WC Borough Committee Members,

It is my pleasure to announce that our own Cassandra Jones will be seeking the endorsement of the Chester County Democratic Committee as a candidate for the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, District 156.

We are fortunate to have her running in this important race against Dan Truitt. Please join me in wishing Cassandra well as she begins this new chapter.

And, Cassandra, on behalf of the West Chester Democratic Committee, may I offer you our full support and enthusiasm.  Please let us know how we can help!

Gas companies employing a form of drilling known as “hydrofracking” have contaminated PA’s water supply with benzene, toluene, formaldehyde and other dangerous contaminants in the process; dumped under-treated wastewater in rivers and streams from the Monongahela to Neshaminy Creek.

The drilling happening across Pennsylvania will continue to affect our environment as long as Pennsylvania allows gas companies to drill wherever they want. At this point, our Governor wants to take away a local municipality’s right to create zoning ordinances to curb fracking activity, and the legislature refuses to impose an impact fee on the gas industry to help pay for future environmental consequences. So once again, taxpayers will be left with the clean-up bill.

That’s why I signed a petition to The Pennsylvania State House, The Pennsylvania State Senate, and Governor Tom Corbett.

Will you sign this petition?

Please click and sign now:

http://signon.org/sign/demand-a-moratorium-on-1?source=s.em.mt&r_by=2033857

Thanks!
Barb
Barbara McIlvaine Smith

West Chester Mayor Carolyn Comitta wrote a letter to the President in preparation for Tuesday’s State of the Union address.

Dear President Obama:

Thank you for inviting me and other local and state elected officials across the country to join you and your staff for a conference call in preparation for your State of the Union Address. As the time ran out, you requested that those of us, who did not have an opportunity to speak in person during the call, email our input to you.

As per your request, I am honored to bring you regards and to share some insights from the citizens of the historic Borough of West Chester, PA.

West Chester is located about 30 miles west of the city of Philadelphia. We are the County Seat of Chester County, and nationally recognized for our historic preservation, our small town charm, our premier state university, and our excellent hospital. We serve as a regional urban hub for services such as financial, government, higher education, health care, culture, entertainment and the arts.

In spite of our vibrant downtown and our lovely neighborhoods, and enjoying the nickname, “the perfect town”, West Chester faces critical challenges similar to core communities across the state and the country. Reeling under the effects of the recent recession, saddled with archaic state laws and facing ever-dwindling federal, state and county monies, West Chester’s financial future is in jeopardy. Our severely aging infrastructure is crumbling, and our “rainy day” fund disappearing quickly, as the effects of the recession linger and become the “new normal”….

continue reading at West Chester Patch

West Chester Mayor Carolyn Comitta released a copy of the legal brief filed as part of a petition to the State Supreme Court via e-mail Tuesday. Mayor Comitta will testify before the Supreme Court on Monday Jan. 23.

Recently, the Pennsylvania Legislature approved a plan that would redraw the lines for the state’s legislative districts. According to this new plan the Borough of West Chester would be split between two districts.

Currently, West Chester borough resides in one district.

The brief, prepared by attorney Sam Stretton, argues that the new redistricting plan for West Chester violates the state constitution….

keep reading and download the legal submission at West Chester Patch

Dear Neighbors:

Attached you will find the Brief that has been filed in our challenge to the recent state house redistricting/splitting of the Borough of West Chester.

There are eleven parties in this legal petition including the Mayor, and Borough Council President, Holly Brown. The parties include residents from Democratic, Republican and Independent parties.

No tax dollars are being used to fund this appeal. Expenses are either being donated, or paid for by the Democratic Party.

The appeal will be heard before the State Supreme Court in Harrisburg on January 23rd. West Chester Attorney, Sam Stretton, is the attorney representing the parties and has donated his time to prepare this Brief. He is also representing the parties in the Borough of Phoenixville appeal of their redistricting.

I will be in attendance at the hearing in support of our petition, along with several others. The hearings are public and all are welcome to attend.

Borough Council voted unanimously to urge the State Reapportionement Commission to keep the Borough in one house district. Council and the Mayor and many others believe that the splitting of the Borough of West Chester into two state house legislative districts (instead of being totally in one, the 156th) is a violation of the state constitution, is an act of racial discrimination, and is generally not in the best interest of the residents of the Borough of West Chester, and the residents of the municipalities for whom West Chester serves as an urban service hub. Details can be found in the Brief attached here.

Please understand that the Borough will remain “the Borough” and will not be divided for local governance in any way. Borough Council will serve the people of West Chester as they always have and Borough government will remain the same. The split is solely between state legislative house districts – with the residents of the northern half of West Chester served by one state representative, and the residents living in the southern half of the Borough served by another house representative who represents primarily Delaware County (again, details in Brief).

If you have any questions please feel free to email me any time. We will keep you informed of the proceedings and the eventual outcome of our challenge.

Best regards,
Carolyn

Carolyn T. Comitta
Mayor of West Chester

download: West Chester Election Challenge to Reapportionment Plan (Supreme Court Brief)

It was with great dismay that I read the article on page 2 of the Jan. 3 edition regarding the employment of Jeffrey T. Sultanik as the negotiator for the West Chester Area School District. I view this decision as a substantial abrogation of public trust and betrayal of those financially conscious voters who put them in office.

Why, after running on platforms of business savvy and negotiation skills, would those newly elected school board officials waste what amounted to almost a quarter of a million dollars (approximately $70,000 for Mr. Sultanik and $150,000 for the PR firm that he brings with him) to do the job that they were hired to do at no additional cost to the taxpayers?

What adds insult to injury is that, as stated in the article, no other candidates were considered or interviewed, nor do all of the board members have any experience, personal or professional, with Mr. Sultanik.

There were no bids. There was no search. They just decided to throw away $250,000 of the taxpayers’ money.

By the way, that number is what his services cost the district in 2002. I’m sure that the cost has risen in the intervening 10 years. At $200 an hour, I’m sure that Mr. Sultanik is very appreciative of the bounty that the WCASB has dropped in his lap and has already started his billable hours.

If this is their first decision, how can we trust them to run a district that educates our children in a first-rate manner?

WILLIAM C.E. ANDERSON
West Chester

“I’m Ben, I’m a person. I’m Jerry, I’m a person. Ben & Jerry’s ice cream? Not a person.”

A Petition to Support the SAVING AMERICAN DEMOCRACY AMENDMENT

CLICK HERE to go to sanders.senate.gov/ to hear Senator Sanders and ADD YOUR NAME to the Petition.

Sen. Bernie Sanders has proposed a constitutional amendment that would overturn the Supreme Court decision in a case called Citizens United vs. FEC.

The Saving American Democracy Amendment states that:

• Corporations are not persons with constitutional rights equal to real people.
• Corporations are subject to regulation by the people.
• Corporations may not make campaign contributions or any election expenditures.
• Congress and states have the power to regulate campaign finances.

CLICK HERE to go to sanders.senate.gov/ to hear Senator Sanders and ADD YOUR NAME to the Petition.

West Chester Mayor Carolyn Comitta spoke with members of the Pennsylvania redistricting committee the day before Thanksgiving to ask the committee to reconsider splitting West Chester into two legislative districts.

Currently, the whole borough resides in legislative district 156. The new plan would split the borough between 156 and 160, and it would even split West Chester University where some dorm buildings would be in 156 and others would be in 160.

The new district line would also put half of the borough into the same district that mostly represents Delaware County even though West Chester shares no borders with communities in Delaware County.

View video at West Chester Patch

The north side of Union Street in West Chester, left, will now be part of the 156th District in the state House, while the south side will be part of the 160th District. Redistricting has split the borough into two districts. Staff photo by Tom Hope

The Pennsylvania state House and Senate seats for the next election cycle were finalized on Monday and despite opposition from local officials West Chester remains split between two representatives.

The 1st, 2nd, 6th and 7th wards will be a part of the 156th District, which previously encompassed the entire borough and is currently represented by Republican Dan Truitt. The 3rd, 4th and 5th wards will now be part of the 160th District, a seat held by Republican Stephen Barrar. The legislative districts are final pending any legal challenges that can be filed in the courts.

West Chester Mayor Carolyn Comitta and representatives from East Bradford and West Chester University testified before the legislative redistricting committee in Harrisburg in November, urging members to keep the borough and East Bradford as whole municipalities within a single district. East Bradford has also been split between the 156th and 160th.

Most of West Chester University will be part of the 160th, which is predominantly in Delaware County.

“It would be an anomaly for half of the borough, the seat of Chester County, to be moved to a Delaware County district,” Comitta said at the redistricting hearings last month. “It is certainly not a good idea to split a county seat, especially one that is an urban center providing a myriad of essential services for the region.”…

read more at Daily Local News