Monday is a Big Day

Lots of things going on Monday.  Montco has some firsts or "hasn't happened for a long time" events.

In Ambler, Jeanne Sorg will be sworn in as the first female mayor.

In Abington, the township commissioners have a Democratic majority for the first time since 1978.  Margaret Gibbons has the details in the Intelligencer ("Abington dems ready to take control,")  Commissioner Lori Schreiber sent out this press release:

In advance of the January 6 Abington Township Board of Commissioners Organizational Meeting, Commissioners Wayne Luker (Ward 5), Lori Schreiber (Ward 14), and Steven Kline (Ward 1)—leadership of the Board’s new Democratic Majority Caucus—are excited to announce that the caucus has convened to define goals and priorities for the upcoming year. In a joint statement, these veteran Commissioners said, “Abington Township is a very well-run township with a seasoned staff of experts, and we intend to rely heavily on that expertise. However, improvements can be found for even the finest of operations. Therefore, the majority Commissioners would like to begin by focusing in the areas of Economic Development, Communications, and Budgeting.” In their remarks, they also explained that there are some areas in which they are inheriting obvious problems, and so it is important from the start to conduct some internal assessments, determine which areas need improvement or updating, and establish reasonable timeframes to implement solutions and innovations.

The first step towards accomplishing these goals will be the election of the new Board President and Vice President during the Board’s Organizational Meeting on Monday, January 6 at 7:30pm. At this time, the new majority will nominate Wayne Luker—a 22-year veteran of the Board—as President and Steven Kline as Vice-President. Both Commissioners have been endorsed by the entire caucus, which also includes Commissioners John Spiegelman (Ward 11) and Tom Bowman (Ward 15) and Commissioners-Elect Michael Markman (Ward 2), Jimmy DiPlacido (Ward 4), Ben Sanchez (Ward 7), and Tom Hecker (Ward 10). The majority caucus is confident that this leadership has the skills and vision necessary to guide the Board’s agenda in the service of all Township residents. Moreover, the new majority looks forward to bringing its collective abilities, experience, and creative, forward-thinking ideas to the task of further advancing Abington as the region’s premier first-ring suburban community, and to working with the entire Board of Commissioners to get the job done.