The letter largely criticized the Board of Supervisors and the process they used to appoint the townships professionals. Shortly before the 2011 General Election, the previous Republican-controlled board solicited requests for proposals for engineers, general counsel and Act 511, separately. Five law firms and eleven engineers made presentations in meetings that were open to the public. They were interviewed, their proposals discussed, debated, and ultimately selected on merit, qualifications and what was the best for the Township. It is worth noting, that all of these appointments were approved by a unanimous bi-partisan vote, including the lone republican supervisor, Bill Jenaway. It is even more interesting to note that all of the rates negotiated by the Democratic controlled board were more competitive than previous Republican appointments. Sounds to me the Democrats of the Board of Supervisors are keeping to their promise “any changes made in the professional staff would be solely for the benefit of the township residents” while Republicans continue to distort the record. Maybe that’s because they are trying to hide their own history of giving contracts to political donors regardless of merits or qualifications, or because distorting facts is all they know how to do.

It is sad that the Upper Merion Republicans cannot get over the fact that this community is tired of their rhetoric and attacks. Instead of working to improve our community, the local GOP insists on trying to destroy it in the name of partisan politics.

The 2011 election is over and the citizens have spoken. It is time for Ms. McLaughlin and the Upper Merion Republicans to end the false attacks and childish sulking and start working with the Democratic majority to move my life-long home forward. It is time to put politics behind us, and time for the elected Democratic majority Board to govern for the betterment of the residents and work to move the township forward…and from what I saw on “day one” that’s exactly what they are doing.

TOM KOHLER Chairman, Upper Merion Democratic Committee .

Wednesday January 18, 2012
JANUARY MEETING DATE CHANGE
Please note we have pushed our UMDC January Meeting to January 30, 7:30 pm at Good Shepherd Church. This is a very important meeting as petitions will be underway and we need to help all of our candidates get on the ballot.

Monday, January 2, 2012
Swearing-in Information
Join the Upper Merion Democrats and celebrate a new year and a new era in Upper Merion Township. Tuesday, January 3 at 7:30 pm, Carole Kenney and Greg Philips will be sworn-in as the newest members of the Board of Supervisors. Following the re-organization meeting, we invite you to join us for a reception at the King of Prussia Fire Company. History takes places Tuesday, and we invite you to witness it first hand with the new Democratic majority.

Wednesday, November 9
DEMOCRATS HISTORIC VICTORY
Overwhelmingly, voters elected Josh Shapiro and Leslie Richards to control the County Commissioners. Meanwhile, Upper Merion Township has elected, Carole Kenney and Greg Philips to the Board of Supervisors, giving the Democrats a 4-1 majority for the first time in history. The Democratic backed FOCUS team also took a majority of the Upper Merion Area School Board races. Voters also elected two Democrats to the court of common pleas, re-elected the Democratic Clerk of Courts, Register of Wills, Prothontery, Coroner, and elected a Democratic Treasurer.

Story from King of Prussia Courier

Tuesday, November 8
ELECTION DAY!!!! VOTE STRAIGHT DEMOCRATIC
Click link to see where to vote! Press D7

Wednesday, November 3, 2011
You Can't Trust Sibley & McBride

Monday, October 31
A Message from Supervisor Erika Spott
From the King of Prussia Courier Online - October 31, 2011

To the Editor:

All politics is local" and judging from letters generated by the Board of Supervisors race this year, Upper Merion is no different. November 8 is election day and I strongly encourage all Upper Merion residents to exercise this important right. This year the local race offers a real choice about who will best protect the quality of life in Upper Merion. So, please take the time to become an educated voter and check the claims of those seeking your vote, then ask yourself these questions: First, will we elect candidates who will bring a fresh, independent, balanced and forward-looking approach, or will we roll-back the calendar and elect "status quo" candidates who say one thing, yet do another? For example, for those who enjoyed the Upper Merion Swim Club this summer, is it acceptable leadership to make promises to protect open space from development, yet have voted to allow the swim club property to be developed into a townhouse community, as one of the status quo candidates did in 2007? Click here to read full article.

Friday October 14
Supervisor answers Volpe
From the King of Prussia Courier - October 13, 2011

To the Editor:

I want to address Ralph Volpe�s leap of logic that my desire for change in Upper Merion Township means your taxes will go up. I guess I�m sort of accustomed to hearing these types of comments in election season and after all it is the same red herring that both he and the local Republican Party raised two years ago prior to that election day. While nobody likes having their quotes twisted and taken completely out of context in a local newspaper, I actually want to thank Mr. Volpe for opening the door and raising what should be the most discussed issue in the upcoming Upper Merion Township supervisor elections: the midnight income tax that Scott Sibley as a lame-duck supervisor proposed shortly after being defeated two years ago and how it relates to the increased financial accountability and better government that would arise from a Democrat-controlled Board of Supervisors.

If financial accountability and better government are as important to you as they are to me, I would like to ask you to do something that very few elected officials would ever ask. I don�t want you to inherently believe my word over Mr. Volpe�s word or vice versa. I don�t want you to inherently believe any subsequent response to these opinion pieces or anyone else�s comments on this matter regardless of what side they take as it will most likely be motivated by which candidates they are supporting in the upcoming election. I�m asking you to conduct your own ethics investigation by making a Right to Know request with the township for the audiotapes of the budget meetings from 2009, especially the meetings held on Nov. 12 and 18 of 2009. Please determine for yourself which supervisor proposed a tax which would have cost you of 1 percent of your income? Please determine for yourself whether it was a serious proposal. Please determine for yourself what other supervisors were nonchalant about the dramatic tax increase. Please determine which two people in the room raised the most questions about the timing, merits and impact of the midnight tax increase on our residents, particularly those of limited income. Please ask yourself why the supervisor who proposed the 1-percent tax only raised it after the election instead of raising it before the election and in a televised business meeting.

If you listen to those budget tapes you�ll understand why I completely stand behind my original partial quote that, �Upper Merion Township needs change.�

Greg Waks is an Upper Merion Township supervisor. He is always happy to speak with Upper Merion Residents and can be reached at gwaks@umtownship.org, his phone number is 267-994-4488 and his Web site is www.gregwaks.org. Read Full Article at www.mainlinemedianews.com

Thursday April 14
Upper Merion Democrats vie for board seats on the Board of Supervisors
Two seats are up for grabs on the Upper Merion Board of Supervisors, and a pair of local democrats are vying for the job. Gregory W. Philips and Carole Kenney kicked off their primary campaign Wednesday April 13 at JC�s Fireside Bistro (formerly Bear Rock Caf�) on Dekalb Pike. Read Full Article at www.timesherald.com

Saturday, April 9
Times Herald: Philips, Kenney enter UM township supervisor race
Attorney and architect Greg Philips and running mate Carole Kenney received unanimous support recently by the Upper Merion Democratic Committee as nominees for township supervisor. Read Full Article at www.timesherald.com

Monday March 28, 2011
UM Democrats Endorse United Tickets For Supervisor, School Board
The Upper Merion Democratic Committee has announced their official slate of endorsed local candidates for the 2011 Elections. Unanimous Support was given to Carole Kenney & Greg Philips to be the Democratic nominees for Upper Merion Township Supervisor. In addition, the UMDC endorsed a bipartisan slate for the UMASD Board of Directors, representing the most qualified and talented group of candidates ever assembled for this office. The entire list of candidates can be found on our candidates page. Join the Upper Merion Democratic Committee as we move forward in 2011 with our team for a better Township and a better School District.

Join the UM Democrats! Email our chairman Tom Kohler, tkohler@umdems.org to sign up today.