Today we hosted the three candidates from the Republican party running for Summit City Council: Delia Hamlet, Kevin Smallwood, and Tom Szeiber. Ms. Hamlet and Mr. Smallwood are running for re-election, and Mr. Szeiber is a first-time candidate.
The candidates gave very brief introductions of themselves with the intent of using the remaining time for Q&A. Tom is a six-year Summit resident and a lawyer. Delia is ex-Army, a small business owner and has been a resident for over ten years. Kevin is also a small business owner and a nineteen-year resident. Each candidate has a history of community service and involvement with voluntary municipal organizations and is broadly running on transparency, public safety, and fiscal responsibility.
After the introductory comments we had a robust Q&A session. A lead-off question revolved around the national Republican party and that relationship to local government. Each candidate spoke, but the essence of the response was that there was little if any relevance to the more divisive issues at the national level vis-à-vis our local issues. They all agreed that local issues require local responses. Another issue involved public safety, specifically, the explosion of electric motorized bicycles/scooters being ridden at high speeds by youngsters, without licenses, on the sidewalks and streets. There was agreement this is a real problem, and Council is attempting to deal with it, but a solution is still a way off and may require county and state assistance. The issue of affordable housing was also raised. Delia had the most experience with this topic and discussed the success the Mayor’s council on homelessness had by housing 24 formerly homeless residents and said we were in compliance with our Mt Laurel commitments and would continue to do everything possible to continue to provide affordable housing, but noted there were competing forces from developers who’s goals may not be in Summit’s best interests. Other topics discussed were the City budget, additional police officers, and the tenor of the campaign, which one candidate described as getting unpleasant.
Rotary appreciates all the candidates who run for public office in Summit. The jobs are unpaid, require considerable time and come with considerable responsibility. We thank Delia, Kevin, and Tom for spending time with us.
At our next meeting, October 20, we will hear from the Democratic slate of candidates.
LtoR: Past Pres. Mike Katz, Tom, Delia, Kevin, Pres.Elect, Pete Bolton, President David Dietze