Election 2023: Candidate Questionnaires for North Penn Area

Dan Sokil | The Reporter•

Campaign signs for North Penn school board candidates can be seen on Valley Forge Road in Towamencin on Wednesday, Nov. 1 2023.

The end of those campaign calls and commercials is just a few days away.

If you haven’t sent your ballot by mail, be sure to stop by your local polling place on Tuesday to cast your vote for one or more of the North Penn area’s local races — and read our question-and-answer previews, linked below, of those races beforehand.

North Penn School Board

A total of 10 candidates are vying for five seats, all of which would be four-year at-large terms on the board. Incumbent Democrats Elisha Gee, Tim MacBain, Juliane Ramic and Cathy Wesley are joined by new candidate Kunbi Rudnick on the "North Penn Neighbors for Progress” team, opposed by Republicans Vince Altieri, Diana Blystone and Liz Vazquez running together as "North Penn Voices 4 All,” and Adam Breaux and Michael R. Jowder running together as "North Penn United.” Candidate answered a series of questions submitted by the Lansdale AAUW about how they would reduce division in the community, their thoughts on culture conflicts in classrooms, how to fund education, ways to recruit new teachers, and how they would address building and infrastructure needs, in a five-part series published in the AAUW’s annual voter guide.

Hatfield Township

Three seats are on the ballot, with two incumbents being challenged and a third not running again. In Ward 1, incumbent Republican commissioner Greg Lees is being opposed by Democrat Jennifer LoStracco, winner of a May primary race. Incumbent Ward 3 commissioner Deb Zimmerman, currently the only Democrat on the board, is not on the ballot; Democrat Shahidul Partha and Republican Ann Leslie are both running to fill that seat. And in Ward 5, longtime Republican incumbent Gerry Andris is opposed by Democrat Frank Gilroy.

Lansdale Borough

A total of four seats are on the ballot in the borough, with decisions for voters in each of the town’s wards this year. In Ward 1, incumbent Democrat BJ Breish will face off against Republican Yanni Lambros, who ran unsuccessfully for another seat from that ward in 2021. In Ward 2, incumbent Democrats Meg Currie Teoh and Rich DiGregorio are both running to hold seats, while Republican Scott Kallatch is seeking one of those seats. In Ward 3, Democrat Rafia Razzak and Republican Jasen Meitzler are both running for the seat currently held by council President Denton Burnell.

Montgomery Township

What started as a four-person race will be down to one winner, who will serve a six-year term as a township supervisor. Incumbent Democrat Tanya Bamford was unopposed in the May primary, and on the Republican side candidate Jatin Patel triumphed in a three-man primary race in May.

North Wales

Six seats are on the ballot, but voters won’t have that many choices to make at the polls. Three of those six seats are uncontested: longtime councilman Mark Tarlecki is running unopposed for a fifth term on council from the town’s Ward 2, and in Ward 1 one-term incumbent Sherwin Collins and newcomer Brittany Kohler, who was appointed in March, are unopposed in seeking their second and first full terms respectively.

One four-year and two two-year terms are on the ballot, and one name will appear twice. In the only contested race, Ward 1 incumbent Democrat Wendy McClure, now in her third stint on council, is being challenged by Republican newcomer Steven Juska for a two-year term. In Ward 3, incumbent Democrat council President Sal Amato is being opposed — on paper — by Republican Greg D’Angelo, who served two terms as borough mayor from 2013 through 2021. D’Angelo also appears on the ballot for another seat, as he’s also running, on paper but not campaigning, for a two-year term for a seat held by Democrat Anji Fazio, who was appointed to council in January 2022.

Towamencin

Towamencin’s long-running sewer sale debate will be reflected in the November general election, as current Republican supervisor Rich Marino, long a proponent of the sale, is being opposed by Democratic challenger Kofi Osei, chairman of the township’s short-lived government study commission and founder of the "Towamencin NOPE” group opposing the sale, for one six-year term.

Upper Gwynedd

At least two newcomers will be seated in January, as six candidates are running for four-year terms in seats on the township’s board of commissioners. Incumbent Democrat Katherine Carter is joined by newcomers Greg Moll and Rebecca Moodie, in place of current Democrat commissioners Ruth Damsker and Martha Simelaro; they’re opposed by Republicans George Cressman, Fred Hencken and Tim Feltis in the November general election.

Magisterial District Judges

Incumbent Judge Andrea Duffy representing district court 38-1-18 in Montgomery Township, and incumbent Judge Suzan Leonard for district court 38-1-21 in Lower Gwynedd, are the only candidates listed for those races.

For ongoing coverage of all local elections, visit https://www.thereporteronline.com/news/politics/election/.

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