State Rep. David Kessler may regret his decision to keep his post as an Oley Township Supervisor when he was elected to the state House of Representatives in 2006. In nearly every case, officials give up municipal positions when they win a seat in the Legislature, but not Kessler, who decided to serve as both a township official and a state representative in the 130th House District.
Kessler, a Democratic who believes he is the only qualified resident of Oley to serve as a township supervisor, now finds himself in a position of casting the deciding vote to keep the township's full-time police department.
The other two members of the Board of Supervisors are split on the issue. One wants to cut the police force. The other is willing to raise taxes to keep 24-hour police coverage.
The only way to pay for the police force is a tax increase, something future political opponents will use against Kessler. But if Kessler votes to eliminate police protection, a future opponent can hit him on being soft on crime. It's a no-win position that Kessler put himself in.
(Kessler won re-election to a second term in the state House last week by defeating Dick Gokey by a margin of 17,675 to 13,634 votes).
Read more about the future of the Oley police force in today's Reading Eagle.
2 comments:
Don't worry, Kessler will find a way to weasel out of this dilemma. I doubt there is another individual in the local politics so full of himself as Kessler.
Another question to ask him is, if he votes to cut spending in Oley Township can we expect him to do the same in Harrisburg? He owes alot to the stae Democrat Party for pouring loads of money into his campaign and he is obligated now to do what they tell him.
Kessler will vote to keep the police because he needs someone to patrol his fiefdom. He'll raise taxes because he's raised them repeatedly in his rule in Oley. King David, Long Live the King!
Post a Comment