Councilman: Vote for Who is Right for Lansdale, Not for GOP

Mike Sobel is an incumbent Republican councilman in Lansdale Borough. He is running for re-election and is facing a battle in the Primary. He and incumbent Republican Councilman Dan Dunigan were not endorsed by the Lansdale Republican Club. Lansdale Republican Club Chairman Frank Bartle has not returned emails seeking comment. - Ed.

Fellow residents of Lansdale, my name is Mike Sobel. I am a current, sitting borough councilman representing Lansdale’s Ward Two.

Our town is at a crossroads, coming upon us very quickly on May 21 of this year. Yes, it’s Primary Day.

I will be running for re-election this term as a Republican candidate. However, I am not the candidate endorsed by the local Republican Club.  I was unceremoniously “disinvited” to any of their future meetings by Mr. Frank Bartle, the club’s chairman.

I’ve been ostracized for not being a very good club member by not attending meetings or promoting Republican interests.  However, it seems quite interesting to me that the candidate they have chosen to endorse in this election, Tom Work, was the president of the Citizens For A Better Lansdale PAC, which I ran under last time as part of a bi-partisan team looking out for the good of our town and not the interests of any political party.

I guess Mr. Work now waves the Republican flag? Only he can answer that. 

At the club’s recent endorsement meeting, to which I was invited, I was rather vehemently chastised and called an utter failure as a councilman by Mr. Bartle.  I knew I had little chance of gaining an endorsement going in, but I didn’t expect the entire meeting to be a very carefully choreographed and orchestrated inquisition conducted by a very skilled attorney like Mr. Bartle.

Needless to say, after about 20 minutes of this, there was no chance anyone in that room was going to think I was a good candidate.  My mention of a 30 percent reduction in crime by investing in our police department, a borough with a balanced budget, more efficient and structured management and restored hours, and aggressive, successful fundraising at our library, among other things that I had a hand in, were quickly dismissed or glazed over.

Also, as of yet, I still haven’t received the courtesy of a phone call or e-mail telling me I didn’t get the endorsement. Regardless of the opinions of Mr. Bartle and the Republican Club, I have always put Lansdale first and will continue in that capacity.

The true criticism of anyone who holds public office comes from those he or she represents, not from members of a local political club or committee. That’s the crossroads Lansdale now faces: The electorate must make a choice of the direction Lansdale takes.

It must look at the candidate and what they represent as well as their accomplishments while in office and not the will of a political party. I’ll also be completely truthful here and tell you I don’t have all the answers either. No one has that vision, although there are some huge egos running or propping up candidates in this election that display the sheer arrogance of saying that they do.

Look at Washington D.C., folks. Our nation faces many challenges. There’s much to be done, but party politics just get in the way. The Democrats blame Bush and Congress. The Republicans blame Obama. All the while nothing gets done and they just keep pointing fingers at each other. No one just says that mistakes were made, let’s just fix them and move on!

In my entire time on council, I’ve tried to do just that: fix problems and not fix blame. At the 311 West Main Task Force’s first meeting, I announced publicly that we were not here to bash or blame anyone for the mess that this current council inherited; we were here to try to fix it. That’s it. More to come on that later.

Once all the political rhetoric, explanations and promises are made, it all boils down to what is right for Lansdale and its residents no matter what party they are members of. 

You must choose. If you decide that Sobel has done a bad job and decide not to allow me to get past the Primary in May, I can accept that. I will serve out the rest of my term to the best of my abilities and step aside. I’ll offer no apologies and simply say that I did the absolute best that I could.  But I would be extremely disappointed if I was passed over because people think that the interests of some political party and the candidate they chose to put up is going to do what is best for them.  

If a recent vote on the biggest private investment toward revitalization in Lansdale’s history is any indication of what my opponent Mr. Work is looking out for, it’s sure not the best interests of our town. Yes, Mr. Work voted against the Madison Lot project. His reason when questioned about it was “no comment.”

I think Mr. Work needs to explain how he thinks a privately-funded revitalization project by a fully-vetted management company like Equus, working in concert with SEPTA, that has the potential of generating three quarters of a million dollars of annual revenue for the borough, is bad for Lansdale. As a resident of Lansdale myself, I’d like to know why too.

It’s in your hands now folks. I hope and pray you vote for whom you think is the best person to represent you and not a representative of a political party and its interests. You’ll be hearing more from me soon. Except for going away for college, I’ve lived in Lansdale all of my life. That’s over 50 years folks.  I have no desire to be anywhere else. I’ll die here. I love this town and Lansdale first is my priority!

MIKE SOBEL
Lansdale Borough Councilman, Ward II