There are 28 mayors in towns across Bucks County.
Richlandtown Borough, a tiny Upper Bucks municipality that’s .3 square miles in size, has a population 1,206 and that’s 93% white and consistently votes Republican, is also home to the county’s only Black mayor who has won the mayor’s office not once – but twice.
The inaugural Bucks County Mayors GOTV Town Hall, sponsored by PA Black Mayors Coalition, in partnership with RiseUp Coalitions, will be held Oct. 26 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., at Doylestown Borough Hall located at 10 Doyle Street.
This is “the first event of its kind, and Mayor Noni has already said we need to do this again, so people can hear from those seeking office,” said Democrat Wayne Codner, Richlandtown’s Black mayor.
The town hall is intended to be a conversation between those seeking or holding office and those voters they’ll represent, according to Codner.
Codner, along with the Black Mayors Coalition Fall Tour and Carmina Taylor are organizing the town hall tour.
Taylor is an organizational development practitioner and consultant.
“Doylestown Borough is pleased to host the inaugural stop of the Black Mayors’ tour. This forum is a valuable opportunity for the mayors of Bucks County to engage directly with candidates in the November general election and ask questions about the issues that matter most to our communities,” Elnora “Noni” West mayor of Doylestown Borough.
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Of the 24 mayors in Bucks County, 12 have already accepted the invitation to attend, among them: Chalfont, Dublin, Hulmeville, New Hope, Penndel, Riegelsville, Sellersville and Trumbauersville.
Codner said getting Republicans to attend the meeting has been a hard sell and he’s “working hard” to bring GOP voices to the event.
He contacted Republican Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick’s (PA-01) office twice with no reply. State Rep. Craig Staats confirmed he cannot attend.
So far, Democratic candidates Bob Harvie, Mark Pinskley and Rebecca Prendergrast, a former Republican now running as an Independent, are committed to attend.
“When the opportunity came, I wanted to get all the mayors in Bucks County together and have them joined by anyone seeking a political position to talk. [Mayors are] talking directly to the public; they are telling us directly what they experience,” Codner said, explained of the concept.
He has urged candidates – and incumbent office holders – to be in touch with constituents and their issues and “us as a resource.”
West and Codner will be joined by guest speaker state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta (HD-181) and panelist Stefan Roots, Mayor of the City of Chester in Delaware County.
Concerns and questions about “data centers, road construction or school boards come to us. Let us tell you what the people are telling us. Our towns give us their trust, and we give them our full attention,” Codner added.
What: Bucks County Mayors’ Town Hall
When: Monday, Oct. 26 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.; doors open at 5 p.m.
Where: Doylestown Borough Hall, 10 Doyle Street. Open to the public.
