Low Turnout, High Expectations in Lansdale Council Races

Lansdale Borough Council Ward One incumbent Democrat Mary Fuller braved the hot afternoon—and an early morning—to meet and greet voters at the polls at Penndale Middle School Tuesday.

"I would have liked to have seen a greater turnout," she said, "but I'm hoping people will come later."

Fuller is being challenged for her seat and another Ward One seat by two Democrats, Jeff Howard and Joe Wolf.

"This is typical of a Primary at the local level," she said of the slow day. "As I go door to door, I say, 'This is the one where your vote counts more than anything.' It all comes down to the numbers that come out."

The woman who brought fireworks to Lansdale, as head of nonprofit Discover Lansdale,  trustd her record and service to put her over the top Tuesday.

"I'm feeling as good as can be," she said. "It's in the hands of the voters."

Over at York Avenue Elementary, the hotly-contested and critical Ward Three race for two open seats found a nice crowd outside the North Penn school.

Democratic candidate Liz Troy was sitting in the sun.

"I think it's about 160 here," she said, referencing the turnout (and not the humid weather). "For a Primary, it's to be expected."

Troy said she spent her weekend canvassing neighborhoods over the weekend in preparation for Tuesday.

"I got very positive responses," she said. 

Friends of Lansdale-endorsed Troy said that should she win and her running mate Leon Angelichio lose, and end up campaigning with Lansdale First-endorsed Bob Willi or Richard Strahm, it would be interesting.

"The interesting qustion is how will we both react to that?" she said.

Strahm said the candidates were very lucky to be at York Avenue.

"From what I hear, we have one of the best turnouts in the borough," he said. "I think when you look at how many candidates are here right now, that's a big part of it."

Strahm said the question wasn't if he was going to win: it was who's going to win with him?

"You have to look at the leadership of Friends of Lansdale and what they are willing to do," he said. "I hope any Democrats that win the Primary would have the full support of the Lansdale Democratic committee."

Ward Three Republican incumbent Dan Dunigan agreed that the Ward 3-3 polling station "dwarfs" everybody else.

"I recognize plenty of Republicans coming through, and the other part is, I have just as many friends that are registered Democrats," he said. "I either win or I don’t. I'm running on things that I've done, not the things somebody thinks I should have done."

Dunigan said he also doesn't run on the lies people made up about him.

"We could debate all we want. You don’t like consultants. OK. I have a preference for them. I work in a business that utilizes them, but you want to say I've already spent $4 million on the art center. That’s a lie. You can tell me it's political hyperbole, but root to lie."

Dunigan said other lies include his plan to tear down borough hall. He said that is to be used purely as a cost comparison. Anything else, he said, is a lie. 

As far as working with Republican challengers Peter Schmitt and Walter "Cory" Brown III, Dunigan said they have to cross the bridge first.

And what about a Lansdale Republican Club endorsement?

"Will they choose to throw me under the bus a second time? I don’t know. We’ll have to see," he said.

Angelichio was holding down the fort over at Trinity Lutheran Church, alongside Lansdale First candidate Bob Willi.

"This is the slowest I've seen it, and I've been involved in it for quite some time," he said.

Angelichio found moments during the meet and greets to talk to people that share his same ideas.

"They all have the same hopes for Lansdale that I do. My main goals for Lansdale are responsible spending, hold the line on taxes, and provide quality services for people that live here, and making sure we make smart choices on how we budget," he said.

In the possibility of working with a candidate that isn't Troy, Angelichio said it didn't matter.

"The two Democrats on the slate are the two Democrats on the slate," he said. "I am a committeeperson, whether I am one of those candidates or not. I work to get Democrats elected in Lansdale." 

Willi said meeting and greeting voters is a bit different when you're on the other side of the aisle.

"You let them know the positions you, as a candidate stand for and your vision," he said. "You also inform them of the positions of the candidates you are supporting." 

Willi said that no matter who wins, it is what it is," he said. "We are still Democrats when it comes down to it."

Willi said he would accept a Lansdale Democratic Party endorsement, but not a Friends of Lansdale PAC endorsement.

"They do not represent the Democratic Party," he said. "That’s how I stand."

The idea, he said, is to work with whomever is on council.

"In the end, we work together to move Lansdale forward." 

Tom Work was having a good day over at Elm Terrace polling station, located in Ward Two. Work is challenging Republican incumbent Mike Sobel for the position. 

Work said his platform is about fiscal responsibility.

"What I would consider needless spending on consultants. The issue of borough hall, tearing down borough hall and rebuild. It's unnecessary. I think, fix what we have," Work said. 

Work said 311 W. Main revival project isn't justified to him. 

"I can't justify spending a total of $8 million in taxpayer money for a building worth $1 million when done. There's nobody identified to use it," he said. "It's fiscal issues like that that inspired me to run."