Letters to the editor re: Joanne Bintliff-Ritchie and her opponent
Jenn Dix
Letters: Bintliff-Ritchie an ‘unparalleled candidate’ for Newtown Township supervisor
It’s not often that one person can be seen standing head and shoulders above another, especially when she’s shorter, but that’s clearly the case when Newtown Township Supervisor candidates Joanne Bintliff-Ritchie and Matt Benchener appear together. When their qualifications and experience are measured side-by-side, as happened this month at the Bucks County League of Women Voters’ non-partisan forum, the seasoned Bintliff-Ritchie exudes warmth, intelligence and empathy — as well as savvy that comes from having been an active observer and participant in local government for more than a decade (while her opponent was in high school).
Joanne’s 30 years of executive decision-making, fiscal management and problem-solving in the corporate world, coupled with invaluable life lessons learned while raising a family of five, including a son in the military, have prepared her well, both professionally and personally. She has the background, maturity and temperament to pay attention to the issues and to understand the people of our community. Newtown Township is fortunate to have this unparalleled candidate to vote for on Nov. 2.
Maria Myers, Newtown Township
Letters: Re-open Upper Silver Lake Road!
While it’s true that Upper Silver Lake (USL) Road was to be closed as part of the land development approval for Wiltshire Walk in 2001, that doesn’t mean it was the right thing to do. And our Republican leaders have mishandled this whole situation from day one until now.
The Republicans then on the Newtown Township Board of Supervisors and Orleans made a deal with the residents on the lower portion of USL Road to close the road in exchange for the residents not fighting the conditional use that Orleans needed. The Republican-controlled Planning Commission went along. This deal should not have been made.
The people in that neighborhood complain of trucks for two years due to nearby construction, car accidents (though police reports only show one reportable accident from 1999-2007), traffic backups at Newtown-Yardley Road and a sharp curve in the road. All of this can be said for dozens of roadways and intersections in the township, as there are other residents in similar even worse circumstances. Have we helped those residents in a similar way? No, of course not. The township is helping a select few because of their connections ... They are simply buying time to execute the formal process to vacate the road — buying it with our tax money.
The residents of Kirkwood, Wiltshire Walk and The Reserve deserve better. Numerous times over the past few years they have expressed their desire to see the road opened. So far they have only been ignored and patronized. With the road closed, residents are forced to use busy Newtown-Yardley Road to get to the businesses on the southern end of Upper Silver Lake Road.
This situation exposes the cronyism, poor judgment, poor fiscal management and disregard for residents’ needs by our Republican supervisors on the current and prior boards. Supervisors need to think of the township first and foremost. Party and allies shouldn’t matter more.
I can’t begin to tell you how disgusted I am with the local Republican Party — they sure don’t care about us. And I have been a registered Republican my entire life — and have never voted Democratic before. But that’s about to change.
Kurt Dilatush, Newtown
Letters: Republican Newtown Township supervisors ‘disgraceful’
It is disgraceful to see how the current Newtown Township Supervisor Board majority put their own political agendas before the good of the township and the residents they are supposed to be representing. Republican Party politics took precedence over appointing the best-qualified person to finish Tom Jirele’s vacated term on the Newtown Township Board of Supervisors. They appointed Matt Benchener, the Republican candidate, who is both unqualified and undeserving of this platform.
Equally disturbing is residents absent from the meeting were unable to see the opposing view expressed by several. The televised rebroadcast of the Aug. 26 meeting was mysteriously faulty and unable to be viewed during excerpts where residents on both sides of the political aisle denounced the board over Benchener’s selection.
Our citizens also deserve to have their voices heard. The Republican board majority did our township a complete disservice by ignoring several fine candidates who are already up to speed on township matters and who could have easily served in a caretaker role through year’s end.
Instead of choosing a long-time resident with more than two decades of public service expertise — including serving on the Council Rock Finance Committee and chairing Newtown Township’s Financial Planning Committee — the Republicans, with the help of the township’s Vacancy Board Chair Patricia Bachtle, selected 23-year-old Benchener. They chose to further a political career rather than select someone free of political aspirations.
The board majority selected Benchener, who has roughly six months experience serving on a finance task force and ignored the chairman of that committee. I fail to see how he was selected for this very important position when he has only lived in our township just over a year. How can he possibly know the history of our town and the best approaches for the future?
Given that he is in the midst of running a political campaign (against a much more qualified, Joanne Bintliff-Richie), in addition to commuting an hour each way to and from his job at The Vanguard Group, it makes me wonder how he will have enough time to devote to the supervisors post, or to the residents he is supposed to be serving.
On the other hand, the Finance Planning Committee chairman is a retiree who has made his home in Newtown for the last 25 years. He could have infused the board with valuable insight, been available to residents and carried out the post unhampered by work commutes and political agendas.
It is unfortunate our board majority put political aspirations ahead of the good of Newtown Township residents.
Jay Sensibaugh, Newtown
Letters: Newtown Township supervisor candidate Benchener's resume lacks depth
During the recent League of Woman’s Voters debate Matt Benchener Republican Supervisor candidate, closed with an attack on the Democrats for using dirty politics in portraying his qualifications as a candidate for Newtown Township supervisor.
Benchener felt it was unfair to let the voters know that he was a 23-year-old candidate with little experience who has lived in Newtown Township for just about one year. He seems to feel it is unfair for the Democrats to honestly portray his record instead of letting him spin a meager resume into something acceptable.
Benchener stated in the debate that he lived in Makefield for eight years while a teen and even played in the Newtown Little League. This is supposed to provide deep knowledge of Newtown Township issues First, I cannot envision what deep knowledge of Newtown Township can be gained on a Little League field. Perhaps, he learned something at the refreshment stand. In fact, he attended Johns Hopkins University for about half of the time his family lived in Makefield. If I am not mistaken, Johns Hopkins is a great asset to Baltimore where it is located. By his logic perhaps he knows much of Baltimore’s issues but this certainly would not help him in Newtown Township.
He also indicated how much practical experience he has gained in the workplace. Since he probably graduated from college at about age 22 he cannot have been employed for much over a year. In the workforce, an employee with such experience is called a newbie or even sometimes an intern.
I would hope that voters in Newtown Township realize that someone like Benchener, who inflated his resume to make himself appear qualified for office, is certainly not yet ready. Let him run again when his resume has depth rather than deception.
Neil Poppel, Newtown
Letters: Newtown Township tax collector candidate says Bintliff-Ritchie 'the only choice to lead our town forward'
Published: Tuesday, October 13, 2009
I would like to express gratitude to the League of Women Voters for hosting a two-hour candidates’ forum for Newtown Township Supervisor on Oct. 6 at the Chancellor Center. Both Democrat Joanne Bintliff-Ritchie and her opponent should be commended for taking the time to provide vital insight into each of their campaigns. In a world of blogging and Tweeting, such in-depth forums are often overlooked.
I went to the debate to listen carefully about which candidate would be the best choice for Newtown Township Supervisor, a position that requires someone with significant financial management and community involvement experience.
After hearing Bintliff-Ritchie share her ideas from 30 years of corporate management experience and her people-centered approach to managing township business -- particularly budgetary matters -- I left with a certainty that she is the only choice to lead our town forward ... and maintain a high quality of life for our families.
Despite his youthful 23 years of age, I think the Republican candidate was very engaged in the discussion and commend him on his focus.
I have many years of financial management experience plus a graduate degree in business and I am certain that Joanne Bintliff-Ritchie’s can devise creative approaches to new township revenue streams because of her decades of financial experience. She is also prepared to make tough decisions in terms of government spending and how it impacts residents’ tax dollars. She has vision.
I truly believe that Bintliff-Ritchie’s human resources executive expertise, coupled with her life experiences as a parent with children in the Council Rock School District and in the military, allows her to understand how residents may be affected by drastic cuts, or hefty tax increases, as opposed to just a reviewing a lifeless spreadsheet with numbers.
With Joanne Bintliff-Ritchie, Newtown Township is lucky to find a supervisor who cares about our residents as if they were part of her family.
As a resident, I believe our human capital is as important as our financial capital. It is about time that we elect a professional, highly qualified woman to truly represent the township’s demographics and ethos.
Elizabeth Janota, Candidate for Newtown Township Tax Collector
Letters: Supervisor Calabro: Newtown Township Republicans record in open space is 'appalling'
Published: Tuesday, October 13, 2009
I am not shocked to see our Newtown Township Board of Supervisors Chairman, Mr. Ciervo, using his usual spin and half truths for taking credit on open space preservation. In a recent letter [in a local newspaper] he said “We [Mike Gallagher and I] closed on two parcels of land just this year alone…”
What he isn’t saying is that one of those parcels, the proposed skate park, was already open space and was donated, for a dollar fee, to the township to be developed. The other parcel was seven acres on the Rockbridge property off of Route 532. The only reason the township was able to purchase this land was due to the efforts of Jerry Schenkman and I to block a development plan there back in 2007 — before our current chairman was even on the board. It should be noted that this purchase was paid for by budgeted funds and no additional taxes were necessary.
In truth, the Newtown Republicans record on open space has been appalling:
w From 1997-2008 there were no new land purchases made for open space preservation while the board was controlled by Republican majorities.
w In November 2008, voters approved a referendum to increase the Earned Income Tax for future open space purchases. Since then, no real action has been taken to preserve open space.
w Since December 2008 our Open Space Committee has been disbanded by order of our board majority.
w It is also good to know that Mr. Ciervo and Mr. Benchener share the same views on no rezoning for higher density housing. This being said even though both gentlemen live in dense housing developments. Mr. Benchener, a little over a year as a Newtown Township resident, is at Whiltshire Walk, and Mr. Ciervo lives in the largest community in Newtown, Newtown Grant, as I proudly have for 22 years. But I guess they can say one thing and mean another.
It’s time for lip service on open space to end. If elected on Nov. 3, Joanne Bintliff-Ritchie will work with the rest of the board so we can move forward with creative and proactive approaches to open space. Joanne, Jerry and I are committed to making the process transparent and driven by the input of residents — with the goal of maximizing impact and minimizing costs. It’s time for the residents of Newtown Township to have elected officials who will truly work hard on their behalf to preserve open space.
Phil Calabro, Newtown Township Supervisor