October 29, 2009

Dear Fellow Lower Makefield Resident: 

Before I became your State Representative last fall, it was my privilege to serve for five years as a Lower Makefield Supervisor. I know what the job requires and that is why I am writing to ask you to vote for Fran McDonald for Supervisor on November 3rd.

Fran McDonald is the only candidate who has been steadfast in his opposition to the proposed relocation of Frankford/Aria Hospital to Shady Brook Farm. If Frankford/Aria were to succeed, it would be a real blow to our town as it would add a tremendous amount of traffic to an already congested area and, as a non-profit, would not result in any revenue for the township. As a former leader of the group that stopped the Matrix big box store development, I know how important it is that we have a supervisor whom we can count on not to change course on this important issue.

Fran McDonald also will be careful with our tax dollars, while maintaining services that protect our home values. Fran’s opponent is trying to claim that Fran is somehow responsible for past township tax increases. That charge is baseless, of course, because Fran has never served on the Board. 

It misses the mark for another reason as well. The increases at issue (FY 2003, 2005, 2006 and 2008) were passed by Republican majority Boards (FY 2003, 2005 and 2006) as well as a Democratic majority Board (FY 2008). So these increases were not partisan issues (in fact the current Republican supervisor, who supports Fran’s opponent, voted for all of them). Nor were they crushing increases: when totaled together they amounted to about $180 per household or $15 per month. This is what we got for that:

* more police to protect us; * more support for our Fire Department; * more saved open space;

* better parks and roads; and * more stable home values. 

At the same time, total township spending has actually decreased 1.7% since 2007.

These are tough times. We need someone on our Board who appreciates that and will stand up for us. Please vote for Fran McDonald on November 3rd, I am confident that he will serve our town well.

Respectfully,

Steve Santarsiero