Save the Valley Retracts Endorsement of Kevin O’Donoghue for Concord Supervisor

October 27, 2015

BEAVER VALLEY, DE/PA, October 27, 2015 – In a recent announcement, Save the Valley listed Kevin O’Donoghue as one of three candidates worthy of consideration by voters in Concord Township for the office of Supervisor. We cited O’Donoghue’s recent voting record on Beaver Valley as a reason for our support, but cautioned voters that his full record as a Supervisor has not been good and that we couldn’t be sure whether he could provide the type of leadership necessary to meet Concord’s challenges. We further stated that partisan politics was a detriment to creating the change that is needed in Concord.

A recent mailer produced by the Concord Republican Party, chaired by O’Donoghue, unfortunately succumbs to the worst kind of partisan politics. The mailer contains distortions and misrepresentations, and is a disingenuous effort to address important issues. Accordingly, Save the Valley can no longer recommend that voters in Concord consider O’Donoghue as a credible open space candidate. We come to this conclusion not with any glee, but instead with profound disappointment. Concord deserves better.

Here are the misleading statements related to open space:

• Concord does not have 2000 acres of open space, unless you include a cemetery, a golf course, restricted grounds around a prison, the right-of-way land directly under high voltage lines, lawns surrounding high density development and the grounds of a sewage treatment plant. To claim these areas as open space and boast about the amount of Township resources that are used to maintain them, as O’Donoghue does, disqualifies him as a credible open space candidate.
  
  
• The mailer contains an absurd claim that there is a plan to have Concord taxpayers buy Woodlawn’s property in Beaver Valley and raise taxes by 300%. Nothing could be further from the truth. It is a falsehood manufactured to scare voters.
  
  
• The mailer suggests that efforts to save Beaver Valley are to primarily benefit wealthy people who live near the property. The property has been recognized as an historic, ecological and recreational treasure for everyone in Concord and nearby areas to enjoy.
  
  
• The mailer suggests that traffic should be blamed on “drivers travelling through our community.” The truth is that traffic is a direct result of rezoning decisions and overdevelopment in Concord.
  
  
• The mailer focuses on property taxes, but fails to mention increases in school taxes while O’Donoghue has been Supervisor. Higher school taxes are a direct result of overdevelopment in Concord.

Save the Valley’s mission is to preserve the unprotected acres of Beaver Valley in Pennsylvania and Delaware by facilitating public awareness, public education, mobilization, and action regarding the protection of Beaver Valley. We are a group of local, action-oriented citizens who share a common love for Beaver Valley and aim to preserve it for future generations.

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