Please consider this before you vote
Jenn Dix
I want to share my editorial letter that was printed this past week in the Courier Times. It explains why I am crossing party lines to support Steve Santarsiero for State Rep in the Newtown-Yardley area. I know both Steve and his opponent personally. I cannot have much respect for his opponent as he has supported detrimental developments here in Newtown and has blatantly misrepresented facts to residents. I'm tired of it, quite frankly.
I know it's tempting to "vote the bums" out. Please don't jump to that conclusion with respect to this race. Steve has been in office since last January after we had a Rep for 16 years who did not listen to residents and was part of the infamous pay-raise scandal in Harrisburg among other things. Steve has been working to reform Harrisburg. He can be trusted to listen to residents and work hard in a bipartisan manner. I fear his opponent will quickly take us back to the corrupt "good ole boys" days where Party takes precedence over the best interests of we the People.
Finally I suggest you go to Steve's website: <http://www.stevesantarsiero.com>. There you will see his position on many issues including Marcellus Shale gas drilling and teacher strikes. Please feel free to forward this information to those on your email list who live in the Newtown-Yardley area.
No matter who you choose to vote for, I hope you will exercise that right to vote on Tuesday November 2. This race in particular will probably be very close. Your vote truly can make a difference.
Sincerely,
Jen Dix
Jen Dix LTE - Courier Times, October 2010
My family has lived in Newtown Township for 18 years – the past 6 in a new development called Wiltshire Walk. Shortly after moving in, my neighbors and I discovered the ill-willed plan to build the massive (2,000 employees) Brandywine office complex next door and feed the traffic right through the middle of our neighborhood. We were even more devastated to read in the traffic study that our neighborhood street was slated to become a bypass to the Newtown Bypass. The residents in the older neighborhood behind us did not have to worry about the impact of traffic, because they had their public road closed – no surprise that I would later learn of their close ties to the local Republican “good ole boys”.
I first met Rob Ciervo when he was a resident who publicly and fully supported the high-density Brandywine development, despite the fact that it would have meant our kids dodging thousands of cars coming through our neighborhood everyday and residents having another light and more congestion on the Bypass. I still have the email he sent my husband and I convincing us Brandywine was not so bad. Then we learned he was part of a local Supervisor campaign and that the campaign’s Party took two large contributions from a VP of Brandywine. No wonder he was trying to promote their destructive plan! It was one of the most blatant pay-to-play antics I’ve seen in local politics. Thankfully, we successfully fought the project and all of Newtown is far better off – both in terms of traffic and revenue – with the age 55+ homes that are being built instead.
I have watched how Rob has conducted himself over the years – especially during his campaign for Supervisor in 2007. I have never seen anyone twist or bend the truth more than he does. He has a PhD in psychology and he uses it well to craft his spin into what will get him elected. His partisan antics as Supervisor have divided the community rather than uniting us for the common good. Rob also claims that because he was born and raised here that somehow makes him a superior candidate. Well, we had a Newtown native in charge here for years – Skip Goodnoe – who was instrumental in the local Republican good ole boys putting party interests over those of residents. They sugar-coated their detrimental plans to sell them to the public or, even worse, shoved them down our throats when we protested - as was the case with Brandywine. Protecting the community's heritage was not Skip’s priority despite being born and raised here. Sometimes people who move here appreciate and fight harder to keep the unique character we love about our town.
This is why I find it easy to say no to Rob Ciervo and cross party lines to say yes to Steve Santarsiero. As a Lower Makefield Supervisor for six years and State Representative since last year, Steve has proven to me that:
· He can be trusted to do the right thing on behalf of residents to ensure our quality of life.
· He works hard for everyone – not just those in his own party.
· He is willing to fight for reform in Harrisburg, even if it means going against his own party leadership.
That’s the kind of leader I can wholeheartedly support.