By Richard L. Gaw
Staff Writer

On the afternoon of Oct. 4, 2021, the day former Township Manager Lisa Moore was sentenced and taken into custody on five counts stemming from her embezzlement of more than $3.2 million from Kennett Township beginning in 2013 and ending in 2019, all three of the township’s supervisors were in attendance in the West Chester courtroom: Scudder Stevens, Whitney Hoffman and Richard Leff.

Over the next few years, Stevens, Hoffman and Leff pieced the township back together with the help of intelligent hirings and tightened financial regulations, but in November 2021, Geoffrey Gamble defeated Hoffman in the general election, and in January of 2023, Stevens declared that he would not seek a third term on the board and was eventually replaced by Patricia Muller, who defeated her opponent Steve Lucas in November of 2023. 

With his recent declaration that he will not seek a third term as supervisor, Leff’s departure leaves one seat to fill on the township’s board to join Gamble and Muller beginning in 2026, and in advance of the May 20 primary election, two candidates – Republican Boyd Presnell and Democrat Mike Bailey – have already begun their campaigns to replace Leff on the township’s board.

Presnell: priority-based budgeting

A lifelong county resident and former U.S. Marine, Presnell, a branch operations supervisor for the Toro Company, is president of his homeowners’ association Board of Directors at Longwood Crossing, where he and his wife, Michele have raised two sons. Over the course of his 26 years of involvement, he and the board have supervised and managed the community’s maintenance, safety, spending and financial budgets and capital improvements.

If he is elected, one of Presnell’s key initiatives will be to extend the township’s mission to make the municipality “a friendly place” for families and businesses by making the township more affordable and establishing Traditional Neighborhood Developments (TND). 

“I will bring a blue collar, common-sense background to the board,” he said. “Moving forward, my guidance would be toward advocating all demographics of the township, not just the upper class and those who live in the higher-priced homes but some of the lower demographics who need affordable housing.”

Presnell wishes to see the township focus more on priority-based budgeting, with emphasis on maintaining and improving infrastructure, as well as continuing its efforts to preserve open space for future generations.

“There has to be a decision about how much are we going to spend, and how much will it cost to obtain public use of that property?” he said. “The Planning Commission needs to do the background research to find out if it is feasible to spend taxpayers’ money on space, and whether or not it will be usable.”

Bailey: Police, fire service and public works

For Bailey, who had a 44-year career in financial services in the banking and finance sector, his primary reason for his candidacy to become the next Kennett Township Supervisors is in his words, a commitment “to maintaining Kennett Township as exceptional place to live and creating neighborhoods that we can all be proud of.”

If elected in November, Bailey will bring a generous list of skills he developed professionally that include sales, credit, operations, technology, problem-solving, planning collaboration and leadership. On the top of his priority list will be to oversee the use of technology to ease the township’s tax burden, improve the township’s wireless communications as an integral component of public safety communication during emergencies; boost economic development by attracting new businesses and supporting existing ones; and work with township stakeholders and staff in continuing to provide transparency and accountability. 

“My diverse life experiences and achievements have helped develop the competencies and leadership qualities necessary to serve effectively as a supervisor,” Bailey said. “[I am seeking to become a supervisor] to make sure that government works effectively and efficiently, and that we spend our tax dollars wisely. There are certain priorities like open space that are a priority of mine, but when you look at the budget, most if it is around police, fire service and public works, and those three are the priorities that must be managed effectively.” 

Brodowski and Unger campaign for reelection

In New Garden Township, incumbent supervisors Kristie Brodowksi and David Unger are seeking their second, six-year term on the board, for a township that continues to dot its agenda with several long-term projects, such as the planning of New Garden Hills and the Smedley Preserve, as well as juggling ideas for the proposed development of White Clay Point and a continued commitment to preserving open space. 

Brodowski and Unger, both Democrats, are being opposed by Republican challengers Kathy Leary and Michael Norris, to determine who will round out a board that is also made up of Democrats Troy Wildrick and Ted Gallivan, whose current terms end on Jan. 1, 2028, and  

Republican Steve Allaband, whose most recent term on the board ends on Jan. 1, 2030. 

To contact Staff Writer Richard L. Gaw, email [email protected].