Voice of the People: Residents' Thoughts on Voter Turnout and Issues Affecting Ambridge

In response to the extremely low voter turnout at Tuesday's Municipal Primary, I put out a call for ideas to the people of Ambridge via The Ambridge Connection's community bulletin board. There was no shortage of ideas, suggestions, and insight. Here I've compiled some residents' comments on voter turnout and the state of the Borough in general.

Several people commented that Pennsylvania's rule that Independents cannot vote in primaries is part of the reason why turnout numbers are not where they should be. "...Pennsylvania needs to change this ludicrous rule that Independents cannot vote in primaries. I love to vote and do so whenever I can, but I'm a registered Independent. Stupid stupid rule," said Tanya Waschak.

Another resident, Bret Brenner, said, "Make the primaries open and more independently thinking people will turn out. Closed primaries are ridiculously outdated, much like our liquor laws. I do not, and will not, vote for a party - I vote for the candidate (more folks should try this). In PA, one must pledge their allegiance to a party to have worth......who doesn't see this as a problem? Before I hear all the 'that's crazy' 'it won't work' and so on, let me drop a few facts here - PA is one of twelve states that still have closed primaries. Of the remaining 40 states, I am unable to locate ONE instance of party members "switching sides" to "block" the other sides candidate as I hear from MANY PAers."

Others placed blame on cronyism at town hall. "Those same members of council who have been in power year after year are the ones to blame for the decay and low morale that plague Ambridge, and if they think a street-scaping project will help the community they are absolutely wrong. From a business stand point, those buildings are neglected to the point that they are dilapidated (the council overlooks that issue but wants to jump someone's [expletive deleted] for not cutting grass) and it would probably cost upwards of $150k to bring those buildings up to code and make them habitable for any business or residency. The median income household income is $26k which means there is no real consumer base (everyone is poor) so what rational-minded business owner or investor would want to do anything in Ambridge? But go ahead and waste more tax dollars to benefit their contractor buddies," said Michael Gilmer. "They vote for those people because they are friends with them and they get contracts and favors done for them and this is NOTHING unique to Ambridge, it happens in every town, every county gov, state gov and federal gov levels.... And those people who still vote are afraid to think outside the box.. they feel comfort when they see those same names run year after year but pay zero attention to the absolute failures that they have attributed to the 'community.'"

Others felt that some residents have been left behind by Ambridge politicians and policy. "When you have no faith in the system or the people running why vote?... I've approached the school with ideas, had meetings with the principal... for me I think that the town has accepted that there really wont be any changes except for stadiums and some lights....nothing that brings revenue or changes the education for the better!" said Matt Green.

Several residents were also of the opinion that we need new voices in local government. Megan Clark, a former candidate for Council, said, "People are afraid of voting outside of their friends who are running because they don't want them to be mad at them for voting for other candidates. Because nowadays that's how people act: like you can't vote for that person and me at the same time."

Karen L Garvey - DiPaolo thought that the community needs to come together to improve the town. "We... need town hall meetings, we need a community center where the community can come together and voice concerns and ideas and form volunteer groups to work toward improvements. Look at the areas we are competing with, we need to step up our game."

Bob Niklewicz had some thoughtful advice for DeAunta'e Clark, former candidate for Council, and any other newcomers to local campaigning. "I guess if I were running in a primary for council the best thing to do is make your list of about 350-400 people and make sure they commit to actually vote and vote for you. If you can do that you can at least win the primary with such poor turnout. I don't think I would spend as much time campaigning to the masses since the majority of them aren't going to show up. I thought DeAunta'e Clark's message was a good one and he seemed like a good candidate to me. He just needed about 250 more votes. I realize that's easier said than done. But if close to 80% of the people aren't going to vote, you just have to find the way to get a small percentage of the group to vote for you. That would be my approach."

Although one could sense the frustration among the commenters, it wasn't all negative. "Ambridge is getting better. I like that the Borough gives new businesses a break on taxes for a few years," said Sarah Boehm Davies. "That said, our turnout was absolutely abysmal. Put in a write-in candidate if you don't like the options, but make your voice heard. The Borough Council meetings are open to the public, and you can contact them to get something on their agenda. Also, our Borough Manager [Joe Kauer] is very responsive when you bring issues to his attention. Don't give up!"

I would like to thank everyone who made their voices heard on the post, and I apologize for anyone who did not get mentioned in this article.

If you would like to contact the Borough about any concerns you may have, there is a Council meeting on June 13 at 7pm.