Carolyn Comitta for Mayor of West Chester

Transcript of Mayor Carolyn Comitta

Happy New Year, Borough of West Chester! We can be happy and proud today. West Chester is the envy of towns all across America! We are a county seat; we host one of the nations premier state universities; our school district is tops and our citizens are caring and capable. Our diverse communities are closely interconnected. Our challenges affect us all. And our successes benefit us all.As your Mayor, I will focus on three key initiatives to support my campaign pledge of a West Chester that is “Safe, clean and green”:

My first priority will be safety and economics:

The goal is to keep West Chester a safe place. People love to live, work, learn and visit West Chester because they feel comfortable and safe.

The Mayor’s primary role is to oversee the administration of the West Chester Police Department. The mission of the West Chester Police Department, a law enforcement agency dedicated to the highest standards of professionalism and integrity, is to protect and serve our diverse communities by forging collaborative relationships.

West Chester is extremely fortunate to have one of the most professional, capable and caring police departments in the nation.

The Mayor has a unique opportunity to strengthen and build those collaborative relationships that are key to creating a West Chester that is a great place to live, work, learn and visit.

One of my first initiatives will be to introduce myself in my new role and to listen to members of our diverse communities… our citizens, our University and school district our businesses and non profits, our County and our neighboring municipalities. Listen to better understand the issues of concern and ideas for the future.

“Safety and Economics”… A prosperous community supports a safe community.

It’s a tough economy - even though West Chester has fared much better than many towns, it’s still tough times for locally owned businesses.

**With an eye to prosperity for all in 2010, I am launching the “West Chester 3/50 project”, which will take place in West Chester this year.**

The idea behind the “3/50″ project is to support locally owned businesses: retail, restaurants and services.

Here’s how it works: For example, I choose 3 locally owned West Chester businesses that I would really miss if they were gone. I stop in and say “hello”and pick up a little something - maybe spend $50 or so a month in these 3 shops.

“WC 3/50″ will help our shops and is also a great way to support the health of the entire community. Did you know that for every $100 spent in locally owned stores, $68 returns directly to the community! And most of our businesses give back to the community through donations, in-kind services and volunteer hours that support community programs. After all, West Chester is their home!

Second, I will focus on Transparency:

The goal is that all of West Chester’s people will have all the information they need to make well-informed decisions that will improve our community.

This is the time to have everyone connected: from the President of the United States down, the focus today is on open communication - transparency.

Communication allows transparency … and good government needs transparency!

The only way to not repeat mistakes is to understand them. I would like to see this for West Chester.

**In 2010 I will form a Mayor’s Communications Committee. The committee will review what is working and recommend ways to enhance communication in our community. **

A special focus of the Mayor’s Communications Committee will be to implement the recommendations of the “Communications Task Force” of our Police Department’s Strategic Plan - to implement the plan the people of West Chester created.

**I am very excited to announce that the new West Chester Police Department website is almost ready to go live and will be launched in early 2010. **

**Another exciting project I would like to see for West Chester is the creation of local “Public Educational and Government TV”. PEG TV would be a great tool to involve people.

Maybe we will start small with educational TV first, then build on our successes and add government and public access over time. I hope West Chester will be able to focus on the best practices of PEG TV already in place in other communities and will urge West Chester’s Borough Council and educational leaders to work together to explore the reasibility of PEG access.

My third focus will be on Knowledge and Learning:
The goal is to educate ourselves individually and as a community - to understand the issues and to create effective, sustainable solutions.

I will support ongoing education and training for the officers of the West Chester Police Department, and will continue to participate personally in leadership and best practices programs.

I will work with the Mayor’s Communications Committee to consider such initiatives as an annual town meeting, and forums on timely topics.
Conclusion:

By focusing on safety and economics, transparency and knowledge and learning, our citizens will be empowered to come together and develop effective initiatives that will lead to a West Chester that is safe, clean and green.

Each of us has a responsibility to leave something to posterity - to improve things for our children’s future.

I look forward to working together with all West Chester citizens and neighbors to protect and improve the lives of our residents. And to make West Chester an even better place to live, work, learn, and visit.

I wish everyone a very happy, healthy and prosperous new year!
Thank you very much!
(toast)

“Happy New Year to the people of West Chester… who are the reason West Chester has been called ‘one of the world’s most perfect small towns.’”

November 4, 2009
 
 
 
Dear Friends, Neighbors and Citizens of West Chester:
I am delighted and honored to announce that I am the Mayor-Elect of the great Borough of West Chester! 
 
I am honored to be the people’s choice as the next Mayor of the Borough of West Chester. Together we will work to build a future West Chester that is “Safe, Clean and Green” - striving to be the “Perfect Town” - to live, work and learn. 
 
I would like to thank each of you for your support and for endorsing my vision for West Chester’s future - a future where every voice is valued; where our diverse viewpoints, experience and talents work together to strengthen West Chester by building coalitions for a healthy future.
I send a special THANK YOU to the following people: 
Mayor Dick Yoder
Former Mayor Clifford De Baptiste
Former Mayor Tom Chambers
State Representative, Barbara McIlvaine Smith, Honorary Chair
Patrick O’Donnell, Esq., Honorary Chair
Mary Jane Rogan, Treasurer
Dan Dixon, Advisory Chair
Lani Frank, Manager
Members of my campaign and advisory committees Friends and supporters
My family: Tom, Tommy and Anne
 
I thank each of you, and look forward to working with you over the next four years.
 
Sincerely,
Carolyn
   
P.S.  Save the Date!  January 4th, Swearing-In

Longtime volunteer Elmer Duckinfield honored as humanitarian of the year
Tuesday, April 21, 2009

By TED TREVORROW, Special to the Local News

WEST GOSHEN - Nearly 200 people attended Safe Harbor homeless shelter’s third annual fundraiser Saturday night at QVC studio’s Atrium.

Many of West Chester and Chester County’s elected officials attended to provide support for the homeless shelter.

The star of the night was longtime Safe Harbor volunteer Elmer Duckinfield, who was presented with the Safe Harbor Andy Dinniman Humanitarian of the Year Award, named for the state senator who presented the award to Duckinfield.

Dinniman, D-19th, of West Whiteland, said it was an honor to give Duckinfield the award because he was “part of the original crew” who worked to establish Safe Harbor. The senator said people such as Duckinfield increase the awareness of homelessness in Chester County.

“Safe Harbor has been a mechanism that taught the community about the needs of the homeless, and the community responded,” Dinniman said.

Dinniman also credited Duckinfield with getting the message out about Safe Harbor and the work going on there.

In addition to the humanitarian award, Duckinfield received citations from Congressman Jim Gerlach, state Reps. Barbara McIlvaine Smith and Curt Schroder, U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter, West Chester Mayor Dick Yoder, West Chester Borough Council President Susan Bayne and Vice President Charles Christy, Congressman Joseph Pitts, and Chester County Commissioners Terence Farrell and Kathi Cozzone.

Many of the speakers noted Duckinfield contributes to 70 nonprofit and charity organizations in Chester County, providing food, supplies, connections and simple manpower. Duckinfield put more than 15,000 miles on his car while directly supporting various organizations, they said.

Duckinfield said the ceremony was “unbelievable” and thanked all the volunteers at Safe Harbor.

“And our board is just amazing,” Duckinfield said.

Duckinfield credited the community for its contributions, adding, “Chester County does an excellent job of helping those in need.”

In addition to honoring Duckinfield, the event was held to raise funds for Safe Harbor.

Organizers have held the event in the previous two years to raise the necessary funds needed to operate the shelter. This year, however, Safe Harbor needs additional funds as it prepares to build its new second story.

The second floor has room for 20 single homeless women, making it the only facility in Chester County that provides them shelter.

One of the biggest champions of this cause is Duckinfield, who works with an Emergency Action Task Force that provides shelter to single homeless women during the winter. The task force coordinated with local churches to provide warm, safe beds at rotating local churches during the winter.

Commissioners Farrell and Cozzone presented Safe Harbor with a check for $200,000 toward its second-story expansion. That put Safe Harbor two-thirds of the way to its $1.5 million goal for the project.

Safe Harbor board member Ellen Donohoe said with that donation, the board would move to the public phase of its fundraising campaign and begin working to collect donations from the general public in the next few weeks.

Those in attendance also participated in a live and silent auction to raise money for the shelter. The live auction featured a V.I.P. tour of the Capitol with Specter, a four-day stay in Clearwater, Fla., during Phillies spring training in 2010, a seven-day stay at a beach house in Bethany Beach, Del., and four Diamond Club tickets to a Phillies game.

The silent auction was filled with items donated by individual supporters of Safe Harbor. These included gift baskets and several golf outings at five separate golf courses. Guests could also bid on tickets to Phillies games and selections of seasonal decorations, among many other gifts.

Mayor Yoder said West Chester is lucky to have Safe Harbor.

“They are putting people back in the right direction,” Yoder said.

The mayor said he also liked the way the community has responded to the shelter.

“They have not only embraced the problem, they have energized the people,” he said.

QVC has hosted Safe Harbor’s annual fundraiser and provides the space and all the furniture at no cost. Also, longtime QVC personality Jane Tracy will soon be joining the Safe Harbor Board of Directors.

The event was also sponsored by the Kensey Nash Corp. CEO John Kaufman said his company is proud to be helping Safe Harbor and all its efforts. He said even though times are tough, “We are always looking for ways to give back to the community, and this fit the criteria.”

For more information about volunteering or donating to Safe Harbor, visit the Web site www.SafeHarborofGWC.org or call 610-692-6550. The shelter’s address is 20 N. Matlack St., West Chester, PA 19380.

Hundreds Attend Safe Harbor

The Daily Local (dailylocal.com), Serving Chester County, PA

A Women’s Evening of

“Clothing, Cocktails & Conversation”

The Viva Boutique

929 S. High Street
West Chester, PA

Thursday, April 30th 7-9:30pm

Featured guests:

Carolyn Comitta-Candidate for Mayor of West Chester

Dale Power- “Big Shoes”-Marketing Ideas for Entrepreneurs

Cathy Smith/Anne Bainbridge-”Foxwood Interiors”

Special invited guest: Barbara McIlvaine Smith

Please RSVP 610-430-8044

15% discount that evening…Bring a friend!

Carolyn Comitta Pennsylvania
Candidate for West Chester Mayor (Open Seat)

Carolyn Comitta is running for mayor of West Chester, Chester County. Carolyn is currently a West Chester Borough Council member, a member of the National League of Cities and a member of the Pennsylvania League of Cities. As chair of the Borough Council’s Public Safety Committee, Carolyn has been recognized nationally for cutting-edge public policy. Carolyn works as a member of World Information Transfer, Inc., promoting health and environmental literacy in conjunction with the United Nations. The mayor’s office has been held by conservatives since 1992 and has never been held by a woman. Since 2007, progressives have dramatically increased democratic registration in West Chester - so much so, that there are now more registered Democrats than Republicans and Independents combined.

Progressive Majority Pennsylvania

Submitted 4/8/09

May 16, 2009
Ms. Carolyn Comitta
Candidate, West Chester Mayor
17 W. Chestnut St.
West Chester, PA 19380
Dear Ms. Comitta:
I am pleased to inform you that you have received the endorsement of the Pennsylvania NOW PAC.
We appreciate your support and commitment to women’s issues and look forward to working with you.
We are delighted to have a strong candidate running for the Mayor of West Chester.
Once you win your primary election we can work on getting the message out to NOW members in West Chester for the General Election.
Congratulations on your endorsement.
Sincerely,
Joanne L. Tosti-Vasey
Chair, Pennsylvania NOW PAC

Women’s Campaign Forum Candidate Endorsements
April 6, 2009

Today we’re announcing a major set of endorsements. WCF is proud to support these extremely qualified and capable pro-choice women leaders. We are excited to energize our national network in their support.
Our endorsements include candidates running for federal office, such as Jennifer Brunner (OH), Robin Carnahan (MO), Kirsten Gillibrand (NY), and Judy Chu (CA) as well as women running for state and local offices such as Jeanette Rishell (VA), Carolyn Comitta (PA), and Leslie Crocker Snyder (NY). You can read more about these pro-choice leaders and link to their websites below. <snip>
This cycle we’re doing things a little differently. From now on, we’ll also be announcing our endorsements on our Women and Politics blog which allows our membership - the driving force of this national network - to weigh in. We’ll then be highlighting individual candidates, so you can learn more about the woman behind the endorsement and help shape their WCF experience.
<snip>
All the best,
Erin Cutraro
Politics and Education Director, WCF

Know another great pro-choice woman who you believe should run for office? Visit our She Should Run site and tell us about her today.

Women’s Campaign Forum works tirelessly to improve women’s representation by empowering pro-choice women from all walks of life to become voters, activists, volunteers, and most importantly, candidates.

Community garden proposal takes root
Parking lot was planned at the West Chester site
Wednesday, April 8, 2009

By DAN KRISTIE, Staff Writer The Daily Local News

WEST CHESTER - Neighbors of the West Gay Street area have asked Borough Council for permission to start a community garden on the former West Chester water tower site at Gay and New streets.

Ben Aller, the leader of the garden effort, said that he and his neighbors want to grow organic vegetables, fruits and flowers. While some of the fruits and veggies will be used by and traded among neighbors, he said, others will be donated to the poor.

The park and recreation committee gave the plan a favorable recommendation on Monday night, and Borough Council is likely next week to grant the neighbors permission to run the garden for a three-year trial period.

“I think this would be a wonderful improvement to a blighted property,” Councilwoman Carolyn Comitta said.

Aller said he and his neighbors want to get permission to start gardening in time for the 2009 growing season.

The water tower site was originally supposed to become a surface parking lot, and it still could end up as one. The Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development has given the borough a grant to convert the land into a parking lot, but the grant money hasn’t been spent and borough officials said the site is not likely to become a parking lot within the next three years.

The neighbors, who call themselves the Historic West End Neighborhood Association, are not a legal entity, and the borough therefore cannot sign a contract with them.

The permission borough council is likely to grant the neighbors will be nonbinding.

Aller said the association wants to build 12 raised planters of approximately 3 feet by 10 feet. The association must use raised planters, he said, because the soil on the site is not well suited for agriculture.

Grassy common areas will be maintained between the planters, and smaller planters will be used on concrete footers that once held the water tower’s legs, Aller said.

Aller said the idea for a community garden occurred to him and his neighbors last year, during walks through the West Gay Street area.

“As you walk by things, you tend to look at them and wonder what their potential could be,” Aller said. “The community garden idea seemed like the most usable proposal for our neighborhood.”

To contact staff writer Dan Kristie, send an e-mail to dkristie@dailylocal.com.

URL: http://www.dailylocal.com/articles/2009/04/08/news/srv0000005069738.prt

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