Meet Your Candidates: Joe Flood

Name: Joe Flood
Age: 44
Occupation: Stay at home Dad (formerly an assistant service manager with Thompson BMW)
Length of time living in Doylestown Borough: 16 years

What organizations and activities are you involved with locally?

I am a longtime parishioner of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, a volunteer for Doyle Dads, Republican Committeeman, and for many years I coached youth baseball in DAA.

Why do you want to serve on Doylestown Borough Council?

The most basic reason I have for wanting to serve on Council is because I know I can do a good job representing my friends and neighbors in the second ward.  I have lived in the Doylestown area for almost my entire life.  I have been both a homeowner and a renter.  I've worked in town, my church is here, and my kids walk to school here.  For me serving on Council won't be a bullet point on my resume, but a serious and important job to be done for the benefit of people I've known all my life.

Many people in the country today, myself among them, have grown frustrated by politics and government.  It seems that government at all levels has failed to use common sense or truly represent us ahead of narrow interests.  Many people have given up entirely on politics, but others have decided that running for public office is our way of trying to restore confidence in the system.

I decided to run for public office for the first time this year, because the decisions which will be made in the next couple of years (police regionalization and downtown development with the new justice center) will set the course for Doylestown for the next several decades and I believe we need fresh perspectives on Council to guide in making those decisions.
 
The troubled economy has hurt many Doylestown businesses, and we’ve seen the closure of several longtime stores, including Maison du Cheese, Coffee & Cream, and Chico’s. What can or should Borough Council do to support the town’s businesses?

We continue to be at the mercy of large macro-economic trends, but there are things Borough Council can do to help local businesses weather the storm.  Holding the line on property taxes helps both local businesses and their customers alike, assistance with zoning (this is something I believe the Borough's professional staff has done well), and a coherent parking plan for the downtown area are just some of the ways local government can help.
 
The borough’s weekly police log is filled with alcohol-related incidents, ranging from property damage and theft to public urination, fights and more. Can or should Borough Council do more to protect people who live or own businesses near the downtown bars and restaurants? If so, what suggestions do you have and how would you implement them?

One of my first apartments in town was right above Chambers restaurant, so I know what you're talking about.  Unfortunately the present state of the law does not give council much control over the number of liquor licenses in town.  Council should, as much as possible, be responsive to the concerns of downtown residents, maintain proper policing of the area and through our elected representatives at the state level, make sure the voices of our residents are heard in matters that come before the state's Liquor Control Board.
 
What other issues would you like to see come to the forefront if you are elected to the board?

It's about time Council lived up to its earlier promise and televised Council meetings, making local government more open.  Keeping property taxes low in this fragile housing environment is important, and I think the proposed regionalization of the police department may be the most critical policy decision in 40 years.  I will only vote for a regionalization plan that provides significant tax savings to our taxpayers and adequately addresses the unique policing needs of Doylestown Borough.