Ross Belovich Running For Pottstown Borough Council, 4th Ward

Editor’s note:  We support Ross in his effort to gain a seat on Pottstown Borough Council. We have gotten to know Ross and feel he is a leader with a vision for Pottstown.  Here are a few words from the candidate:

Working away at solving real problems with real practical answers. This is where experience and being involved matters. It takes time learn all the true hard facts beyond the gossip and analyze problems in order to come up with real implementable solutions. I have been working with local and county officials for some time now to try to start putting things in motion that will lead to a better tomorrow for Pottstown. I certainly hope you will allow me to take this to the next level for you by choosing me to be Pottstown’s 4th Ward Councilor. Primary Election day is Tuesday May 19th. I will see you at the Grace Lutheran Church 660 N Charlotte St, in Pottstown from 7am to 8pm!

https://www.facebook.com/electrossbelovich?fref=photo

79.6% Of Susquehanna Shares Were Voted For BB&T Offer

Susquehanna Bancshares shareholders indeed voted by an “overwhelming” margin in favor of their firm being acquired by BB&T.

Lititz-based Susquehanna disclosed the tally from Friday’s shareholder vote in a federal filing on Monday.

Nearly 144.9 million of Susquehanna’s 182.1 million shares outstanding were cast in favor of the acquisition, or 79.6 percent.

Some 1.2 percent of shares, or 2.3 million, were cast against. Some 0.6 percent of shares, or 1.1 million, were cast as abstaining.

Read more:

http://lancasteronline.com/business/local_business/of-susquehanna-shares-were-voted-for-bb-t-offer/article_7f0f4692-cbf0-11e4-a635-9bdd204a385e.html

Your Vote Could Help A Tri-County Area Park Win $10,000.00

A simple visit to this site and a click of your mouse could help your favorite Pottstown Area park win some serious loot. Your favorite recreation spot might be on this list.  The rules are simple and you can vote daily.  Plus it’s free!  Sponsored by the Pottstown Area Health and Wellness Foundation.

Click here to vote:  http://14-potahwf-0197.theandersongrp.com/

For example: if you enjoy all the activities in Memorial Park in Pottstown (like the Rumble), it’s on the list.

Expert: Low Voter Turnout Could Eat Into Wolf’s Margin Of Victory

Map of Pennsylvania (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Democratic candidate for governor Tom Wolf seems the clear front-runner for Tuesday’s primary, but an expected low voter turnout could shrink his margin of victory significantly.

“I can see him winning by 4 or 5 percent,” said Dr. Thomas Baldino, professor of political science at Wilkes University. “I’d be surprised if he won by 13 percent, or even double digits.

The hype of an increasingly aggressive and negative ad campaign won’t change the fact that voters — particularly Democratic voters — usually don’t show up for midterm primaries or elections, Baldino said.

“It won’t be any historic low, but it’ll be low,” Baldino said. “In the aggregate, a registered Republican is more likely to vote than a registered Democrat.

Read more: http://citizensvoice.com/news/expert-low-voter-turnout-could-eat-into-wolf-s-margin-of-victory-1.1688714

Wolf Maintains Large Lead Over Dem Rivals In New Poll

With less than a week left before Pennsylvanians head to the polls, Tom Wolf continues to hold a sizable lead in the Democratic gubernatorial race.

The latest Franklin & Marshall College Poll, released Wednesday, shows 33 percent of registered Democrats favor Wolf, more than doubling the 14 percent of his nearest competitor, Allyson Schwartz.

Rob McCord placed third in the newest poll at 9 percent, with Katie McGinty coming in last at 5 percent.

Thirty-nine percent of voters remain undecided.

Read more: http://timesleader.com/news/news/1396510/Wolf-maintains-large-lead-over-Dem-rivals-in-new-poll

Schuylkill Leads River Of Year Balloting With 5 Days Remaining. So Vote!

English: This is my own work, Public Domain Photograph, not copyrighted Ed Yakovich http://www.flickr.com/photos/10396190@N04 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Our favorite recreational river last year lost the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources annual (20 years running we might add) River of the Year competition to the Steel City’s (ugh!) Monongahela. Out of more than 24,000 ballots that were cast last year the Schuylkill fell short by just 146 votes.

This time around, the Schuykill leads the balloting for 2014 River of the Year honors with a hefty 40 percent of popular votes cast. The voting period runs from November 25th to December 27th, so we have a fews days left to make sure the the Kiskiminetas-Conemaugh Rivers, in second place with 21%, don’t close the gap.

So vote!

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/Schuylkill_leads_River_of_Year_balloting_with_5_days_remaining_So_vote.html#dswVbBm0Mc6OHQ8F.99

Pottstown Council: Miller Ousts Chomnuk In 3rd Ward, Kirkland Defends 7th Ward Seat

Editor’s note:  At least there are two new faces on council!  We also read that Missy Mayor lost to Sharon Thomas.  Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus 🙂

POTTSTOWN, PA — Borough council will swear in two new members as a result of Tuesday’s election that will leave council with only one Republican member.

In the Third Ward race, Democratic challenger Sheryl Miller ousted incumbent Republican Jeff Chomnuk by a slim unofficial 13-vote margin, according to unofficial results posted on the Montgomery County voter services website.

However, in the Seventh Ward, incumbent Democrat Joe Kirkland successfully defended his seat for a second time against Republican challenger Cindy Conard, winning by a 77-vote margin, according to unofficial results.

Read more: http://www.pottsmerc.com/general-news/20131105/pottstown-council-miller-ousts-chomnuk-in-3rd-ward-kirkland-defends-7th-ward-seat

Important Races On Your Ballot Tuesday

Election Day is Tuesday, and there will be a meaningful showdown on the ballot, no matter where you live.

The races that will appear on your ballot this week are very important, and the result will arguably have a greater impact on your life than the choosing of the governor, a senator or even a member of the House of Representatives.

Joyce McKinley, director of the Centre County Office of Elections, noted that just 12 percent of county voters cast ballots in the primary.

“We’d like to see a decent turnout,” she said. “We certainly expect to see better turnout than in the spring, but that was disastrous.”

Read more here: http://www.centredaily.com/2013/11/02/3868613/our-view-important-races-on-your.html#storylink=cpy

Poll Workers Needed In Pottstown, Change In 5th Ward Polling Place

POTTSTOWN, PA — There may be some hiccups at the polls Tuesday in the borough.

Two polling places in the First Ward — Invictus Ministries Inc. at North Hanover and Chestnut streets, and the Pottstown campus of Montgomery County Community College — have no personnel to work the polls.

Mark Lawler, judge of elections in the Fifth Ward, said election officials have been unable to contact those who have done it in the past, or that those who have done it in the past are unavailable.

“We need a judge of elections, which pays $110 for the day, and majority clerk and minority clerk, which each pay $90 a day, for both 2-1 at Invictus and 2-2 at the college,” Lawler said.

Read more: http://www.pottsmerc.com/general-news/20131101/poll-workers-needed-in-pottstown-change-in-5th-ward-polling-place

Democrats, Republicans Losing Battle For New Voters

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Berks County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Political pundits warned about it.

Party leaders downplayed it.

But the voters have spoken.

For the first time in memory, the number of new Berks County voters who selected nonpartisan, or other, eclipsed those registering under one of the two major parties.

Read more: http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=517374

Chris Kelly: Scranton Voters Stick With What They Know Is Killing Them

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Lackawanna County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The table was set for reform-hungry Scranton voters to nominate successors to three-term Mayor Chris Doherty, but they showed little appetite for change at City Hall in Tuesday’s primary election.

Just under 37 percent of city Democrats voted; about 19 percent of their Republican neighbors. The turnout was shockingly anemic, considering taxpayers’ endless braying about being bled dry by a parasitic government.

Turnout was similarly listless countywide (35.3 percent), but at least voters supported a government study commission that could lead to real change and voted to keep county row offices, rejecting a naked power grab by the incumbent county commissioners.  Jim Wansacz, Corey O’Brien and Pat “Cheese” O’Malley weren’t up for re-nomination, but voters let them know they were lucky not to be on the ballot.

City voters sent a different message:  Forget belt-tightening!  Bring on the bankruptcy buffet!

Read more:  http://thetimes-tribune.com/opinion/editorials-columns/christopher-j-kelly/chris-kelly-scranton-voters-stick-with-what-they-know-is-killing-them-1.1495526

Have We Lost All Desire To Vote?

Editor’s note:  Apparently yes!

While other row offices were eliminated, Luzerne County’s home rule charter kept the controller to independently scrutinize its $260 million in spending, 1,400-plus workers and more than 50 departments providing services from tax assessment to 911 dispatch.

The public — not county employees or officials — pick the person who fills this $64,999 elected post for the next four years to be the fiscal watchdog.

Although an estimated 256,800 residents are eligible to vote on this decision, the number who narrowed down the controller finalists from four to two in Tuesday’s primaries was 31,000 — only 12 percent of the over-18 population.

“When you break it down and see the percentage of the population making the decision, that’s pretty troublesome,” said Barry Kauffman, executive director of the nonprofit citizen advocate group Common Cause Pennsylvania.

Read more: http://www.timesleader.com/news/local-news/539857/Have-we-lost-all-desire-to-vote

Pottstown Polling Place Changes

Pottstown Ward 1-2

Empire Hook & Ladder Fire Company

76 N. Franklin Street

Pottstown, PA 19464

YWCA

315 King Street

Pottstown, PA 19464

Pottstown Ward 6

Chesmont Building

13 Armand Hammer Blvd.

Pottstown, PA 19464

Rupert Elementary

1230 South Street

Pottstown, PA 19464

Carlisle Residents Face Home-Rule Question: Primary Focus

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Cumberland County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In Carlisle, Tuesday’s ballot won’t be just about filling the borough’s elective offices.

Residents are also being asked whether they want to embark on a study of home rule, the municipal equivalent of a constitutional convention.

Council voted in January to place a question on the May primary ballot asking whether a study commission should be formed to explore whether it makes sense for Carlisle to adopt its own charter for local government, and replace some of the current limitations imposed by the state’s borough code.

The issue got some legs after last year’s arrest of former borough tax collector George Hicks on drug charges, and a resulting examinations that found Hicks had done a shoddy job of record-keeping.

Read more:  http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2013/05/carlisle_borough_residents_fac.html

Cindy Conard For Pottstown Council In The 7th Ward

Revitalization in our community will require partnerships between local, county and state governments as well as local grassroots leaders.  Council representatives not only represent their constituents, they represent the community.  By nurturing relationships with decision makers at every level we can bring focus to our goals and objectives.

 

New Form of Government for Lackawanna County: Would It Work?

Lackawanna County Courthouse, Scranton, Pennsylvania, USA. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Lackawanna County would find itself on a rarely traveled path if voters were to approve a switch in county government from the traditional three-commissioner form to a system with an elected council and an elected executive or appointed manager.

Luzerne County made the transition in 2012, and Allegheny County did it in 2000.

But in the four decades since it became an option under Pennsylvania law, a mere six counties – Luzerne and Allegheny included – have adopted home rule charters that scrapped their three-member boards of commissioners in favor of an executive/council or a council/manager form of government.

A group led by Dunmore insurance executive Chuck Volpe wants to place a referendum on the May 21 ballot to establish a commission to study and recommend changes to county government, with the expressed goal of replacing the commissioners with an elected executive and elected council.

What’s better?

Read more:  http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/new-form-of-county-government-would-it-work-1.1445618

Has Pennsylvania Lost Its Swing-State Status?

English: Pennsylvania county map (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama’s victory in Pennsylvania marks the sixth straight presidential election in which state voters have picked the Democrat.

Which raises the question: Has Pennsylvania finally lost its swing-state status?

The battleground status of the historically competitive state was the subject of political scrutiny for much of 2012.  Even when the Republicans made a brisk, last-minute attempt to wrest it away when some polls showed the race tightening, Obama still won without breaking much of a sweat.

If Pennsylvania was shaded blue on a dry erase board after previous elections, this year it might be colored in with a permanent marker.  Pundits and politicians interviewed this week offered differing takes.

Read more:  http://www.mcall.com/news/local/elections/mc-pa-swing-state-status-lost-20121108,0,2981343.story

Election Day, Tuesday, November 6, 2012 – Make Sure You Vote!

 

Voters ID Issuance Schedule Sites Western Montgomery County

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Montgomery County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Thursday, October 18, 2012   4:00pm-7:00pm Schwenksville Public Library (290 2nd St. Schwenksville, PA 19473)

Monday, October 22, 2012   9;30am-12:30pm Pottstown Area Senior Center, ( 724 North Adams St. ( located in YMCA), Pottstown, PA)

Wednesday, October 24, 2012   10:00am-1:00pm Upper Perk Senior Center (517 Jefferson St, East Greenville, PA 18041)

Friday, October 26, 2012   10:00am-1:00pm Sunnybrook Ballroom (Flu Clinic) (50 Sunnybrook Rd, Pottstown, PA)

In order to receive the identification issued through Montgomery County, the applicant will have to:

Sign an affidavit that confirms the applicant’s status as a citizen of the United States, a resident of Montgomery County, and registered to vote in the county.

Additionally, those seeking identification will have to provide one of seven approved types of identification: Non-photo ID issued by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Non-photo ID issued by the government, Firearm permit, Current utility bill, Current bank statement, Paycheck or Government check.  Once the affidavit is signed and approved and identification shown, the applicant will have a headshot taken and the ID card will be printed at the location in approximately one minute.

Pottstown Borough Polling Places

TODAY is Election Day, get out and vote!

POTTSTOWN 1-1 YWCA /315 KING STREET /POTTSTOWN,PA19464

POTTSTOWN 1-2 E.H.& L. FIRE HOUSE / FRANKLIN (& CHESTNUT) ST / POTTSTOWN,PA19464

POTTSTOWN 2-1 INVICTUS CHURCH | 79 N HANOVER (&CHURCH) ST | POTTSTOWN,PA19464

POTTSTOWN 2-2 MONTGOMERY COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE/POTTS | 101 COLLEGE DR |POTTSTOWN,PA19464

POTTSTOWN 3 FIRST CHURCH OF THE BRETHREN / 371 N.YORK ST. /POTTSTOWN,PA19464

POTTSTOWN 4 GRACE EVANGELICAN LUTHERAN CHURCH | 660 N CHARLOTTE ( & NIGHTINGALE) ST |POTTSTOWN,PA19464

POTTSTOWN – 5 POTTSTOWN MIDDLE SCHOOL | FRANKLIN &EAST ST |POTTSTOWN,PA19464

POTTSTOWN- 6 RUPERT ELEMENTARY SHCOOL |1230 SOUTH STREET

POTTSTOWN – 7-1 RICKETTSCOMMUNITY CENTER |640 BEECH ST (&GRANT ST) |POTTSTOWN,PA19464

POTTSTOWN – 7-2 ST JAMES LUTHERAN CHURCH | 1101 HIGH ST | POTTSTOWN,PA19464