Election Day: Towamencin voters sound off about developments, zoning

 As fall winds swept through Towamencin on a chilly Election Day, did the winds of change follow?

With voting ongoing Tuesday afternoon and races for both school board and township supervisor on the ballot, voters had plenty to say as they marched to the polls across the township.

“I’m voting for the right thing — everything, all the way up to the judges. I do appreciate some of the other side’s advertisements, because it helped me make my decision,” said voter Tom Doyle.

Doyle said he’s been voting in the township for more than 30 years and made up his mind about local races “right from the get-go,” and had plenty of thoughts about the township-level races.

“Hopefully, they’re going to vote for those who want to keep the township the way it is. We don’t need any more housing, we don’t need any space being knocked down for housing. Towamencin’s a nice township, we’d like to keep it that way,” he said.

As Doyle headed out of General Nash Elementary from casting his vote, and parents headed in and out for conferences with teachers, Katie Heydt followed a few minutes later, and reflected on her first local election as a Pennsylvanian.

“Just came here to do my duty. I actually just moved here — I got married, I was in DC the last ten years, it’s very different here,” she said.

Rion Hughes said he attended Nash as a student, and he’s been closely following the township debate over the now-former Freddy Hill Farms property on Sumneytown Pike, and how many housing units of what type could be built there.       

“There isn’t enough room for traffic, if there are houses put in there, and I worry about that because that is on the commute for my job. I used to go there a lot for mini golf, that was always fun. I’m disappointed, because that was a ton of my childhood,” he said.

“They keep adding houses, but they don’t add more business. I remember a few years ago, they wanted to build a movie tavern, but it didn’t happen. And it pisses me off, because it seems like the township is fine with housing, but not businesses. We need both,” Hughes said. “Read up, definitely read up.”            

Another voter who asked to be identified only as Michele said she voted based on a mix of local and national concerns.

“I’m really concerned with the direction the country is heading now, under the Republicans. School board, I don’t want the Republicans to take over that. I am concerned with the development: Sumneytown Pike is very busy as it is, without putting in anything else,” she said.

Tom Shirley said he thought it was his civic duty to vote, and he was most focused on the supervisors’ race: “The lack of development, or future development.”

“I’ve lived here 40 years, right down the street, and I’ve seen a lot of growth, a lot of traffic, a lot of school expansion, just buildup. It all starts at the grassroots level, and then filters up to the national level. You’ve gotta take care of the little stuff before the big stuff,” he said. “It’s your right to vote, it’s a privilege to vote, and you should maximize the opportunity, out of respect to our veterans.”

Susan and Sean Perugini said they were also brought to the polls by the local development talks.

“We’ve lived here since ’97, and it’s extremely different. I don’t mind progress, but too much is not good. I don’t like so much built up so fast. I don’t like high density housing, we don’t need it. Bringing in more people means more traffic, it’s bad for wildlife,” Susan said.

“Pay attention to what’s going on in your community, and come out and vote, ’cause it’s important. We have to go to four different stores to get provisions, because there aren’t enough options around here. I can’t grocery shop at Harbor Freight,” Susan said.

Over at the township administration building on Troxel Road, representatives from both parties handed out literature for their respective candidates, pointing voters toward the proper booth, and chatted about national races as they waited for local voters to arrive. As each greeted voters, Barbara Jamieson made a literary reference as she explained her vote.

“I have four daughters and one son, and I don’t want my granddaughter to wear a red-hooded robe to school. It’s all about women’s rights, and disappearing our rights. Every single one — our kids, our partners, everyone — you feel little, and then you realize you’re part of this village, and altogether our voice gets heard,” she said.

Betsy Bowker brought a bag of groceries to drop off in a box of food donations being collected for those in need by the Democratic poll watchers and said she was also casting a vote to be heard on state and national topics.

“Let’s put it this way: this is the first time we’ve ever had rights taken away from us, as Americans. And I cannot stand and watch that: I have daughters, and sons. What brings me out here? Cockeyed optimism?” Bowker said.

Her first look into local politics came with the start of the township’s long-running sewer sale debate from 2020 into ’23, Bowker added, but she was more strongly spurred by a viral Tiktok video posted in January by now-former supervisor Laura Smith, whose former seat is one of the two now on the ballot.

“A little bit (the sewer sale), but it was more the

. I’ve lived here a long time, and I vote every time, but never got vocal or really involved. I like how the other party is talking about the overdevelopment, when they’ve been running the township for how long?” she said. “There’s so much potential in this township, and we’re so close to the turnpike. We could do so much more here.”

Victor Ribeiro said he moved from Upper Gwynedd to Towamencin in 2019 and has kept a close eye on the township ever since, particularly during the sewer sale debate, and thought voting was “my duty, as a citizen, and when I vote I feel like I’m contributing something good, to the community. I’ve been doing research as to show does what, what they want, everything. Do the right thing: I’m not going to tell you hey, go and vote Republican or Democratic, that’s a personal decision. But things are right out in the open. You only can’t see them if you’re blind.”

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