CIVIC ASSOCIATION ARTICLES; CHADDS FORD POST 12-07-06

Editorial

Kudos to the courageous

By:

12/07/2006

The fifth anniversary of the current incarnation of the Chadds Ford Post passed quietly two months ago. And while we have tried to grow the paper with a strong presence in the community, one frustration persists: the reluctance of the people in Chadds Ford to express themselves publicly when they disagree with the status quo.
People have spoken privately and off the record when they see public officials or influential political activists do things perceived as wrong, but won't speak out in public for fear of reprisal. Typical responses to being asked why they won't speak out include, "Because I have to make a living in this township," or "I might need a favor [from the supervisors] someday."
Because we understand the reluctance and fear, the Post now offers a figurative round of applause for the six people, Democrats and Republicans alike, who have written letters to the editor regarding the circumstances surrounding the Nov. 8 election for Board Members of the Chadds ford Civic Association.
While six letters in three weeks is not much by some standards, that number is a clarion call considering how few letters stories in the Post usually generate. Perhaps it's the cry of outrage over what can best be called an attack on decency and fair play.
As reported, the results of the election for six members to the association's board were changed when 47 proxy ballots, listing only six of the 10 candidates for office, were ordered to be counted after 64 in-person ballots were tallied. Proxy voting is not authorized by the association's bylaws, and the inclusion of those proxies resulted in an apparent victor losing.
The proxies excluded the names of the four Democrats running for office. Further, Marc Altman, the current president of the association and a member of the Republican Party Advisory Board, who was seeking re-election to the board, was handing out those proxies the day before.
Yet before and after the election, Mr. Altman spoke about the need for the association to live up to its goal of being nonpartisan.
It's also been said that an officer of the Republican Party and member of the association's board told residents voting in person to only vote for the Republican candidates, even though the association's nominating committee recommended one of the Democrats.
Under the circumstances, nonpartisanship is a hollow wish and a hypocritical claim with regard to the Civic Association of Chadds Ford. And without any changes, that will continue to be the case.
Until the Civic Association members take back control of their organization from those who seek political domination over it, the Chadds Ford Post will not treat the association as an independent body, but as just another branch of a political party with officials who care for nothing but control.
So, kudos to the six people who had the courage voice their opinion in opposition to those who seek political dominance even over an organization that, in Mr. Altman's words, does nothing but clean streets twice a year a throws one party. But there should be more than just those six.