With two supervisor seats up for re-election in Concord Township, two Republicans have filed for an election bid.
One of those candidates is incumbent Republican Supervisor Kevin O’Donoghue who’s seeking third six-year term in office. He points to saving open space as one of his accomplishments during his first 12 years in office.
“We’re very proud to have saved a lot of open space and we have made Concord a great place to live and raise a family,” he said during the annual Concord Township Republican Party dance at the Concordville Inn on March 6. “Smart growth is why I’m signing up for another six years. A lot of tough decisions need to be made.”
O’Donaghue said 300 acres of land has been preserved as open space during his time on the board. He specified land along Ivy Mill Road and Smithbridge Road as well as the Coleman and Hall properties as preserved land.
“We saved a lot of open space and now we’re going to take the next step with a trail task force that I’m heading up with [fellow Supervisor] John Gillespie. We’re going to do things with the open space so that our citizens can utilize this, especially with Rails-to-Trails,” he said.
Rails-to-Trails uses old railroad lines as trails. What will be under consideration in Concord is tying in with a Delaware County plan and a statewide plan for such a network, O’Donoghue added.
In a follow-up e-mail, O’Donoghue said the task force is part of a Greenways and Open Space Committee.
“Last year, Concord Township was awarded a $30,000 grant from the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources toward a $60,000 township-wide study of open spaces and greenways. This planning will guide the township regarding future trail projects, pedestrian connections, open space preservation, among other things. Additionally, it is an effort to update a multitude of older studies and coordinate with county efforts as well,” he said in the message.
Also running in Concord is political newcomer Gail Ryan. Ryan’s lived in Concord for five years and said she wants to run because she finds the government process interesting and hopes to make a difference.
Ryan is running for the seat currently held by Dominic Cappelli. Cappelli ran for re-e-election two years ago for the remaining two years of former Supervisor Colleen Morrone’s term, instead of the regular full six-year term. He said at the time he chose the two-year term because he wasn’t sure if he wanted six more years on the board.
(Supervisor Libby Salvucci, who was appointed to replace Morrone until the 2013 election, ran for and won the six-year term in 2013.)
Democrat Dan Foster, who ran for supervisor in 2013, had not yet filed paperwork to run this year by the time this article was published. The deadline for filing is Tuesday, March 10.
Foster is chairman of the Democratic Party in Concord and Bethel Townships.
“[We] Democrats control our destiny with regards to our participation and involvement within the townships and local government. We must shoulder our share of responsibility and stop depending on Republicans to run everything from local government to poll workers on Election Day. We can go back to the days of not running Democratic candidates for local offices, but I do not want to see this happen. I plan to run for Concord Supervisor if Democrats will support a campaign,” Foster said in an e-mail.
About Rich Schwartzman
Rich Schwartzman has been reporting on events in the greater Chadds Ford area since September 2001 when he became the founding editor of The Chadds Ford Post. In April 2009 he became managing editor of ChaddsFordLive. He is also an award-winning photographer.
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