Concerned Residents Question Township Supervisor Candidates

Despite the sweltering heat, over 50 Manchester residents attended the Candidate's Forum in Carr Park on Tuesday, July 17.  All of the candidates for Manchester Township's elected offices were invited to attend.  Those present included Gene DeRossett and Leslie Kopka, both running for township supervisor, and several candidates for township trustee positions: Jim Schiel, John Seefeld, and Pete Stumpo.  The current township clerk, Ann Becktel, township treasurer, Judith Huber, and trustee Carl Macomber declined to attend for unspecified reasons.  Current trustee, Lyle Widmeyer was unable to attend due to health reasons.

The biggest draw of the evening was the question and answer period for the township supervisor candidates.  Mr. Kopka cited his biggest qualifying strength for this position as his experience on Manchester's Planning Commission, a recently tumultuous appointment that has resulted in local residents filing litigation against the township as a direct result of Mr. Kopka's conduct on that commission.  In contrast, Gene DeRossett presents his vast history of public service, experience in all three branches of government, and extensive network of contacts from serving in and around the Manchester area as a solid background for taking the township into new and positive directions.

Though none of the specifics regarding the challenges of Mr. Kopka's present term on the planning commission were raised as a part of the forum, Kopka referred to them in several of his responses, highlighting the contentious nature that he has fostered between himself and the public at the monthly Planning Commission meetings.

Q: How would you handle conflict resolution on issues that arise, and minimize personal bias as supervisor?

Kopka: "Well, I'm sure that is referring to the Dan Huntsbarger property project.  Uh, that is something that has been ongoing for...since November.  Uh, that is...that really does not go through the township...uh, supervisor's office.  It's handled by the planning commission, and uh, what we have in our zoning ordinances...some of the ordinances are extremely outdated and need to be updated, and that's something that we've been talking about in the planning commission.  Um, the issue is, do you do spot updates, or do a major re-do, re-make of the ordinance, and then are you back to the cost, and it'll take a lot of time to do that, and it'll take a lot of money to do that.  And, uh, with as tight as things are, it's a problem.  We're basically fixing the leaks as they appear.  I mean, that's about all we can do right now."

DeRossett approached the question in a completely different manner, "The question was how do you resolve conflict?  I think the most important thing is that you listen, you gather all the information, and then if you are undecided you do nothing and gather additional information, and you make sure that everyone is heard, and all issues are vented, and that you're able to make good, informed decisions.  It's about listening, and it's about bringing people together to resolve conflicts that you might have."

This set the tone for the remainder of the event, with Kopka stating numerous times, "It's a problem", but presenting no clear-cut platform for addressing issues which were raised, and DeRossett giving examples of how he plans on approaching the issues, will encourage residents to re-claim an active role in township government, and will use his previous public service experience to benefit the community.  For an informal event with a casual debate, one would expect that the candidates would be in tune with the issues that concern residents the most.  Kopka left residents wondering exactly which meetings he's been present at, let alone acted as chair on, while DeRossett seemed determined to insure that he understands the concerns and where they stem from.

Listen to the event in it's entirety here.