The day after - No regrets, many supporters

Of course I’m disappointed that I didn’t win this election. But I have absolutely no regrets. I ran a hard hitting campaign, we got the message out and raised enough money to do everything we wanted to do and then some. I’m proud of the campaign that was devised and well executed by a great team with many volunteers and contributors. Dozens and dozens of people helped on this campaign and that by itself is encouraging and inspiring.

It was clear going into this campaign that going up against a 16 year incumbent with a 28% registration advantage would be difficult.

I proposed drastic changes in what a commissioner should do and not do, how our Township would be run and what our Township might become. This message of progress and reform did not win the day in yesterday’s election. Unofficial approximate vote count was 889 to 1269 with a turnout of about 58% of the registered voters.

I’m only sorry that I won’t have the opportunity to serve the community in this capacity.

The choices were clear. In the end, the voters said they wanted more of the same instead of change.

Many thanks to my volunteers, contributors, supporters, and those who voted for me!

McGarrity tries to rebut the facts I've presented

Jim McGarrity has recently sent out a letter attempting to characterize the facts I've documented and presented as false allegations.


First, this letter proves one of my allegations, that he uses the same phone number for his campaign and for commissioner business. Here's the top of the latest letter:

And here's the top of a recent 7th Ward newsletter, paid for by the Township:

Obviously, the campaign phone number and the commissioner line are the same phone number. On my website's Voter Info page I have posted McGarrity's Commissioner expense reports from February to July 2007 showing phone bills ranging from $167.33 to $193.47 per month. These bills are outrageous!


Debate
His letter states that I said he would not debate me. I had challenged McGarrity to a 7th Ward-only debate, and 11 days later he declined to participate. Yes, he did decline to debate me in an in-depth session in the 7th Ward. He participated in the LWV candidates forum where there were 10 candidates and 2 hours.


Cronyism
McGarrity disputes the cronyism regarding the Recycling Coordinator and Highway Inspector jobs. I stand by my comments that both of these employees are friends of McGarrity, that one at least of them has been a paid campaign worker for him, and that McGarrity was involved in both of these personnel decisions.

On the Highway Inspector job, there is a pending federal discrimination lawsuit that the Township is now defending itself against at great expense because of this hiring. This is a fact.

The Recycling Coordinator was an unbudgeted position. It was not in the 2006 budget passed in December 2006, and the job was created in January 2007. This is a fact.


Farmers Market
McGarrity denies that he is against the Oakmont Farmers Market (started by my wife Janet) and says that he "is working with School Board Director Joe Martin, to investigate the possibility of using the rear of Oakmont School for next year." This is not true. And he has not spoken with any of the Farmers Market organizers about any of this. So he isn't "working" on anything here. Previously McGarrity stated that the farmers market should get a storefront. And his comments at various Commissioners meetings have been very antagonistic. He has repeatedly demonstrated that he just doesn't understand the whole thing.

What McGarrity is trying to do is save his political skin and undo the anti-Farmers Market comments he has previously made because he sees that the Farmers Market is so popular.

He appears to be trying to coopt the popularity of the market and control the same farmers market that he has been hostile to. Anyone who has heard him at the Commissioners meetings know this is a complete flip-flop.


Campaign Finance Ethics
Finally, McGarrity fails to adequately address a major issue that I have documented, that he has taken significant contributions from people who do business with the Township. (I have posted the proof on the Voter Info page of my website.) His letter says, "I am not beholding [sic] to ANYONE." The facts are that people who have contributed to McGarrity's campaign have gotten business and contracts with the Township.

As I continue to say, I am the ONLY candidate the does not take contributions from people who do business with the Township, and I never will. The residents of the 7th Ward have heard this message loud and clear, and it's up to them to decide.

No 7th Ward Debate as McGarrity finally says no to the challenge

In today's (Oct 3, 2007) News of Delaware County (Haverford Edition at least) is my letter to the editor about the 7th Ward debate that I proposed. 11 days after I initially attempted to contact him, including 4 phone calls, 3 phone messages, and 4 emails, McGarrity finally responded via email to say that he would not participate in a 7th Ward debate. He even drove right past me this past Saturday when I was out knocking on doors and I waved to him.

Of course, there is a candidates forum hosted by the League of Women Voters on Wednesday Oct. 24. In that debate there are 5 sets of candidates, so each candidate gets only a little time to talk about the issues. In wards 5 and 9, those candidates are participating in local debates in their ward only. This provides a good bit of time to get each candidate's views on many issues, and in detail.

Many thanks to St. Faith Church on Brookline Boulevard, who had said they would host the event, to Jim Taylor, who offered moderate the debate, and my campaign manager Judith LaLonde, who worked on the arrangements.

But finally, McGarrity said no.

Here's the letter:

To the Editor,
About 11 days ago, I called and emailed my opponent in the election for Haverford Township’s 7th Ward Commissioner, incumbent Jim McGarrity, to invite him to participate in a 7th Ward debate. Arrangements for a location, possible dates and a moderator were in place. Four phone messages and four emails later, I had no response from McGarrity. Finally, McGarrity declined the invitation today, saying, "You've had me so busy trying to answer all your questions on my financial statements, I haven't had much time."

It’s too bad that the voters of the 7th Ward will not get the opportunity to hear and see their candidates discuss the issues of the Township and the 7th Ward in depth, as some of the other wards are doing.

In this campaign I’ve addressed some troubling issues. I’ve talked about the patronage jobs that have gone to McGarrity’s friends. I’ve documented the thousands of dollars given to McGarrity’s campaign from people who do business with the Township and thousands more from players in the Delaware County Republican machine. And I've asked the Bureau of Elections to look into his campaign finance reports. These issues are discussed in my newsletters and on my website (http://www.larrychrzan.com/).

I am the ONLY candidate in this race who does NOT take money from people who do business with the Township or political action committees outside Haverford Township. And I never will.

With only a few hundred houses left to visit, I will have knocked on every door in the 7th Ward (about 1750 homes) twice by Election Day on Nov. 6. In my conversations, the residents and taxpayers of the 7th Ward want to know what their Commissioner will do and how their tax money is being spent. And they want a Commissioner who will represent their interests, not be indebted the contributors.

It’s a shame that McGarrity won’t provide that opportunity for the voters of the 7th Ward.

Larry Chrzan

Under my name in the print version of the paper, it says, "Democratic commissioner 7th Ward, Haverford Township."

This was an error on the paper's part. I had written, "Democrat for 7th Ward Commissioner."

Maybe they have a crystal ball and can see the future!

It was an interesting series of events in getting this letter in, then revised. I emailed the letter to the editor on Monday evening about 5:30 PM. I quickly got a response from the editor saying the letter would be in this week's edition. That letter said that McGarrity had not responded. About 3 PM on Tuesday afternoon, I got McGarrity's email declining to debate. I thought that the paper would be out to print at that point, but I figured I would try. I called the editor and she said the if I could revise it within 10 minutes, that could go in. So I quickly changed things to indicate that McGarrity had responded, said no, and commented about the time he is "so busy trying to answer all your questions on my financial statements." So the revised letter got published just in the nick of time.

You may be wondering what McGarrity was referring to about the campaign finance statements. A few weeks ago I sent a letter to the Delco Bureau of Elections pointing out many discrepancies in McGarrity's campaign finance reports. Among the problems were contributions that are listed with the contributor being a company or business, expense items listed without qualifying details, and some obvious errors like an amount listed with no contributor. Apparently the Bureau of Elections has contacted McGarrity to address these problems.

Obviously, it's not my problem that his campaign finance reports are not correct, and it's not a very good excuse to decline a debate.

Campaign Finance Reports for 7th Ward Commissioner Candidates

I posted to the Voter Info page of my campaign website the campaign finance reports filed by me and by my opponent, incumbent Republican Jim McGarrity, in the last 4-5 years. The reports are all that are available; the Delco Bureau of Elections only keeps the last 5 years of records. I also did public records requests from Haverford Township to confirm that the McGarrity campaign contributors are indeed doing business with the township.

Here is a summary:

Larry Chrzan, 2007
$0 in contributions from vendors, contractors and attorneys who have done business with Haverford Township
$0 in PAC contributions from outside Haverford Township

Jim McGarrity, 2003-2007
$2,710 in contributions from vendors, contractors and attorneys who have done business with Haverford Township
$3,350 in PAC contributions from outside Haverford Township, most of which have come in the last year.

When I began this campaign, I stated on my website's contribution page:

Note on donations to the Chrzan for the 7th Ward campaign
If you are a vendor, contractor, or supplier of goods or services to Haverford Township, or wish to do business with the township, please do not contribute money to my campaign.

As you can see, I am the ONLY candidate for 7th Ward Commissioner that is not NOT indebted to campaign contributors who do business with the township and is NOT beholden to contributors from the Delaware County Republican political machine
I'll add one more thing to my voluntary campaign finance reform pledge.

I NEVER WILL take contributions from people who do business with our Township.

PECO engineers to check 7-4 electric grid

While knocking on doors in 4th precinct of the 7th Ward recently, I heard from many residents along parts of Campbell Ave, Hastings Ave, Ridgeway Ave and Academy Lane that they have had ongoing problems with frequent and prolonged power outages. They described that their power goes out many times when neighbors in nearby sections do not lose power, and their power outages were longer in duration.

I contacted Acting Township Manager Larry Gentile and asked him to contact PECO to let them know of this problem. Mr. Gentile contacted PECO promptly. Due to that request, PECO Engineers will perform a reliability study in your area in about 3 – 4 weeks.

If you live in that area, keep me posted on any progress.

Just a preliminary example of the responsiveness and quality of constituent services I will be able to provide should I be elected 7th Ward Commissioner!

Fourth of July in the 7th Ward

It was a good day in the 7th Ward for Independence Day events. I attended the new Manoa Civic Association's parade and events at Baily Park on Washington Ave. There was a big crowd at the park for some fun and games there. See the sack race photos below. Kudos to the Manoa Civic organizers!

I also attended a block party in the area around the high school. They had a moonwalk and a water slide along with food and drink aplenty! Thanks to one of the event organizers for inviting me.

Good Reception while Door Knocking

With the lit drop of candidate announcement letters to every house in the 7th ward now in progress, I'm doing more door-knocking and talking with more voters. I'm very encouraged by the reception that I'm getting. My 3 main issues of better services, better planning and better finances are being very well received. But even more encouraging is that long time supporters of the incumbent are unhappy with their current commissioner. I'm hearing things like:
"He's been in there too long."
"He's been in too many fights that are costing us money."
"He's not moving the township forward."

One guy told me that he went to school with Jim McGarrity and has know him for years, and he won't vote for him this time. Another couple told me that McGarrity testified against them in a zoning hearing when they wanted to do some work on their house. I can tell you this: as a commissioner, I won't take sides in zoning disputes. I'll let the zoning board do their job unimpeded.

Back to the campaign trail!