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Democrats are going to make a race of it in the upcoming Primary with a shower of 7 candidates.

That’s a good thing and something I’m pleased to see, even if it means I could lose in the Primary to a newcomer. At the conclusion of this election, no matter who is on Council, they can all claim they were elected to the position by popular vote. Everyone on Council will have been elected.

The excess of candidates means that people are wanting to get involved again and I would hope those who aren’t successful will volunteer for vacancies on existing Boards, or on those that need to be formed. If I should be among the unsuccessful I plan on offering my services in other areas and hope others will take the same path.

A change seems to be taking place in West Easton and I hope the trend continues. The 2015 election might have woken people up to the fact that West Easton isn’t the Good ol’ Boys Club it used to be. That anyone, even a 20+ year councilperson, can be replaced if they are seen to be lording over voters, rather than serving those who put them in office.

With this many people in the Democrat primary it is hard to believe that it was less than 3 years ago, in 2014, when Kelly Gross and Tom Nodoline had a hard time finding anyone to fill a vacancy by appointment. Councilman Charlie Stout’s death was kept secret for months while Kelly and Tom sought someone they wanted to appoint, putting out his nameplate and telling people, “Charlie won’t make it tonight” at one Council meeting.

That embarrassment was followed up the next month with the appointment of Mr. Vernon Moore. A “Super Voter,” as he was described by Tom Nodoline, who selected him by chance when he arrived at the Municipal Building to pay his sewer bill, so the story goes. Asked if he was a Democrat, he responded he was and thus became the chosen appointee over Mr. Robert Lewis, who also sought the vacant seat. Robert Lewis went on to win a seat on Council, by election, in 2015.

And the rain isn’t just Democrat men seeking a seat on Council in November. Two women Democrats have filed their petitions to appear in the Primary on May 16th.

Of the three challengers, Jeff Beidinger Jr., Bobby-Jo Bonners, and Desiree Lake, I am only familiar with one. I work with Bobby-Jo at CIU 20. They are seeking any of the four seats on Council up for election in November, challenging Incumbents Dan DePaul, Paul James, Tom Nodoline, and my own seat being the fourth.

I will be definitely be endorsing one of them over incumbent Councilman Tom Nodoline, the last die-hard of the Kelly Gross administration and part of West Easton’s Computergate scandle, but have yet to make a decision. Though I know Ms. Bonners, that doesn’t necessarily mean I won’t be supporting another challenger over Nodoline.

I’d like to hear what all the newcomers have to say first. Why they are running, what they hope to accomplish during the 4 years they would serve, what their major concerns are, and how they plan to fix any problems they believe exists.

I’m also hoping to get some information from all three challengers on how they lean on some hot topic issues, such as police protection for residents. I will be contacting them before the Primary, offering them the opportunity to have their individual unedited messages posted on this website.

It is a good thing that there are challengers in an election primary. While it shows that West Easton might be regaining some interest in their borough affairs, probably the most important is the fact that Incumbents like myself don’t become complacent over the long-term. If we want to remain on Council then we have to prove that we are doing our jobs and working for the betterment of our community.

Personally, I welcome them to the Primary and thank them all for taking enough of an interest in our Borough to run for public office.