Carolyn Daniels – ChaddsFordLive.com

Murphy takes the Ford, Daniels the board

UPDATED:

Unofficial vote totals show Republican Frank Murphy beat out Democrat Rhona Klein for Chadds Ford Township supervisor. Figures provided by Democratic Party Chairman Rob Porter indicate Murphy received 594 votes to Klein’s 403.

Porter’s figures include absentee ballots counted. Delaware County’s numbers don’t show absentees. The county’s total is 575-395 for Murphy.

For Unionville-Chadds Ford School Board Region C — Chadds Ford and Pennsbury townships — Republican Carolyn Daniels defeated Leticia Flores DeWilde 1,035-875. Flores DeWilde only led in one precinct, that being Pennsbury’s North 1 in Crosslands.

A visibly tired Murphy, who had spent all but one hour at the polls on Nov. 5, said at the end only that he looks forward to serving the people of Chadds Ford Township.

An equally tired Klein, who lost by a similar margin against incumbent Deborah Love in 2007, congratulated Murphy and thanked her campaign staff.

“I just want to congratulate Frank. Good luck. I hope he abides by what he promised, to be more inclusive and welcome volunteers. And I want to thank my volunteers and especially my campaign team.,” she said.

She added that she hoped a win by a Democrat would have made Chadds Ford “more inclusive with different points of view.”

Klein later amended her statement to include thanking the voters.

Daniels did not provide any comment or statement by the time this story was updated, but Flores DeWilde did.

“I want to thank all of my family and friends for all of their support and hard work during the campaign,” she said. “I am very proud of the work that we accomplished and I am honored to be surrounded by such wonderful people. I have enjoyed my time on the School Board and I wish Ms. Daniels the very best on the board.”

Flores Dewilde was an interim replacement for Murphy who resigned from the board in June.

Other races

• Steven Simonson and Michael Rock will be school board directors from Region B in the U-CF School District while Jeff Hellrung and Keith Knauss will remain directors from Region A. All four ran unopposed. Simonson and Rock replace Jeff Leiser and Holly Manzone, who chose not to run for another term.

• In Concord Township, Republican Elizabeth “Libby” Salvucci was reelected supervisor as was fellow incumbent Republican Dominic Cappelli. Salvucci bested Dan Foster 2,388-1,847, while Cappelli beat Dan Levin 2,369-1,868.

One controversial issue in Concord is the possible rezoning of the 325-acre Woodlawan Trustees property. Both Democrats came out against any change, as did Salvucci. Cappelli recused himself from deliberations so his seat on the board was seen as crucial.

Kevin P. O’Donaghue, chairman of the Concord Township Republican Party and an incumbent supervisor, offered a comment saying, “Despite an influx of money from Harrisburg Democrats, Washington, and the State of Delaware, the residents of Concord recognized who is really looking out for their interests and supported our Republican team on election day.”

He said the comment also referred to county-wide races including the race for Court of Common Please in which District Justice Richard Cappelli and William “Chip” Mackrides, were elected to the bench.

• Incumbent supervisors Charles “Scotty” Scottoline, of Pennsbury, and Scott Boorse, of Birmingham, ran unopposed for supervisor in those townships.

All votes are unofficial until verified.

Murphy takes the Ford, Daniels the board Read More »

Daniels says it’s about experience

Local News

Carolyn Daniels, one of the candidates for Unionville-Chadds Ford School Board from Region C, thinks experience in the district is the key to properly representing constituents.

She said her 20 years of living in Chadds Ford Township — which, along with Pennsbury Township makes up the region — along with having four children go through district schools and the fact that she’s been involved in school affairs for years sets her apart from her opponent.

Daniels, 52, is challenging Leticia Flores DeWilde in the Nov. 5 election.

“I have four different children, four children who successfully went through our elementary school, our middle school, our high school, four different learners, equally successful. I would like to see everyone in our district have the same opportunity that we had,” she said.

Her reasons for running include the fact that her children wanted her to, but also because she thinks she represents something useful for the school board at this time.

“As a 20-year resident, a 20-year taxpayer, an active school participant and community member, I feel I bring a voice to not only our region, but to all of the community…In my time in the district, I have seen six principals, three superintendents, two renovations and one redistricting. I feel it is critical to bring this experience to the board because it is looking very likely we will see many again,” she said.

She added that her experience, coupled with experiences from other members of the community, good decisions would be possible “that all of us will feel we have a say in, all of us will feel comfortable.”

Daniels did not specify anything particular that she thinks the board has failed to do or anything it has done that she thinks is wrong. She said that she would have more access to the facts and conversations if she were on the board, and that she would make sure there were open, honest and direct relationships.

“That is what I will be bringing to the board,” she said, “complete transparency. The people have a right to know what’s going on. The board has a right to know what the people want. I see my role as a director as a representative.”

She acknowledged that her opponent has an “outstanding” education and work background, but “I’m not 100 percent sure what contributions she’s made to the community.”

What sets Daniels apart, she said, is her level of involvement in the community and that while she agrees with her opponent that research is important, “Research combined with the community’s perspectives, ideas, feelings and opinions makes a critical difference. And certainly, being involved in the community, involved in the school, I feel that I can represent all of our community, not just a small segment.”

Getting in matters of schoolwork, Daniels said there needs to more study of curriculum changes. She specifically mentioned math curriculum that she’s seen change several times as her four children have gone through district schools.

”My level of involvement, knowing the community because I’m a part of the community a long time and going through each of the schools, I think I’m in a very good position to know how each step enables you to be better prepared for what comes after,” Daniels said.

She added that while trying new things is good, the board should never lose sight of its primary objective of providing the best possible education.

Daniels said she wants complete transparency on the board with open, honest and direct communication between members and residents. She also wants to be accessible to the community so people feel they count and have a say in what matters most to them.

She considers herself to be an independent thinker and a consensus builder.

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Chadds Ford GOP told ‘act like we’re going to lose’

Local News

With the November general election three weeks away, the Chadds Ford Republican Party began rallying the troops behind county and local candidates during its annual luncheon.

Frank Murphy, Republican candidate for Chadds Ford Township supervisor, takes questions from fellow Republicans at a luncheon at Brandywine Catering.

The party’s urgency to get the voters to the polls was made clear when tax collector and party executive committee member Valerie Hoxter said of the election: “It’s not going to be a squeaker, but we have to act like we’re going to lose so we don’t.”

While candidates for Delaware County Council, sheriff, registrar of wills and Court of Common Pleas judgeships were on hand, the major focus was on races for school board director and township supervisor.

Carolyn Daniels, running for school board, spoke only briefly and left the event early. Most of the discussion, however, surrounded Frank Murphy and his race for supervisor against Democrat Rhona Klein.

During a question and answer session, one person said he knew nothing about Klein while another said a win for her would be “disastrous.”

Murphy declined to criticize his opponent, saying he would rather discuss his objectives.

He said he has three primary reasons for running: development, volunteers and communications.

Much like the supervisor he hopes to succeed, Deborah Love, Murphy said he wants to improve the level of communication between township government and the residents of Chadds Ford. He suggested the possibility of setting up a communications center through which there could be e-mail based discussions on agenda items that the board would be considering.

He also suggested the possibility of a podcast replay of some sections of the supervisors’ meetings. Those podcasts could be put on the township Web site or e-mailed to people.

Murphy said he would like to see the municipal building become more of a volunteer center where residents could gather to address issues. He said there are many good volunteers in the township, but wants to see more people volunteer for projects.

But leading his list of concerns is that of development in the township. The best approach, he said, is to “look at the township from 10,000 feet up.”

He explained that development plans should be reviewed, not just individually, but in connection with each other and that decisions should be made by envisioning how the township would look in another 10 years from that

Candidates for Court of Common Pleas, Richard Cappel;li and William "Chip" Mackrides. address Chadds Ford Republicans. — Candidates for Court of Common Pleas, Richard Cappelli, left, and William “Chip” Mackrides, right, address Chadds Ford Republicans.

10,000-foot altitude.

Daniels gave a short address saying she is thrilled to be the endorsed candidate for school board and acknowledged her bid against Leticia Flores DeWilde “will be a tough race.”