Politics & Government

Warminster Republicans Open Campaign Office

The local GOP members are prepared for a tough municipal election campaign that will depend mostly on getting voters to the polls.

The countdown to Election Day has officially started for the Warminster Township Republican Party following Tuesday night's grand opening of the committee's campaign headquarters at the Centennial Plaza on Street Road.

"We've been knocking on doors since July," says township supervisor candidate Jason Croley. "But this is where we start really focusing on the campaign and what we need to do to win."

This is the first political campaign for Croley, who joins incumbent township Supervisor Dan McPhillips on the Nov. 5 ballot against the township's only sitting Democratic Supervisor Frank Feinberg and Brian Munroe, who lost a 2012 campaign for state representative against Bernie O'Neill.

Without the lure of a national congressional or presidential campaign, Croley and the rest of the Republicans know that voter turnout will be their toughest opponent.

"The people we met are definitely feeling voter fatigue," said Croley. "They don't want to hear about politics right now, but they are happy that the supervisors have held taxes steady."

The current battle in Washington, D.C., that has resulted in a federal shutdown of non-essential government services has soured many people on Republicans and Democrats. A recent poll has the public approval of Congress at nine percent, just behind traffic jams and head lice. 

McPhillips does not think the distaste for national politics will trickle down to the municipal level.

"I think people appreciate that the township's Republican leadership did not raise taxes and has kept Warminster moving in the right direction," said McPhillips.

This is also McPhillips' first experience running for elected office. He joined the Warminster Board of Supervisors in March 2012 after the sitting supervisors voted 3-1 for McPhillips to replace Ellen Jarvis, who resigned her seat during a disagreement over the compensation for tax collector Barbara Loftus.

McPhillips told the supervisors during the interview process that he would likely run for re-election in 2013. His experience for the past year-and-a-half solidified his decision to run again, especially after spearheading the installation of a permanent prescription drug drop off at the Warminster police station and joining Democratic Supervisor Frank Feinberg for weekly informal chats with residents at the Eagle Diner.

"I'm really proud of the response from residents," said McPhillips.

School board candidate Jane Schrader Lynch wants to keep improving the relationship between the Centennial School District and Warminster. She credits the work of superintendent Dr. Joyce Mundy for chipping away the ice that formed over disagreements about ownership of Hart Elementary.

"The relationship is much improved at this point," said Lynch. "We all take money out of the same pot, so we should work together to help the taxpayers."

Lynch will be joined by fellow incumbents Michael Hartline and Betty Huf on November's ballot. Since she won both the Republican and Democratic primaries in March, Lynch's seat is safe from challenges by Democratic candidates Jim Brickman and Mark Greiner.

The campaign office will be open to the public on weeknights as volunteers stuff envelopes for township and county candidates and map out canvassing routes. A schedule for daytime hours still needs to be worked out between committee members that would be available to man the office. On demand appointments can also be scheduled through the Warminster Republican Committee website.


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