Don't Delay, Return Your Ballot Today
 

If you are an engaged and informed voter, you know that the Primary Election is Tuesday, May 16th, with polls open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

If you have already returned your mail-in ballot, thank you for voting! If you have not yet returned your ballot, take it today to the drop box inside the Yardley-Makefield Library on Edgewood Road. (For a list of our endorsed candidates, click here.) 

It's too late to trust that the mail will get it to the Board of Elections on time. Your ballot must be received before 8 p.m. on May 16th -- which includes all drop box locations. 

The library drop box is available during library hours, which are Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., Friday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

If you are voting in person, please look for our volunteer poll greeters who will be at each of the LMT-Yardley polling locations. They will have a list of our endorsed candidates and can answer any questions you may have about the election. (Not sure of your polling place? Click here.)

And if you don't have questions, please stop anyway to say hello and introduce yourself to our poll greeters. They are volunteering their time to help us elect Democrats and are always happy to meet other residents who are looking to do the same.  

After the election, plan on attending our May general membership meeting on Thursday, May 18th, at 7:30 p.m. (30 minutes later this month than our normal start time) at the Lower Makefield Township building where we will be discussing the election results. 
 
Carol Carter
Digital Media Director
Lower Makefield-Yardley Democratic Committee

SAVE THE DATE

Don't Miss These Upcoming Events 

By Frann Goldstein 

Coming up this Summer:

• Our Annual Pot-luck PICNIC – bring whatever you’d like and share an outdoor evening of food, drink, and one another’s company. The Committee will supply hoagies, drinks and paper goods. 
  • The PICNIC replaces our monthly General Meeting.
  • In case of bad weather, we will meet in the Township Building at 7 p.m. 
• When: Thursday, July 20^th, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
• Where:  Kids Kingdom Pavilion on Edgewood/Oxford Valley Road

Returning to NIKO’S, for PASTA & POLITICS this Fall: 

• Pasta & Politics is the Committee’s Fall fundraising event. Our goal is to add to our funds to support Democratic candidates locally and more broadly in Pennsylvania. 
  • The Endless Appetizer Buffet at Niko’s was as tasty as promised and the cash bar was kept busy throughout the evening. Good food, drink and company – please join us!
• When:  Thursday, September 21^st, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
• Where: Niko’s Restaurant at 385 Oxford Valley Road

 
As always, local officeholders and candidates are given the opportunity to discuss current initiatives and campaign platforms when we gather.

On behalf of the Executive Board, know that we look forward to seeing you monthly, and especially at these seasonal, social events!

By Tom Simonet

It might seem extravagant that the Town Council in little Yardley Borough has seven members while the Board of Supervisors in much-larger Lower Makefield has only five.
 
But there’s a simple explanation. A small tax base drives Yardley’s government to run much more on volunteers. (They, in turn, run on Dunkin’ — well, Wawa, Pretty Bird and Starbucks).
 
The big-ticket item in the borough’s budget, of course, is the police department — the chief, four full-time officers and eight part-timers.
 
After that, the payroll lists just one full-time administrative employee, the borough manager, and three part-time employees: a code enforcement officer/emergency management coordinator, a recording secretary, and a financial assistant. Contract professionals work as needed — zoning officer/planner, building inspector, public works contractor, solicitor, etc.
 
Unpaid volunteers carry the rest of the load. An elected mayor and the seven elected council members all work without any stipend. The same is true of citizens who staff an elaborate system of boards, commissions and committees.
 
These 16 volunteer groups get into the weeds — reviewing ordinances; evaluating proposals and applications; preparing budgets; making recommendations to the council; promoting policies to the public; and much more. Each group includes one council member as liaison or chair.
 
Recent tasks facing Yardley government have included:

• finishing the last stages of the North Main sidewalk and the Mary Yardley pedestrian bridge over the canal;
• negotiating the future of a lot along the canal, formerly home to a PECO substation that the company moved to the new Scudder Falls Bridge; 
• revising the outdoor dining ordinance;
• welcoming new businesses to town;
• overseeing FEMA grants related to flood damage;
• and conspicuously placing around town six 4.5-foot-tall fiberglass sculptures of a duck, the town’s beloved mascot. Each one, finished uniquely by a local artist, has its own name.
 
Contact information for town offices and elected officials, as well as details of meeting times, agendas and minutes, are available at www.yardleyboro.org. 
 

By Cathy Hanville

Two issues of interest to many in the community are the proposed Verizon Tower and Patterson Farm. 
 
Verizon Tower

There is a proposed cell phone tower to be located at 375 Stony Hill Road, which is the location of Beth El Synagogue. Some parties do not want this to happen and the Zoning Board is hearing the appeal, which started on May 2nd. The Zoning Board anticipates there will need to be at least one additional meeting. The next meeting is scheduled for Monday, May 15, at 7:30 p.m. The plan for the tower is found here. 
 
Patterson Farm

The Board of Supervisors approved money for an environmental study. There is known lead contamination on the site and the township needs to understand the scope and cost of remediation of that and any other contaminants that may be found. There was some confusion at the April 13th meeting about how much money is available from a 2016 bond. It appears there is $3 to $4 million available for capital projects from that bond.

However, there are other capital needs in addition to Patterson Farm. The Ad Hoc Property Committee is overseeing the development of a Master Plan for Patterson Farm, focusing on 1. Patterson Farm remaining agricultural, 2. historic buildings being restored, and 3. economic sustainability. Information on Patterson Farm is available at https://www.lmt.org/community/patterson-farm/.

The next virtual meeting is Thursday, May 11, 2023, at 7:30 p.m.

 

By Bill Firestone

Today Joe Sundeen is a quiet stalwart of a strong Lower Makefield-Yardley Democratic Committee, but he, along with many others, helped build it from a moribund little group in the late 1990s to its present vibrant form. 
 
Joe says his proudest accomplishment was to successfully recruit candidates to run for Judge and Inspector of Elections. When he began this effort about a decade ago, almost all election officials were Republicans, many simply appointed by the Republican Commissioners in Doylestown.
 
After helping at the polls for a couple of years, Joe ran – unopposed - for the office of Judge of Elections in North 2, and, after serving there for a couple of years, encouraged other Democrats to run for these vital offices in their own precincts. The first people Joe recruited often ran unopposed, to the surprise and dismay of the local Republican establishment. 
 
Now, 13 of the 16 Judges of Elections in Lower Makefield and Yardley are Democrats, as are 15 of the Majority Inspectors of Elections. These have become critical positions, especially in the aftermath of January 6th, when too many Republicans challenged the legitimacy of the election process. 
 
Before running for Judge of Elections, Joe was the Lower Makefield Democrats’ first ever Corresponding Secretary, then its Vice Chair, and finally its Chair. He continued regularizing the then-nascent local Democratic Committee. First, he began to identify interested Democrats and potential members by greeting Democratic voters at the polls and adding their contact info to a growing mailing list. He then kept records of active members and began sending them regular mailings. These mailings have been greatly expanded into the Committee’s current
extensive communication strategy — including this newsletter.
 
He currently helps to reach out to new residents of Lower Makefield and Yardley to inform them of our Committee and invite them to join with us. He also creates lists of registered voters using VoteBuilder, for use by candidates and Committee People.

As Chair and Chair Emeritus, Joe advocated regular monthly membership meetings, which now have become a reliable feature of our local party’s communication and organization. All of these things helped build ties between leaders and members that sustain the letter writers, door knockers, phone bankers, and poll greeters that characterize the vibrant Lower Makefield-Yardley Democratic Committee, which we have today.
 
Presently, Joe continues to serve as a member of the Committee’s Executive Board and — with his wife Carol — manages our active political book discussion group. He and Carol have also placed numerous letters and opinions pieces in local papers. He is convinced that the strength of our Democracy depends on the strength of local organizations like the Lower Makefield-Yardley Democrats, and he is proud to play a part in its continued and growing strength.