Meet Thomas Cobb: Candidate for Newtown Supervisor

The Marple Newtown Democratic Committee has endorsed two candidates for the two open positions for Supervisor in Newtown Township.  These two candidates are Thomas Cobb, who lives in the Fifth Precinc,t and Raymond Lopez, who lives in the First Precinct.  Tom is a resident of the Echo Valley neighborhood of the township.   Ray is a resident of the Springton Pointe Estates neighborhood.

Residents of Newtown have the opportunity to vote for both of these well-qualified and determined individuals who will govern Newtown Township with respect and fairness for all residents.

Tom Cobb has lived in Newtown Square with his family for 30 years. He worked professionally in marketing, principally in the financial services and health care industries. Much of that career was with Cigna where he eventually became vice president and head of corporate marketing and later senior vice president and chief marketing officer for Cigna's worldwide property/casualty operations. Tom also served as senior vice president and chief marketing officer for Empire Blue Cross/Blue Shield, then one of the largest Blue Cross plans in the country. He is a graduate of Oberlin College and completed post graduate studies at the University of Arizona and at Harvard University. Cobb was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Venezuela after graduating from Oberlin. He has served on a number of boards including the Southeast Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Red Cross, and The Samuel L. Fleisher Art Memorial in South Philadelphia. Tom is a former President of the Echo Valley Community Association and has just completed a term as its Vice President for School Board matters. He also served for a number of years on the board of The Colonial Pennsylvania Plantation in Ridley Creek State Park and was on the finance committee of St. Alban's Episcopal Church.

Tom’s states, “I am a candidate for Supervisor because the best interests of Newtown Square are not being served well by our elected officials and their group of unelected backers.

Major infrastructure decisions are poorly planned, significantly delayed, and inexcusably expensive. Zoning changes and specific variance decisions are privately brokered, ad hoc in nature, and often inexplicable to the affected residents. Significant personnel decisions occur suddenly and without adequate explanation. Proposals to develop the last remaining large parcels of land are addressed without the benefit of any agreed upon vision of what the township should look like in 5-10 years. All of this takes place in an environment that many would characterize as one of secrecy, intimidation and disrespect.

I believe that a guiding principle of our local government must be transparency: how are decisions made; who is making them; and what is the anticipated impact on individual residents, neighborhoods, and the township? A second common theme must be access and input: can anyone communicate with an individual decision-maker and feel that their input is sought out and valued? There must be an openness to new ideas; new approaches; even, simply, new people in leadership positions.

Old ways have not been working well. In fact, they have generally been working badly. It is time now to work together to put the "new" back into Newtown Square.”

The Primary Election is on Tuesday, May 21, 2013. For more information on other candidates, and to find out where you vote, visit our website at www.mndems.com.