POTTSTOWN >> There was a time when the 5-square-mile borough of Pottstown was divided into 10 political wards, with two council members for each ward, making a 20-member borough council.
Things have changed since then, with only seven wards and seven council members now.
But more change in Pottstown’s political landscape may be on the horizon.
As the primary election season gears up, borough council has agreed to look into the possibility of eliminating wards entirely, or adding or substituting at-large seats to council’s makeup.
Last month, Fourth Ward Councilman Dennis Arms took up a question posed in a Feb. 2, 2015 post in the The Digital Notebook blog that asked why Pottstown needs wards at all.
It was that year’s election cycle, in which Arms faced a Democratic primary race against Ross Belovich, which prompted the post.
It noted that the ward system forced two good candidates from running in the general election, while other wards had no challenges at all.
Wednesday night, Borough Manager Mark Flanders said before he had staff explore the matter more he wanted to be sure the majority of council wants it explored.
“I know in my ward, I’m mostly in my ward and if something is going on in the other end of town, I’m not going to know that,” said Second Ward Councilwoman Carol Kulp.
“I don’t know how its worked out other places, and I know our town’s not that big, but I think when you have your own ward, you’re more concentrated on that part that you live in,” said Kulp.
“And the wards are diverse. Where I live is considerably different than say the Rosedale section of town,” said First Ward Councilman Ryan Procsal.
“It doesn’t matter what ward you live in in this borough, everybody has the same problems,” said Arms. “Taxes are too high, my neighbors are getting on my nerves, there’s trash in the street. It doesn’t matter if you’re in the First Ward or the Fourth Ward, all the problems are the same.”
He also said he thinks the matter should be put to a voter referendum. “The citizens should be making this decision, not us,” said Arms.
“I absolutely agree,” said Sheryl Miller, council vice president and Third Ward council representative.
“I’m running from end of the town to the other every day. I get calls from all the wards and I service all the wards,” said Miller.
“I absolutely, positively agree this is a decision the voters need to make,” Miller added.
In addition to geographic distinctions, there are also cultural distinctions to consider, said Mayor Sharon Thomas, who pointed out that Hispanic residents may be more likely to go to Sixth Ward Councilwoman Rita Paez, because she speaks Spanish, not matter what ward they call home.
On the other hand, the ward system helps ensure diversity of representation without preventing the situation Thomas described above, she said. “No one is telling a Spanish-speaking resident they can’t call Rita” because of wards, said Thomas.
Councilman Joe Kirkland said he believes in the system that exists. “I think a councilor should live in the ward they represent,” he said. However, he said he would be willing to consider adding two “at-large” council members, thus increasing the size of borough council to nine from the current seven.
Miller noted that Norristown has five wards and two at-large council members.
Paez said she favors keeping the ward system as it is, but said council could benefit from better communication among the members.
“The downside I see to this is at some point in the future, you could have all seven council members coming from the same ward,” said Dan Weand, borough council president and Fifth Ward representative.
“So you could have seven councilors from the Rosedale section and people on the west end or the south end, could start saying ‘hey we have no representation because everybody comes from Rosedale,'” Weand said.
“So if you’re saying what if we had seven councilors from Rosedale, I find it hard to imagine they wouldn’t be looking out for the whole town,” said Arms. “If someone from the Fourth Ward kept calling and calling, they’re going to try to find an answer. It doesn’t matter where you live, we all complain about the same thing, taxes are too high, we complain about crime and drugs and this and that. I’m not hearing a good argument for keeping wards,” he said.
“Is it going to make it harder to campaign and run for office? Of course it is, because no you’re going to have to hit every little place and not just your own polling location,” Arms added.
Ultimately, the council members agreed to have Borough Solicitor Charles D. Garner Jr. look into the legalities of the matter, as well as if at-large seats could be added and if and how it can be the subject of a voter referendum.
It seems unlikely the matter would be resolved in time for the upcoming local elections, but that question was not broached and so remains unanswered.
