Four seats and mayoral spot are available on the Borough Council in the Nov. 6 general election.
By: Cynthia Williamson
NEW HOPE There are Democrats and then there are Democrats seeking four available seats on the Borough Council and mayor in the upcoming Nov. 6 general election.
But candidates endorsed by the newly activated New Hope Democratic Committee should not be confused with candidates who didn’t seek the committee’s support and don’t want it either.
Confused?
Sharyn Keiser said she was after reading a newspaper article announcing the appointment of Councilman Bert Johnson and Barbara Matasovsky, who goes by the name, Lady, to the local Democratic Committee.
Ms. Keiser, a Democrat, is seeking re-election to the Borough Council in November. And neither she nor fellow Democratic candidates for the council, Edward Duffy and Randy Flager, were aware of plans to activate the local committee or that one had been appointed.
She said the reaction was similar from some members of the all-Democratic Borough Council, of which Ms. Keiser is vice president.
"None of us were informed any of this was going on," she said. "This is the first I’ve heard of this one."
According to Ms. Keiser, Ms. Matasovky voted Republican in the last election "so I just don’t understand it," she said.
"If we had known about it," Ms. Keiser said, "maybe we would have had a voice in who heads this Democratic Committee."
Mr. Johnson said the county Democratic Committee had been "asking me for months" to serve on the local committee.
He said Ms. Keiser, Mr. Duffy and Mr. Flager had been invited to attend the committee’s Sept. 19 caucus and fund-raiser in New Hope but as of last week he had only heard from Mr. Duffy who wasn’t sure if he would be able to attend, Mr. Johnson said.
"I’m totally supportive of all the Democratic candidates running," he said.
Reynaldo Velasco and Joe Knox also are running on the Democratic ticket for council and mayor, respectively.
"Our position is to disassociate ourselves with them," Ms. Keiser said. "More often than not, (Bert Johnson) has voted against initiatives taken by the council."
She added, "We just want to let people know we’re not a part of their fund-raiser or their committee."
The candidates received an endorsement this week from a grassroots group calling themselves New Hope Residents for Continued Positive Government.
"After considering all those running for a seat on the Borough Council, we are proud to announce" Ms. Keiser, Mr. Duffy and Mr. Flager "as our endorsed candidates," according to an NHR press release.
"We strongly feel that the candidates we support in this coming election exhibit the commitment, strength and integrity to enable the council to continue to move forward in a very positive way," the release stated.
NHR plans to host several meet-the-candidates nights in the weeks leading up to the November election.

