Op-Ed: Keep 'Outsiders' Out of Horsham Government

By Debbie Carr

Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Debbie Carr and my husband is Tommy Carr. Together we have made Horsham our family home for more than four decades raising nine children and three grandchildren, all of whom are products of the Hatboro-Horsham school system. 

All Horsham residents must remember the recent past when we cast our vote on Nov. 5: the attempted hostile takeover of the Willow Grove Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base by outsiders from Philadelphia, Harrisburg, Montgomery and Bucks counties.

Our current Horsham Township Council leaders stood up and fought for all of us and won local control of the redevelopment of the Willow Grove Naval Air Station for Horsham Township taxpayers. Thanks to our council, Horsham residents now control the redevelopment of the Willow Grove Base: a massive 862 acres. 

Had these outsiders from Philadelphia, Harrisburg, Montgomery and Bucks counties been successful, our quality of life and property values would have been ruined by a commercial airport.   

Now these same outsiders from Philadelphia, Harrisburg, Montgomery and Bucks counties are back again trying to take control of all Horsham residents and trying to trick us into electing their slate of candidates for council. 

Don't be fooled. 

We need to send these Philadelphia, Harrisburg, Montgomery and Bucks County outsiders a strong message from all of us Horsham residents. Our elected leaders' decisions affect all Horsham residents. Please come out and vote to re-elect our current highly qualified and proven leaders, Deborah Tustin and W. William Whiteside III on election day, Nov. 5. Deborah and William deserve our vote. They have earned it. 

We also need to elect a new highly qualified and proven leader to the Horsham Township Council this year: Tom Johnson, a 31-year resident. My husband and I personally endorse Tom Johnson as a highly qualified and honest leader. Our quality of life in Horsham is not luck. Our quality of life in Horsham is real. This is due to dedicated and qualified leaders who have worked to protect our interests, our property values, and our quality of life, and to guide our township in the right direction.

Our current elected officials in Horsham Township are the best. Horsham Township is recognized as one of the top-ranked places to live in all of America by CNN Money Magazine and one of the best places to live in Pennsylvania by US News and World Report Magazine.

I am asking all Horsham residents, homeowners, and taxpayers to please mark their calendars for this most important Election Day coming up on Nov. 5.

Thank You and we’ll see you at the polls.