NEW HANOVER >> The developers of the largest proposed project in the township – as well as another developer who has publicly considered “litigation against the township” over supervisors’ actions – are two of the biggest contributors to a political action committee aiding candidate Shawn Malloy, election records show.
Malloy, a Conshohocken police officer running on the Republican ticket, has received more than $700 worth of campaign ads and material paid for by a political action committee that goes by the name of Citizens for Better Leadership, according to campaign filings with Montgomery County and the Pennsylvania Department of State.
All total, the PAC has spent more than $3,000 paying for lawn signs, flyers and newspaper advertising benefiting Malloy and two other candidates – Brian Hemingway and Molly Bauer – in the primary election, records show.
Hemingway lost to incumbent Kurt Zebrowski in the primary race for a seat with two years left on the term. Zebrowski is unopposed in the Nov. 7 election. Bauer remains unopposed on the November ballot as the only candidate for tax collector.
Two of the three other candidates still on the November ballot – Zebrowski and William “Ross” Snook – have so far spent less than $250 of their own money.
The third candidate, Marie Livelsberger, has spent slightly more than that.
Malloy said he has also spent several hundred dollars of his own money on campaign signs and other material in addition to the help from Citizens for Better Leadership.
His campaign filings show him receiving the $781.11 from the PAC as donations of “in-kind services.”
Malloy said the only thing he knows about Citizens for Better Leadership is that it is “connected to (New Hanover Supervisors Vice Chairman) Andrew Kelly somehow.”
When he saw the material paid by them during the primary election, “I checked down in Norristown and I found out anybody can pay for anything they want on your behalf. I never authorized any of that.”
According to campaign filings, Citizens for a Better Leadership began in the summer 2013 with a $100 contribution from former township solicitor Paul Bauer and $2,500 from Steven Gilmore, owner of Gilmore Associates, which provides engineering services to the township.
Since then it has raised more money and provided campaign contributions to a number of candidates, including in several judicial races in Berks County.
More recently, on April 17, Citizens for Better Leadership received a pair of $500 contributions from Clayton and John Heckler, who listed an address of 2312 N. Broad St. in Colmar, in the PAC’s campaign finance filing
That is also the address listed on the latest plan submission for RP Wynstone, L.P., the developer of the “Town Center” project – which proposes 772 homes and nearly 200,000 square feet of commercial space along Swamp Pike and Township Line Road on 108 acres once occupied by the former New Hanover Airport.
This project has been before the planning commission repeatedly in pursuit of its site plan approvals and has raised concerns about the traffic it will generate both in New Hanover and neighboring Douglass (Mont.) Township.
Additionally, on March 29, a $1,000 contribution was received from Penn St. Limited Partnership whose “sole member” is listed as Kevin Timochenko, according to the campaign finance records.
The address listed for Penn Limited Partnership is 1030 Reed Ave., Suite 100, in Wyomissing, Berks County. That is the same address as Metropolitan Development Group, which was founded by Timchenko.
Metropolitan is the company building 143 housing units on 72 acres off North Charlotte Street in a project known as Hanover Pointe. It is also the company where Bauer went to work in 2016 after he resigned as township solicitor for both New Hanover and Douglass (Mont.) townships.
In his response to The Mercury’s candidate questionnaire, Malloy wrote “if elected I would ensure complete transparency. Without conflicts of interest which have plagued the township for years, I have the ability to be a true advocate for all residents. Over-development of the township is of great concern, which would detrimentally impact the environment, township infrastructure, and further burden the school district, leading to additional tax increases.”
Malloy said he does not know either of the two Hecklers or Timchenko, never solicited money from them and was never contacted by them.
Records indicate that in addition to yard signs for Malloy, Hemingway and Molly Bauer, Citizens for Better Leadership also spent more than $800 on mailers and hand-outs and $1,998 in advertising with The Mercury in April before the primary.
Paul Bauer booked those advertisements, according to staff in The Mercury sales department.
All of these contributions and spending are legal and were properly reported to election authorities.
Asked for a reaction to the imbalance in contributions, Livelsberger said “I don’t have any developers paying for my campaign,” adding that “I paid everything out of my own pocket.”
Nevertheless, she said, Malloy – whose court complaint got Livelsberger kicked off the Republican ballot in the spring for failing to meet a filing deadline he also failed to meet – is free to run his campaign as he pleases.
“I just want to do the right thing for the township and I suppose they are doing what they consider to be the right thing,” Livelsberger said.
Snook declined to comment.This is not the first time contributions by developers have come up as an issue for New Hanover Township Supervisor candidates.
According to the minutes of the May 22 Board of Supervisors meeting, Zebrowski questioned whether it was ethical for him to vote on a motion allowing a phase of Hanover Pointe to go forward when the developers had made campaign contributions to Hemingway, his opponent at the time.
“Mr. Zebrowski advised everyone that his vote will not be influenced by contributions by certain developers received by an opponent,” according to the minutes.
When the supervisors failed to take action on a motion by Kelly to approve the first two phases of the project conditioned on obtaining the appropriate permits, “developer stated they may pursue litigation,” according to the minutes.
This all took place at the same meeting at which Kelly raised questions about bills Snook had submitted to the township as a consultant – questions subsequently raised by Malloy and answered by Snook.
Snook subsequently withdrew the bills.
This is not the first time out-of-town contributors have sought to influence township elections.
In 2013, Mike Salerno spent more than $3,000 on a campaign for supervisor that was funded by seven contributors, including Laurence Silvi, owner of the company fighting to put a quarry in the township.
Salerno and his running mate Tiffany Rusin lost that election.
