Letter to the Editor: Lansdale Borough Council Candidate Leon Angelichio

I am writing this letter today to introduce myself to the people of Lansdale.  I have read, and continue to read, the opinions of those who write into and comment on items in the Sound Off section of our local paper, The North Penn Reporter, and I would like people to hear from me, the candidate, about me.

My name is Leon Angelichio, and I need your vote on May 17. I am married to a wonderful lady, parent of two children, a local contractor, and concerned Lansdale resident and taxpayer. My children attend the North Penn school district. My son, Anthony, is a senior at the high school. He is soon to graduate and will be attending U.S. Army basic training and Combat Engineer MOS training through the summer and fall at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri. My daughter, Kathryn, is a fifth-grader at Oak Park Elementary and is active in the Girl Scouts and North Penn Valley Girls Softball Association.

My wife, Deborah, and I bought our home in Lansdale in the spring of 2001. We both grew up in the area and felt that Lansdale was a wonderful place to sink roots and raise our children.  Landale is our home.

I chose to become a candidate for borough council because I feel that my vision for the future of Lansdale is shared by many of the families that have chosen our town as their home.

I understand and feel strongly that in these trying economic times that our borough needs to exercise a high degree of fiscal responsibility. We MUST budget and spend what we have responsibly.  It is only logical that we, as an elected council, make the difficult choices between what our borough needs and what we might want. Hard choices will have to be made, and it is a councilperson's responsibility to make the choices that best benefit the borough as a whole. I, as a councilperson, will be held accountable for every tax dollar that the council spends.

We need absolute transparency in our local government.  Backroom politics and dealings CANNOT be tolerated in Lansdale's local politicians. Every citizen has the right to know what is happening in local government. The Sunshine Laws need to be strictly adhered to, and violations should be fully investigated. I would like to see every borough council meeting televised on our local access station. With increasingly busy schedules for many of our residents, televised meetings would allow for more of our citizens to witness our elected officials at work.

I would also like to protect our seniors from unscrupulous business practices.  Many of our seniors will be victims of fraud through the mail, by telephone, or in their very living rooms. I would like to see a resource created that our seniors could access to help them identify possible efforts to separate them from their hard-earned savings. Far too often, our seniors, often our neighbors, fall victim to firms or contractors with less than good intentions.

I would like to thank the Montgomeryville-Lansdale Patch for giving me the opportunity to tell people a little bit about myself. I have had the great pleasure of speaking to many of the residents of Lansdale's Ward 3, and I cannot put a price tag on the feedback, good and bad, that I have received.  I look forward to speaking to many more of our residents as I continue to circulate through Ward 3. As the Lansdale Democratic Committee's endorsed candidate, I welcome the opportunity to serve the people of Lansdale to the best of my ability.

Come out and vote on May 17.  Press buttton K 11.  That's me, Leon Angelichio, Ward 3.

Most sincerely,
Leon Angelichio