The election will be held May 20.
By: Linda Seida
In the primary election May 20 in Bucks County, four Democrats and three Republicans are on the ballot in New Hope where three seats on the Borough Council are up for grabs in the November ballot.
In Solebury, three Republicans are on the ballot, and one Democrat is running unopposed, aiming for a chance at two seats on the Board of Supervisors.
In New Hope, incumbent Democrats Geraldine Delevich and Richard Hirschfield are up against fellow Democratic candidates Alan Rosenberg and Rey Velasco. Running on the Republican ticket are Robert Gerenser, Claire E. Shaw and Michael McManus.
Councilwoman Sandra Trappen is not running for re-election.
In Solebury, running unopposed on the Democratic ticket is Marcus Saitschenko. The Republicans on the primary ballot are Susan Kroupa, Donald E. Krause and Ruth Ann Wilson. Supervisors Peter Grover and Stephen Phillips are not running for re-election.
Information on the candidates, printed below, comes from the League of Women Voters of Bucks County.
Running for three four-year terms in the New Hope race are:
Ms. Delevich, a teacher who holds a master’s degree, completing a four-year term on the New Hope Borough Council, of which she is president pro tem.
She also is chairwoman of the Community Development Committee and serves on the Revitalization Committee. She serves on the board of Partners in Progress and is chairwoman of the Outdoor Sculpture Project.
Mr. Hirschfield, who served three years as the president of the New Hope Borough Council, holds a bachelor’s degree from Rutgers University and is a retired computer executive.
He has three decades of experience in management and finance.
Mr. Rosenberg, who attended community college for two years, owns a shop and is a landlord.
He has lived in New Hope for more than 20 years.
Dr. Velasco is a pediatrician who has lived in the borough for seven years.
He sits on the boards of Partners in Progress and the New Hope Area Chamber of Commerce. He also sits on the committee of the Outdoor Sculpture Project. Beginning in 1999, he has led voter registration campaigns, and he also is active in several other community organizations.
Ms. Shaw is a periodontist in private practice and a clinical professor at Temple University School of Dentistry.
Since 1992, she has served on the House of Delegates of the Pennsylvania Dental Association. Last year, she served as the organization’s Reference Committee chairwoman. Also since 1992, she served on the executive board of the Montgomery-Bucks Dental Society, holding a number of positions that include president, treasurer, parliamentarian and recording secretary.
Mr. Gerenser, a former member of Borough Council, running for the first time in 1997.
He holds an associate’s degree from Bucks County Community College, spent two years at Rider College and attended Rutgers Cook College and Penn State University. He holds a United States Coast Guard master license.
He is the owner of Gerenser’s Exotic Ice Cream and runs Captain Coryell’s Ferry Historic Boat Rides. His experience includes service in the New Hope Eagle Fire Company, press secretary of the Independent Merchants of New Hope and a term as vice president of the New Hope Chamber of Commerce. He is also founder of Coryell’s Ferry Militia, a historical re-enactment group, and portrayed George Washington in 1997, 1999 and 2003.
Mr. McManus did not provide any information to the League of Women Voters of Bucks County.
Running for two six-year terms in the Solebury Township race are:
Mr. Saitschenko, a lawyer who graduated from American University in 1986, and the State University of New York at Binghamton in 1983.
A township resident since 1986, he now serves on the township’s Zoning Hearing Board. In his work as an attorney, he has represented municipalities and municipal authorities. He also has represented property owners before boards of supervisors, planning commissions and zoning boards. He has worked as an advocate with the Housing Association of the Delaware Valley, which is based in Philadelphia.
Ms. Kroupa, who holds a bachelor’s degree from the College of William and Mary and is a retired recruiter and manager in the field of information technology.
She chairs the Land Preservation Committee and is liaison to the Board of Supervisors and the Planning Commission. She is director of the Solebury Township Historical Society and a member of the township’s Ordinance Revision Committee. She is director of the Bucks County Audubon Society. Ms. Kroupa also devotes time as a volunteer to Doylestown Hospital and sings in the choir of Solebury United Methodist Church.
Mr. Krause, who holds a bachelor’s degree from Pennsylvania State University and is the owner of his own business.
He acted as a judge in Odyssey of the Mind, a school program that fosters creative thinking in students, and he is the creator of Telly Award-winning educational programs for children. He spent six years as a coach in community sports programs.
Ms. Wilson, who holds a bachelor’s degree from Ohio State University and is a retired small-business owner, office manager and public relations executive.
A resident of the township for more than two decades, she serves on the board of the Historic Carversville Society. She is one of the founders of Citizens Against a Regional Expressway, also known as CARE. Ms. Wilson also is a former Republican Committeewoman.

