Real Accomplishments

When Democrats Gerard O’Malley, Mike Sellers and Julia Woldorf took office in January 2008, they immediately began working to make Newtown Borough’s government more open and more responsive to citizens’ concerns. While their initiatives covered a broad range of issues, there’s been a single overarching goal -- reaching out and involving our town's citizens in local government.  Here are highlights of their accomplishments:

·        Televising Council Meetings. All monthly Council meetings are now recorded and can be seen on local public programming channels.

·        Increasing pedestrian safety.  Under Democratic leadership, an ad hoc traffic committee was created to find ways of making pedestrian safety and traffic calming top priorities in the Borough.  The committee’s recommendations are now being implemented and augmented through a $30,000 study grant.

·        Expanding citizen participation in Borough government.  Using a new, more public and equitable application process developed by the Democratic chair of the personnel committee, all open positions on Borough committees have been filled.

·        Protecting our shade trees.  Under a Democratic initiative, the inactive Shade Tree Commission has been fully staffed by volunteers who helped develop a new ordinance imposing more appropriate penalties for land development that disturbs or destroys large trees in our “Tree City.”  

·        Protecting our zoning ordinances.  Democratic Council members have defended — and will continue to defend — zoning ordinances when owners or developers seek variances without the minimum legal grounds.

·       Opening the budget process. On taking office, Democrats called for a review of the Borough’s budget and have made public discussion of the budget a high priority.

·        Improving oversight of spending for professional fees.  Under Democratic leadership, invoices for professional services are reviewed before, not after, they are paid.

·       Recognizing the value of Newtown Creek.  Democrats have indentified Newtown Creek as a valuable natural resource and helped the Creek Coalition win a $12,000 grant to study the creek.

·       Improving communication with leaders of Newtown Township.  Democratic Council members have moved to open lines of communication on a range of issues of mutual interest.

·       Improving the grant application process.  Under Democratic leadership, Council adopted a highly organized process for seeking, applying for, and managing grants that enhances public input and focuses on meeting clearly demonstrated needs.

·       Solving parking problems. Democratic Council members have made parking a priority.  The revitalized ad hoc Long Term Parking committee has initiated a plan for enacting near-term parking solutions, and has proposed a study to accurately assess the Borough’s parking needs.

·       Maintaining the Borough’s historic character.  Under Democratic leadership, an ad hoc committee was formed to study potential benefits of preserving and protecting historic structures throughout the town and to consider expanding Newtown’s Historic District.