Candidate Dedicates Life to Helping Disabled

For Lower Makefield Board of Supervisor candidate Fran McDonald, his life’s passion began 29 years ago with a seemingly simple request. While at Saint Francis University in Loretto, Pa., Father Gabriel Zeis asked McDonald if he would be interested in serving as a “big brother.”

He agreed, not immediately realizing that Zeis was not referring to the popular mentoring organization. Instead, this was a program with a local hospital involving people with developmental disabilities.

McDonald was assigned “Lou,” and struggled to connect with him. “I was trying to figure out a way to communicate with this guy,” McDonald said. “Finally, I gave him an orange soda. It turned out he loved orange soda! From that moment, he never left my side. And since that day, I’ve been working with people with significant disabilities.”

Today, McDonald is the operations director for Salisbury Behavioral Health, Inc. supervising a staff of 100 in eight facilities. “I work with people who will require support for the rest of their lives. I have a patience, an ability and a desire to give people with mental health issues the opportunity to be happy, productive members of our society.”

Now, McDonald says he would like a chance — a chance to give back to his township as a member of the Board of Supervisors. The Lower Makefield/Yardley Democratic Club nominated McDonald by acclamation on Sunday to fill the void left on the Democratic ballot by former supervisor Teri Appelson.

McDonald’s name won’t officially be on November’s ballot until May’s primary election results are certified and Appelson formally withdrawals from the ballot. Then, Bucks County Democratic Committee Chairman John F. Cordisco is expected to name McDonald as her replacement.

“This community has provided a great environment for my wife and I to raise our kids and enjoy ourselves, our neighbors and our friends,” McDonald said. “There is a tremendous opportunity to keep the momentum that the Democrats have started,” he added, referring to recent Democratic gains on the board, which is now controlled by the Democrats, 4-1.

“I really have a concern that, if I don’t win, this township will go back to the way it was — a closed government. I want open government to remain,” McDonald said, citing the televised supervisor meetings as one way the Democrats have tried to ensure the public is involved and informed. “I want us to be subject to more and more scrutiny and open to more input.”

McDonald, a 13-year Lower Makefield resident, pointed to open space preservation, the need to continue providing services without overburdening taxpayers, and opposition to the proposed relocation of Frankford-Bucks hospital (now Aria Health) into the township as three key elements of his campaign platform.

McDonald and his wife, Peggy, have been married for 13 years and have two daughters, Sarah, 13 (William Penn Middle School), and Brianna, 10 (Afton Elementary School).

He coached with the Pennsbury Regional Basketball League for six years and has been on the township’s Parks and Recreation Board for four years. But his most significant contribution to the community has been through Yardley Makefield Soccer. He’s been a member of YMS for nine years, is currently the vice president, and serves as the director of the YMS Epic Tournament, bringing approximately 200 soccer teams into the township each year.

“I love sports,“ said McDonald. “I love being around sporting events and watching kids grow. I love being around kids and being a positive impact in their lives. Youth sports organizations are an incredible resource to this town in every imaginable way. They allow kids to build relationships, learn how to communicate with people and build confidence that transfers to every aspect of their lives. It gives me such a tremendous feeling, knowing that I have had some small part in their growth.”