Fleetwood Borough residents may vote for one Mayor, four Council members, one Tax Collector, and one Inspector.
Fleetwood Mayor candidate Tammy Gore has been serving as Mayor of the Borough of Fleetwood since May 2012, ‘when our Mayor of many years, Gary Ebeling, lost his long battle with cancer,’ she writes to The Patriot.
Gore was named by the Fleetwood Council to fill his role as mayor for the remainder of his term. Previously she had been an elected member of Fleetwood Council for two terms. Ralph Touch filled the vacancy on Council when filled the role of Mayor.
‘My goals for Fleetwood’s future are to re-develop the downtown area to create a more aesthetically pleasing look, improved accessibility, and ultimately generate additional local commerce,’ writes Gore.
To achieve those goals, Gore would like Fleetwood to work with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and local authorities to reconstruct Main Street and 662 (S. Richmond & North Franklin Streets), replace old out-dated water pipes while the roads are being reconstructed, work on best traffic flow for Fleetwood, provide development opportunities and additional parking, and develop greenway space for better pedestrian flow and aesthetics, writes Gore.
And ‘To continue to provide and support the exceptional local police force coverage we have become accustomed to that provides improved safety (5-8 minute average response time to calls) and quality-of-life (enforces local ordinances) for Fleetwood and Richmond Township residents under the leadership of Chief Steve Stinsky,’ she writes.
Gore would also like to continue to search and secure grant offerings and gifts to improve Fleetwood’s infrastructure by working with local, state, and federal authorities, as well as civic organizations, Gore writes.
Incumbents Borough Council candidate Chris Young has served on Council for four years.
‘Serving on council has been a great experience so far,’ Young writes to The Patriot. ‘There are people in the community who are always negative, and you learn to live with that. Most people don’t realize how much time is spent on council issues but when someone says, ‘Thank you, nice job,’ or someone has a problem who you can help, that makes it worthwhile.’
Young enjoys working with ‘great council members, great staff, and serving the community of Fleetwood makes the time commitment worthwhile.’
He wishes to continue to serve Fleetwood and hopes to be able to better the community. His message to the community is to take an active role in your community.
Also running for Council are Suzanne Pittella Touch and Ralph F. Touch.
Suzanne has served on Council since 2010.
‘I love the energy and dynamics of the current council. Could not ask for a finer group people,’ she wrote to The Patriot.
Suzanne decided to run again because Fleetwood Borought Council has so many plans in play that take more than one term to see through.
‘I want to tell our residents that we believe ‘Our Hometown’ has a bright future and we would welcome our residents to come to our meetings to be part of the process,’ wrote Suzanne.
Ralph is serving the remainder of an open term. This is the second time he has served the portion remaining of a term.
‘I decided to run because I believe that I have something to offer the community. I had begun working on a business plan to improve the financial future of the community and would like to stay to see it through,’ Ralph wrote to The Patriot.
‘I like to help to prepare a plan of action and work with a dedicated team to bring that plan to fruition. It’s invigorating to see the plan come together. It is great to be part of a dedicated team powered by an interest in the community and service to others.’
When asked his he had a message for the community, he responded, ‘I feel privileged to be in a ‘Home Town’ community such as Fleetwood and I believe that the only way our children will be able to experience the community of a ‘Home Town’ is if we all work to preserve it.’
Ralph challenges every resident of the Borough of Fleetwood to find 10 hours a year to donate to their community.
‘Every resident has something to give and nothing will help us grow faster than the community spirit.’
Also running for Council is James M. Meals. The Patriot was not successful in obtaining comments from Meals.
Running for Tax Collector is Marci L. Slusser and for Inspector of Election is Daniel G. Hoch.