Alex Rodriguez: 'Freshness and New Ideas are What is Needed Most'

Why he is the best candidate for a seat on borough council
I think my best quality is my open-mindedness and being willing and able to think "outside of the box" when it comes to problems/issues. I think that being a problem solver in any job is key, and this is something that I definitely learned in my nine years as a LAPD officer. I feel that there is too much "old blood" on the council, and freshness and new ideas are what is needed most.

Collegeville’s most important issue
I think the most important issue is the revitalization of Collegeville- with both the Main Street area, as well as the old Acme shopping center. Collegeville is unfortunately becoming a "drive through" town, and this is only going to cause more and more problems in terms of loss of tax base, crime rates, traffic, along with many other related issues. This issue has to be addressed ASAP, and not put on the back burner as it appears many current Council members have been doing.

On taxes
I think keeping our tax base strong is key in keeping taxes from going up. This ties directly in to my view of the much-needed revitalization of Collegeville. I think when it comes time to the budget, the Council members must be willing to make the hard choices- in terms of which programs/services to cut, instead of just automatically raising taxes, as it seems this Republican dominated Council has done for many years. I have freely taken a pledge NOT to vote to raise taxes, and I invite all other candidates, along with those currently serving as Councilpersons to join me.

What else would you like the voters to know before they go into the voting booth?
I would just ask the voters to look at the individual candidates, and not purely their political affiliation. Local elections are what most effect people, and voters should look at the issues and not just the party. I think most voters would be shocked that in the past 20 years, it is Republican DOMINATED Councils that have ROUTINELY voted for tax increases, whereas the current Democrat on Council has been the one to vote AGAINST tax increases.