he
said. “You’d have to review all the cases like that because it’s going to be
unique. Those things would be little challenges. … If we’re going to save the
taxpayers money, consolidation has to happen.

Running as an independent, Cleary needed 573 signatures to
get on the ballot. He said the requirements are 2 percent of the highest vote
getter in the previous election. With Barrar running unopposed in 2008, 2
percent was more than would otherwise have been.

“This district out of the 203 was the second highest in
signature requirements in the state. With one candidate on the ballot, that one
candidate gets all the votes. With three candidates, in two years you’d
probably only need about 300 or so votes, depending on how lopsided my win is,”
he said.