Candidate for
Council Member; Township of Upper Darby; Ward 3

Biography

• 10 years of experience as an Urban Planner and Engineer working with communities in PA, NJ, and DE to develop plans to revitalize and strengthen communities
• Co-founder (along with Barbarann Keffer) of UpperDarbyRecycle.org, the organization that successfully lobbied Council in 2008 to implement single stream recycling in the Township
• Member of the American Planing Association (APA)
• Member of St. Bernadette's Church
• 6 year resident of Drexel Hill
• 14 years in the Philadlephia Area

I have four main issues/initiatives that I would like to concentrate on as a Council member. These include:

Economic Development - I want to reinvent our neighborhood commercial areas as attractive, lively, and pedestrian friendly traditional Main Streets, encouraging reinvestment and expanding our commercial tax base, allowing us to reduce the tax burden on our residents and existing businesses

Go Green to $ave Green - I want to incorporate green technology and energy conservation in our Township in order to reduce energy costs.

Smart Tax Policy - Limit residential tax rates by expanding our commercial tax base, improve housing stock in distressed areas to raise assessed values, and undertake a line by line review of the budget to eliminate wasteful spending.

Transparency and Responsiveness in Government - I want to make our government open and accountable to those it serves. I would like to do this through a variety of means including, televising Council meetings on public access TV, updating and modernizing our Township website, include e-mail addresses of all council members and department heads, impose term limits on elected officials, and distribute an annual District 3 newsletter to all residents of the district.