Patch asked each of the Delaware County candidates the same questions about their backgrounds and changes they would make if elected.

Here are the answers sent to us from Council Member Candidate Jayne Young (D):

What background do you have that qualifies you to be on County Council?

Twenty eight years of community service including my 10 years as the elected volunteer Mayor of Lansdowne qualifies me.

My service to local public schools, evolved from Home and School President to a position as a regional policy advocate. My commitment to my community included positions on many local boards including the Greater Lansdowne Civic Association, Lansdowne Allied Youth and the South Lansdowne Civic Association. As Mayor I sit on the Public Safety Committee, I have chaired the Recycling Committee, I am the Information Officer for the Emergency Management Team and have partnered with Animal Friends of Lansdowne and the Darby Creek Valley Association.   I have tried to make the most of every opportunity to serve and learn. I have five National Incident Management System certifications and attended Fire Fighting School. My experience includes budget creation, infrastructure maintenance, public safety policy, contract negotiations, development and re-development.

Over the years my involvement has expanded across the county to include membership in organizations like the First Suburbs of South Eastern Pa, a non-partisan group which works to organize stakeholders to find legislative solutions to regional problems. I was named, by Governor Ed Rendell, to the Local Government Advisory Committee which met quarterly in Harrisburg.

I attend regional Council of Governments meetings, which create a resource sharing system. I participated in the creation of the Baltimore Ave. Corridor Revitalization Project, with neighboring communities from Clifton Heights to Philadelphia. I attended planning meetings for the Delaware County Trail ways project which includes the Lansdowne Gateway Park Project. Through all this I have learned the importance of municipal partnerships and cooperation. 

What changes would you make if elected?

I would make the best use of all the economic revitalization and redevelopment planning that has been completed in the county. All revitalization plans have the potential to create jobs and increase revenue. I point with pride at the successful revitalization projects in my borough. They represent hours of open discussion, planning, volunteer effort and a strong commitment to Lansdowne and its neighbors. Recently Delores Butler, Mayor of Yeadon and I joined hands to cut the ribbon at the grand opening of the new Bottom Dollar Foods. While this store sits in Lansdowne, shoppers will come from Yeadon, Upper Darby, East Lansdowne, Clifton Heights and beyond. Our most successful economic revitalization projects span our borders.

The success of the Lansdowne Market was in large part because local government took advantage of the Baltimore Ave. Corridor Plan. This plan covers Baltimore Ave. from Clifton Heights to Philadelphia. Stakeholders from Clifton Heights, Lansdowne, East Lansdowne, Yeadon, Upper Darby and Philadelphia contributed hours of their time working with the County Planning Office and hired design and planning experts to develop a vision for the corridor that makes best use of re-development models while maintaining a distinct personality for each town. Lansdowne was able to show the architect for the Food Lion the plan so that he would know what we were looking for.  He then incorporated the plan recommendations to produce the final project. We now have what was termed by the President of Bottom Dollar Foods, “The best looking Bottom Dollar in the whole chain”.

Establishing a County Health Department has been a topic of conversation for years. The current county officials point to the cost of opening one as an obstacle to creation. They did fund a John Hopkins feasibility study which made five recommendations in lieu of creating a new department. The first recommendation was to hire a heath leader.  County Council hired a Family Practitioner with a background in working with underprivileged youth.  I would hire an expert in Public Health.  Public health deals with disease prevention, West Nile virus and tainted food which can lead to out breaks of food poising. Family health is, well, family health. The second recommendation was to create a heath board. One was created but it lacks the authority to mandate changes in current approaches to public health. It can only make suggestions. I would vote to create a Board with the authority to review local public health policy and establish standardized protocols.

Collaboration on all levels will make the most of resources.  I plan to visit each municipality’s council or township meetings. No one knows their communities better than the elected officials. These people are a valuable resource for county government.  The opportunity to listen to governmental discussion will help me make better decisions on the county level.

Forty Nine different municipalities should not be attacking the big regional problems alone. Currently municipal governments have been asked to independently solve the animal control problem, satisfy storm water management regulations, plan for economic revitalization and fully fund resident services. This is a daunting task and many of our communities are financially stressed.  My participation in Council of Governments meetings and multi municipal projects has shown me the value of working together.

Rising gas prices make the inner ring suburbs region popular to home buyers and renters. This walkable part of the county has better access to stores and trains, buses, and trolleys.  These communities are attractive places to locate therefore re-development dollars should be spent there. I would focus on preserving green spaces in the western part of the county and fund managed re-development in the eastern part.

Most importantly I want to engage interested participants in an open transparent process. Open, transparent government is government at it’s best. It allows all stakeholders to participate and offer input. The decisions are made by elected officials but those decisions should be made after a thorough review which includes hearing from constituents. To guarantee an open process residents should be able to see the deliberation, and communicate easily with council. E-mail and phone numbers should be posted to the web site. At least one meeting a month should be available on public access tv. Evening meetings should be considered. All meeting minutes should be available on line for constituent review.

At the end of the day county council works for the residents of Delaware County. They should govern in an equitable, accessible way.

Editor's Note: Answers from candidates are copied exactly as they were sent to Patch.