Letter: Sobel Stands for Lansdale First

Hello friends and neighbors in Lansdale's Ward 2 (polling stations at Knapp Elementary, Elm Terrace and United Methodist Church). I just wanted to write one last note before the May 21st primary.

Very briefly I wish to cover what I've done for Lansdale Borough over the last three and a half years. It's now up to you, the voters to decide if you want me to serve another term as your Councilman. I stand for Lansdale first and not the dictates of any political party.  

There have been many things I have accomplished, with the cooperation and help of Borough staff and fellow Council Members. The first of which is one of my proudest. In 2009, Chief Bob McDyre came to me and explained the current personnel situation in the Lansdale Police Department. They were extremely understaffed and needed upgrades in equipment. We committed to Chief McDyre and the LPD to get them what they needed. Five new full-time officers were hired. Aging and mechanically challenged police vehicles were replaced.  LPD didn't let us down. Last year, with a full staff, Lansdale's crime rate was reduced by 30%. Drug dealers are being removed from our streets. Because of a full staff, last year Officer Dave Gori, while on routine patrol, made the biggest drug bust in Montgomery County by seizing over 200 pounds of marijuana. While I can't or won't take credit for any police work, I feel that by providing support to LPD, I gave them the tools they needed. The hard work and any accolades should go the officers and staff at LPD not any politician.

A huge commitment by me and others was made to our Library. We restored hours that were previously cut. For the first time in years, the Library Committee became very active. We aggressively pursued new avenues for fundraising including a trivia night. We invigorated already successful fundraising like our clean and green event and Oktoberfest. Yes, even me, as a sitting Councilman washed cars. This allowed our director, Tom Meyer to upgrade furniture and other necessities at the Library. He also added E-books, new computers and other 21st Century updates to keep our Library cutting edge.

I am also part of the team that ended deficit spending and gave the Borough a balanced budget. I voted yes to bond borrowing and refinancing to make money available for the numerous road and sewer projects over the last few years. I also voted yes to give Borough Manager Kirchner and the administration staff to go ahead to turn the Wood/Vine connector project into a resident friendly project with no seizure of private property.

I also voted to authorize many common-sense business practices to be put in place. Unlike her predecessor, our current Borough Manager has no golden parachute, open expense account or Borough owned vehicle to drive. For the first time ever, we now have an employee guideline manual that not only defines job descriptions, but more importantly, defines expectations of the jobs that employees hold. We have a coherent purchasing plan in place to watch how tax money is spent. In as many areas as possible we are going paperless to not only conserve resources, but cut expenses on printed materials. We now have available to the public, the same meeting packets we read from on the Borough website for all to see. How more open can a government be? 

Detractors have claimed that we don't go after grants. Well, the truth is quite different. In the time I have been on Council, I voted yes to give the Borough administration permission to go after and get for Lansdale, grants for over 5.8 million dollars since 2010. That's a considerable sum of money in my book. These grants have helped us with numerous projects in the Borough. There’s also more pending. We are currently applying for $500,000 of grant money to be used for repairs for 311 West Main.

There has been much more, but I don't want to make this an epic novel. I have and will continue to work hard for Lansdale. I recently heard another Councilman exclaim how he ran for Council to take care of his neighborhood. That's nice. I care about my neighborhood too. However, I've helped residents from all over town with issues, not just folks in my neighborhood. The people of Lansdale and their needs are the top priority to me. It doesn't make any difference to me where in Lansdale they live. If I'm asked for help, I do what I can and give a truthful answer. I also don't look at a voter registry to see what political party they are in before I decide to do anything. That just doesn’t matter to me.  I've lived here for over 50 years and care greatly for this town. I hope that all of you can see that I’ve been working very hard to make Lansdale the best it can be. Please keep me in mind when you cast your vote. I can’t say it enough, but I always put Lansdale first.

Mike Sobel
Lansdale Borough Councilman