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 Lin Axamethy Floyd (D):

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

I have the time, energy, and experience to work for the benefit of all of us who call Delaware County our home.  I’m a patent attorney trained to understand complex systems and how they work.  I’ll apply that skill as a member of County Council to use our resources for the long term benefit of our County.  With a long standing interest in how government can serve the people, I am a member of the Board of Directors of the Southeastern Pennsylvania First Suburbs Project.  This non-partisan, four-county group brings together residents and decision-makers seeking solutions to challenges in infrastructure, educational funding, housing, and transportation that face the entire region.  I also serve on the Board of Directors of Habitat for Humanity of Delaware County and chair the Family Services Committee.  Delaware County Council appointed me to its Women’s Commission; I am a past chairperson of that Commission. 

As a former president of the Nether Providence Township Board of Commissioners, I worked hard to make local government accessible and accountable to all of its residents.  I chaired the Township's Finance Committee and initiated a zero-based budgeting process.  I gave special attention to updating management of the Township's uniformed and non-uniformed employee pension plans and to maintaining its storm water and sanitary sewer systems.  I established the Township’s Recycling Task Force and involved interested citizens and the W-S School District in a program-wide redesign that more than tripled recycling volume and greatly increased participation. 
I earned my law degree at Temple University’s Beasley School of Law and taught patent law there as an adjunct professor.  Before attending law school I was a legislative research analyst for the Washington State Senate.  During my twenty-year career at DuPont, I specialized in industrial biotechnology, licensing, and strategic planning.

What changes would you make if elected?

Change for change’s sake alone is foolish.  Even before being sworn in, I will meet with the people of the County’s departments and services, review details of its finances, and meet people served by those departments in order to fully understand the current system and the effect of any changes.  ‘Information is power’, so I will press County Council to use technology it already has to make its operations and related information more transparent and accessible to the County’s taxpayers.  At a minimum, County Council meetings should be televised.  The County’s website exists, but currently fails to provide adequate information on how the County’s annual budget of over $500 Million is spent.  If you looked there in the last week of October 2011, you will find, for example, that only US census data from 2000 is posted, only a brief summary of the County’s current budget is on line, and advance notice of very few public meetings are posted there.  The County’s preliminary budget can and should be made available before Election Day so that taxpayers and municipalities can know, even roughly, what the prospects for the coming year’s tax burden will be.  I propose that an “Economic Impact Statement” accompany any proposed expenditures or cuts in County services to frankly lay out the “ripple effects” on taxpayers and service recipients.  The County Council insists that it does not raise taxes, but the total tax burden on our families goes up whenever County Council transfers costs to local governments or individuals.  A good example of this tactic was when County Council decided not to subsidize the solid waste tipping fee.   Finally, I will relentlessly insist that every part of Delaware County government should operate on behalf of all of the residents and businesses located here. 

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