Frank Murphy – ChaddsFordLive.com

New supervisor floats controversial proposals

Chadds Ford Township’s brand new Supervisor Frank Murphy wound up advocating a plan objected to by a longstanding supervisor. And he has another proposal in the wings.

Judge Linda Cartisano conducted the swearing in ceremony during the Jan. 6 organization meeting. Murphy’s wife, Anna Marie, held the bible and his daughters were in the audience as Murphy swore to uphold and protect the US and state constitutions.( See photo.) Also sworn in was Valerie Hoxter as township tax collector.

During the hour-long organizational session — mandated by state law — supervisors made appointments to various committees and passed several resolutions so the board can conduct township business during 2014.

But the board also passed a motion to have supervisors’ meetings recorded. The vote was 2-1 in favor with Supervisor George Thorpe casting the no vote.

Thorpe said recording the sessions costs money and creates more work for township secretary Matt DiFillipo. People who want to listen to the recordings must file a Right to Know request, Thorpe said, adding that the recordings make no sense since they are not official. Only the minutes taken by the secretary are official.

Supervisor Keith Klaver, elected as chairman for this year, agreed that the recordings would not be official, but they would “facilitate matters.”

Murphy said the audio recordings would not be a burden, that they would actually protect the township and that the hardware is inexpensive.

After the motion passed, Murphy said he would propose — during a future meeting — to video the meetings and podcast them. Video recordings and podcasts were part of Murphy’s campaign for supervisor last year.

Among other organizational matters, the board voted on a meeting schedule for this year. That schedule will be posted on the township Web site. Supervisors also agreed to seek $10,000 in county aid for the road program and to pay more than $40,000 for the contract with Concordville Fire Co.

The board agreed to form a new Strategic Planning Committee and to reinstate a Financial Advisory Board. Members will be appointed at a later date.

Unlike previous years, the board did not conduct routine business during the first meeting of the year. Instead, the board will hold another meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 14 at 7 p.m.

The board did hold a brief workshop during which it agreed on agenda items for that Jan. 14 meeting. The agenda is to include consideration for the Brandywine Mills project — known as the Wegman’s development — and to establish a date for public input on the possibility of a gun range on Smithbridge Road.

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Murphy takes the Ford, Daniels the board

Along the Ford

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.

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No Q&A at candidates’ night in Chadds Ford

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Frank-&-Rhona — No Q&A at candidates’ night in Chadds Ford

Chadds Ford voters had a chance to hear from candidates for supervisor during a candidates’ night at Turner’s Mill last week. Candidates for various offices introduced themselves briefly, but the major focus was on Rhona Klein and Frank Murphy, the Democratic and Republican Party candidates to replace Deborah Love as supervisor.

Klein and Murphy each gave a brief speech outlining their backgrounds and their reasons for running. There was no debate, nor was there any formal question and answer session with the audience. Klein said that was at her request because she wanted to keep the evening informal.

However, Chadds Ford Live did have the opportunity to ask them each one question in a one-on-one interview. Both candidates were asked the same question — What would you need to know in order to make a decision on the YMCA and K. Hovnanian Homes requests for zoning changes?

Klein, who has a background in environmental issues and township management, said she needs to see the actual plans.

“I’d have to really understand the schematics,” she said, “the egress, how the traffic flow is going. I don’t have enough information now. I want an engineer to review those plans, to tell me the good, the bad and the ugly about the traffic patterns. I want traffic studies to be done. I don’t want old traffic studies. I feel that if they put in a plan, and they want to come in, the onus is on them to do what we request, which are the traffic studies. Can they really stop trucks coming through? Is there a safety issue? All these things have to be addressed by professionals, by engineers before I make any decisions.”

Klein added that she wants more information from the YMCA about how many people would be members of a possible Chadds Ford branch.

She also stressed she wants to see a plan before deciding on a possible zoning change.

“Absolutely because the whole zoning change is to allow them. Who else is going to go there? Why would I say ‘yeah, you can go there’ and then find the plan that has all these issues?”

Murphy, an attorney with two engineering degrees, also referenced details.

“First, there is a difference in the requests being made. The YMCA is seeking a text amendment allowing a nonprofit community center, K. Hovnanian Homes is seeking a zoning change,” Murphy said.

“What I would need on both of them, first off is the precedent. What would happen if it was [sic] decided that each of these projects was good to have a zoning change? What precedent would that set for the rest of the township, for other properties? What would the text amendment allow for other sites in the township? What other variances or special exceptions would have to be granted and what is the impact on the neighbors and the community as a whole? I’m very concerned about traffic issues and very concerned about noise issues. We have to analyze those things and go from there,” Murphy said.

During the opening remarks, done publicly, both candidates reviewed their backgrounds and goals.

Klein said she’s well versed in environmental, budgeting, recycling and stormwater management issues.

“You name it, I’ve done,” she told the packed house.

Chadds Ford’s Recycling Task Force and annual recycling event were some of her initiatives.

“I’m passionate about environmental issues. I drank the green Kool-Aid before it was cool to be green,” she said.

Klein said the area is besieged by development and that supervisors should be critical in determining which plans could be detrimental. She also said that she would listen to all points of view, but that special interest should not take priority.

Of special concern to her is that township hires — both employees and volunteer committee people — should be based on qualification. She said for too long have the same people been appointed to various committees.

“Real progress will only come through openness and transparency…We need a government free of cronyism,” Klein said.

Murphy, too, said he wants to listen to everyone and that improving communication is one of his key goals. Supervisors need to ask, and get answers for the question, “what do you think,” he said.

He reiterated previous comments that there should be an e-mail newsletter where people can discuss issues and that podcasts of township meetings would also be a good idea.

He also wants to bring back the Financial Advisory Board. He said that if that board had been active, it might have caught the fact that many businesses in the township had not been billed Business Privilege Taxes for a seven-year period.

His primary concern is with development and said the board of supervisors needs to make sure developments are responsibly done.

“Supervisors must be able to dig into the details of a development and view the township from 10,000 feet in the air,” he said.

Murphy used that theme previously, explaining that supervisors need to plan with foresight, seeing the effects of all potential developments together, not just one at a time.

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

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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.”

Carolyn Daniels, running for school board from Region C, talks with Jay Patel at the GOP lunch.

She added: “I’m all about the community…I want to put balance back on the board and continue [the district’s] excellence.”

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Sestak helps kickoff Klein campaign

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Sestak-523 — Sestak helps kickoff Klein campaign

Rhona Klein kicked off her campaign for Chadds Ford supervisor with a fund-raiser plus meet and greet at her home on May 29. Among the roughly two-dozen attendees was former U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak who is looking to challenge U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey in the 2016 senatorial election.

Rhona Klein

Klein will face Republican Frank Murphy in the November general election.

One of the themes brought up was that of frustration. Both Klein and her campaign manager, Jesse Sheppard, said there is frustration in the township, even with among Republicans, over some of the things that have transpired.

Klein said much of that has to do with the hiring of a township manager who she has called incompetent and ill prepared for the job. She said that situation cost the township hundreds of thousands of dollars in uncollected taxes.

“The frustration is with the incompetence of the supervisors overseeing the township staff. You appoint people who are ill prepared, unqualified to be in a very important position and they upset people. Yes, Joe Barakat is gone, but he was removed after Republicans got outraged and complained,” she said.

Klein’s candidacy this year was somewhat opportunistic. She lost to Deborah Love in 2007, but Love did not get the Republican Party endorsement for another term. That endorsement went to Murphy instead.

The Democrat said she would not have run if Love, a two-term supervisor, were seeking re-election because Love helped Klein out with personal family matter.

That, however, was not the only reason Klein chose to run.

“I was very upset by what was happening as I find out more and more about the situation with the $450,000 in uncollected taxes…When I heard Deborah wasn’t running, it put me over,” she said.

Klein thinks she can bring much to the table during the election. She said her strong points include 15 years of experience working for local governments, a master’s degree in public administration and believes she is well versed in issues that face local governments, including environmental, personnel and budgeting issues.

According to Sheppard, the night was a simple kickoff for the campaign to help get Klein’s name out, let people know she’s running and, of course, to raise some money.

Sheppard said there was no monetary goal in mind for the event, and said the campaign is in good shape now, but there will be more competition for money from county candidates as the election draws closer.

He said it’s also important for the campaign to reach out to Republicans.

“In the school board election, we won because people were frustrated, legitimately frustrated parents who were independents and Republicans and they supported us. We have to do the same thing here because there are just as many legitimate reasons to be frustrated with the way the Republicans have been running the township.”

He also said that there are many Republicans who “pride themselves on splitting their vote, who really do weigh the candidates and don’t just always vote the party. It’s part of their DNA and that bodes well for us if we can figure out how to find them.”

Sestak was on hand to support Klein.

“Not as a Democrat. I’m out here because what she speaks about is being an American before you’re partisan [sic] to the point where you work together as a community. That kind of principled compromise is absent in elected officials today,” Sestak said.

Speaking briefly about his own future, the retired admiral and former two-term representative said he’s serious about running for the U.S. Senate again. He’s established an exploratory to that end.

“I believe the greatest harm to Pennsylvania is the lack of the Senate to govern,” Sestak said, “because they never act unless there’s a crisis. Therefore, we’re going from crisis to crisis, lurching from crisis to crisis and that’s lost the trust of Americans.”

Sestak lost to Toomey in 2010.

Feature photo: Retired admiral and former U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak addresses a gathering of Rhona Klein supporters.

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School board to vote twice on teachers’ contract

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Do-&-Murphy — School board to vote twice on teachers’ contract

Unionville-Chadds Ford School District directors ratified a tentative teachers’ contract during their May 20 meeting — and will do so again on June 10. The 7-2 vote came four days after the teachers overwhelmingly approved the plan.

The reason for the second vote — to be held during the next work session — is because of a language change regarding the work schedule. Part of the agreement changes two half-days to full days of instruction. That change is not reflected in the current wording, according to Director Frank Murphy.

The school calendar must also be amended to reflect that change.

Voting against the contract were Directors Keith Knauss and Jeff Hellrung of Region A. They held fast to their previously reported opinion that while the contract is good, it isn’t good enough.

Knauss and Hellrung wrote a letter to the editor, published last week, saying their primary concern was over the elimination of an opt-out clause in the health plan in two years.

Teachers with families can now opt out of the health plan and go with a spouse’s plan. There are currently 43 teachers who do that and they receive an extra $3,200 to do so. However, if those teachers come back into the U-CF plan, it will cost the district another $600,000 per year because the plan costs the district $15,000 per family.

Other directors spoke favorably, especially over how smoothly the negotiations went.

“I want to congratulate everyone for a job well done,” said Director Holly Manzone. “I’m delighted with how well it all worked out.”

Teachers, too, were pleased with the deal.

Unionville-Chadds Ford Education Association President Pat Clark said union members voted “overwhelmingly” to ratify the contract. He said the reason for the overwhelming reactions reflects economic reality.

“I think our teachers have a spirit of cooperation and understand that while [the economy] isn’t as bad as it used to be, things aren’t where they should be yet,” he said. “So, we were willing to compromise and the board was willing to compromise and we got a deal done.”

That deal is for two years with no raises the first year. However, all teachers will get a $900 bonus in year one and higher tiered teachers will get another $1,100 bonus in the second year. Others will get a raise in the second year based the number of graduate credits they have and the number of years in the district.

Other business

• The May 20 meeting was the last regular meeting for Murphy who is stepping down effective June 17. He is running for supervisor in Chadds Ford Township. Fellow Director Kathy Do expressed appreciation for Murphy’s professionalism, despite their philosophical differences.

Do said: “While we might have significant philosophical differences…I have come to recognize that Frank cares deeply about the district and all its constituents, from taxpayers to the teachers to the children. I found him to be thoughtful, very easy to work with even when we disagree and an asset to this board.” (See photo.)

• The board voted to approve an advertising contract with Horizon Services on the new scoreboard at the football stadium. It’s a three-year deal that will pay for the scoreboard. It also leaves space for other advertisers.

“It’s a new stream of revenue,” said Vic Dupuis.

• Hillendale Elementary School Principal Steve Dissinger announced the receipt of a $5,000 grant to be applied to rectifying the stormwater runoff problem at the school.

• The board is scheduled to vote on a 2013-2014 budget during its next regular monthly meeting set for 7:30 p.m. on Monday, June 17, in the LGI at Unionville High School.

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Murphy leaving school board

Local News

Frank Murphy, one of the three Unionville-Chadds Ford School District directors from Region C, is leaving the board effective June 17. His departure coincides with his running for Chadds Ford Township supervisor.

He announced his resignation during the April 15 meeting and said later that he will not be voting on the budget for the next school year. The budget vote is the night of June 17, but his last meeting would be the work session the week before, he said.

According to Murphy, he accomplished what he intended to do when he first ran for the school board.

“When I ran for the board originally, it was because I was concerned about the high school renovation project and the financial decisions. The project is finished and under budget. There are no problems,” he said. “I only played a small part, but I completed what I wanted to do. I think it’s a good time to step aside.”

By stepping down in June, the board can interview candidates for a temporary appointment, he said, adding that leaving in June would be in the best interest of the board.

Murphy first got on the board in a special election to replace Ed Wandersee, who moved out of the district. He then ran again two years ago for a regular term.

He is running unopposed in the May primary to be the Republican Party candidate for Chadds Ford Township supervisor. He already planned to leave the board before the current term expired if he won the general election in November.

(He will likely be facing Rhona Klein in the general election. Klein is running unopposed in the Democratic Party primary.)

Murphy is a former township commissioner from Aston and said he’s always been interested in land development issues.

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Tensions in Chadds Ford GOP could lead to loss of Love

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A rift in the Republican Party of Chadds Ford Township has a sitting supervisor wondering about switching to the Democratic Party.

Deborah Love, whose term on the Board of Supervisors is up for re-election in November, is not seeking an endorsement from the Republican Party’s Executive Committee. She sent a letter to party leader Mary Kot saying she did not want the endorsement because the committee has become exclusive and engages in cronyism.

“Exclusivity – This committee in April of last year [2012] closed its meetings to a select few excluding any Republican, elected and non-elected, who offered a different opinion or policy. Cronyism – This committee has sought to advance the personal agenda of its members as opposed to promoting the interest of the Chadds Ford Community as a whole,” she wrote.

The letter may have been anticlimactic since the committee had already voted to endorse Frank Murphy to be the Republican candidate for supervisor before she sent the letter. Murphy currently serves on the Unionville-Chadds Ford School Board and spent 10 years as township commissioner in Aston.

“We were very proactive in our efforts to seek a candidate whose primary concern would be the township,” Kot said. “We were thrilled with the responses we received and after an exhaustive process we endorsed Frank Murphy.”

Love told Chadds Ford Live that she is talking to other Republicans, Democrats and independents about her next campaign. When asked if she would change parties, Love responded by saying she’s keeping her options open.

“I hope she would not [change parties],” Kot said. “I would be disappointed if she did. We understand that Deborah would be supportive of Frank.”

Democratic Party Chairman Rob Porter said Love had not contacted him.

Love, a former member of the Executive Committee, said things began changing last spring when the committee went from eight people, down to four — the party’s committee people — Kot, Paul Koch, Valerie Hoxter and Rick Eckman.

That was a mistake, Love said, since the Republicans had lost a school board race and there was a national race in the fall. Instead of reducing the size of the group, she said, it should have been reaching out and being inclusive instead of exclusive.

According to Love, Kot stood fast to the decision. However, when it was time for the committee to interview Love for this year’s endorsement, she was interviewed by six people, not just the four committee members.

Those other two people were Bruce Prabel and Deb Reardon, former voting members of the committee who were moved to the nonvoting positions of treasurer and secretary respectively.

“It dawned on me that the only two people who were removed from the executive committee were Craig Huffman and myself,” Love said. “That was an eye-opening thought.” (Huffman is the township Planning Commission chairman.)

She said there had been disagreements on fund-raising activities for the party in 2011 and then on her campaign fund-raiser last September. Love said she learned that people were told not to attend.

“Phone calls were made to people who usually support me telling them not to support me,” Love said. “They also made phone calls saying ‘don’t go to her event.’ So it wasn’t a passive non-support, it was an active non-support.”

(At that time Kot thought it was too soon to have a fund-raiser for a 2013 election, especially with a presidential election in November.)

The Republican leader said reducing the size of the Executive Committee had nothing to do with Love. Rather, it was a matter of bringing the Chadds Ford GOP structure in line with that in other townships.

“The format we chose is what most municipalities in Delaware County use. That is the elected committee people are the voting members,” Kot said, adding that “it’s absolutely not true” that people were removed from the committee because they had different opinions.

She also said that some committee people felt it wasn’t the best idea to have a sitting supervisor on the committee.

“Members were uncomfortable with that,” Kot said.

As for cronyism and personal agendas, Love said there had been issues between herself and Hoxter, the township tax collector and former treasurer for Love’s campaigns.

Love said there were times when she had communication difficulties with Hoxter over getting campaign paperwork filed on time. In one case those problems led to a late filing. The campaign was fined $20 for that infraction.

She added that last fall’s controversy over the township manager’s salary was also a symptom. Love said that Hoxter and others wanted the manager’s salary to be in line with what other township managers got, but that they balked in January when Chadds Ford supervisors voted to reduce the tax collector’s compensation beginning next year.

“It appears that the cronyism is in support of Valerie,” Love said.

She said her opponents wanted the manager’s salary to fit the market place, but that tax collector’s salary should not. They also want to spend freely on some projects, “but scrutinize others to the penny.”

“This isn’t about Republicans and Democrats; this isn’t about politics and political parties. This is about a group of people who, in my mind, have chosen to go on a witch hunt,” said Love.

She added that people have reported difficulty in reaching Hoxter about township tax issues and that there were complaints from people saying they couldn’t reach Hoxter on sewer issues when she was treasurer for the Sewer Authority.

Hoxter responded with the following formal statement:

“Miss Love’s comments and allegations regarding cronyism and my performance are far from accurate. Sadly, it appears Miss Love has chosen to make matters personal, rather than focusing on what is in the best interest of our township.”

According to Kot, “It’s absolutely not true” that the committee is promoting any individual’s personal agenda. “We have done only what we think are the absolute best interests of the township, not even in the best interests of the Republican Party.”

Love has had the Republican Party’s backing since 2001. With the party’s endorsement, she challenged and defeated then incumbent Republican Supervisor Harvey Kliman in the spring primary that year. She ran unopposed in the general election and was, again, the endorsed candidate in 2007 when she won re-election defeating Democrat Rhona Klein that November.

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