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"...Here's to you, Representative Barbara McIlvaine Smith! Barb, through your own loss, you've modeled a victory born of courage through change, strength through heartbreak, and a purposeful focus on doing what's right. Thanks for showing the way!." Read entire article
© 2008 Annmarie Kelly. All rights reserved.
Back in the late 90s, a group of us concerned citizens and business owners started meeting to discuss the revitalization of uptown West Chester. By the year 2000, the issue had heated up because the commissioners at that time wanted to bulldoze 11 historic buildings on the center block of our town to expand the courthouse. For me, that was the final straw.
I had grown up in this town, and over the years I had watched many beautiful old buildings demolished in the name of progress. If we allowed that to continue, at some point our brick-sidewalked, tree-lined streets would eventually look like Anywhere, USA. There would no longer be that sense of place, that richness of character and heritage that we called home.
The "First Block Four," Roy Smith, Holly Brown, Bill Scott and I banded together and fought to have the project moved down the street to the site of the old Dague Building (ca. 1963) and its parking lot. Our reasons were simple — it would be fiscally prudent, allow advanced technology and security to be incorporated, and provide economic stimulation to the west end of town.
On Sunday, September 7, 2008, the vision was realized. As I stood in the grand entrance and looked up the steps, I felt proud of what ordinary citizens can accomplish when they truly believe in their mission. Yes, Virginia, you can fight city hall and win!
As citizens of this democracy, you are the rulers and the ruled, the law-givers and the law-abiding, the beginning and the end. —Adlai E. Stevenson
Hanna and Ike followed me around as I knocked on doors today. Thank goodness it was only heavy rain and not heavy winds. Initially, I may not have been singin' in the rain like Gene Kelly, but I am determined to meet as many people as I can before November 4th.
In East Goshen, I spoke to a retired teacher who thanked me for my work this term on the Cost Of Living Adjustment (COLA). Even though the bill hasn't yet passed the House, I am determined to see it through.
I'm also working on a bill that will address the unethical annual COLA that the PA State Legislature approved for themselves in 1995. The increase was based on the cost-of-living index in Philadelphia, which is much higher than the rest of the state. I want to change that.
Now that I've been in Harrisburg for almost two full years, I understand how things work. Moreover, I understand what needs to change. And I am determined.
