Political Rival, Commissioners Lock Horns Over Flagpole

During Monday night’s commissioner’s meeting, tempers flared as a former political rival and some commissioners went back and forth.

Larry Chrzan, for the 7th Ward in the 2011 election, took the podium and addressed three issues that he directed to the commissioners: 

• Why the township’s solicitor’s fee increased from $150 to $165.

• Why commissioners during a reappointment meeting last week did not mention if there were any conflict of interests of people being appointed/reappointed to various township committees or if they had done business with the township or donated to the commissioners. 

• And if unused funds were going towards other projects, such as if township money was used for a flagpole on a possible private property. 

Out of all of those topics, it was the flagpole issue that caused the most uproar.

President and 9th Ward Commissioner Bill Wechsler addressed Chrzan’s concerns, saying that the solicitor’s fee increase was the first one in six years.

Wechsler added that if there were any conflict of interests with any of the appointees, the township solicitor would have brought it up.

As far as expenses and unused funds, all of the commissioners have to file reports to the commonwealth and any discrepancies would be investigated, Wechsler said.

Wechsler did address the flagpole, saying that he will have the solicitor look into the matter and if there were any violations of township money possibly paying for it, the township would ask the owner pay for the flagpole.

James McGarrity, 7th Ward commissioner and a political rival of Chrzan, asked Chrzan, who at this time had taken his seat in the audience, for an address of the location of the pole because, “anybody can make an accusation.” 

The flagpole was on the property of Havertown’s Cheese Club, located at 2311 East Darby Rd., it was discovered and township manager Larry Gentile admitted to the board that he was the one who approved the use of township funds to pay for the flagpole, which was to replace an old one and the new one was put up in honor of a veteran.

Gentile apologized to the board and said that he only approved the flagpole because he thought it was an appropriate expense, since the township had done similar improvements to the business district of the Oakmont neighborhood.

If a violation had been made, Gentile said he would pay for it himself.

The cost of the flagpole was not immediately available. 

But McGarrity said that he did not think there was anything wrong with replacing an old flagpole and dedicated the new one to a veteran.

“I don’t think there is anything wrong honoring a person like that. And it’s terrible that that guy (Chrzan) made an issue out of it,” McGarrity loudly said.

But Wechsler tried to cool things down.

“If we made a mistake, we will follow the letter of the law to make it right,” he said.

Later at the meeting, during an open forum, Chrzan got up again and said that he was upset that McGarrity “attacked” him and calling him “un-American” for bringing up the flagpole issue. 

“I also rise in anger for once again for being personally attacked by this commissioner who represents me at a commissioners’ meeting,” Chrzan declared.

But McGarrity interrupted Chrzan.

“I represent the 7th Ward, but I certainly don’t represent you or your thoughts,” the commissioner shot back.

Chrzan continued, saying that Wechsler “trivialized” the issue of campaign funds, when Wechsler said earlier in the evening that most campaign donations were not a lot of money, at most maybe $100.

During the closing of the meeting, 5th Ward Commissioner Jeff Heilmann addressed Chrzan, who once again was sitting in the audience, that his past and present “attacks” on McGarrity and of the rest of the commissioners were “classless,” with Chrzan quietly saying, “Personal attacks vs. issues.”

Once the meeting was adjourned, Chrzan told the Haverford-Havertown Patch that, “People came to me about these issues,” and were “afraid” to bring the issues up to the commissioners.

“People should get information without jumping through hoops and not being yelled at,” he said.

McGarrity’s only reply to the whole incident to Patch was:

“I hope this country can do what I did. I got rid of that guy (Chrzan) and I hope they can do the same thing to his buddy Obama,” he said with a smile.

Come back to Patch during the week for two more stories about the commissioners’ meeting.