Meet City Council Candidate Adam Waldron

Bethlehem City Council Race

Candidate: Adam Waldron

Age: 29

Family: Wife, Melissa Waldron, Science Teacher, Liberty High School

Political party affiliation: Democrat

Tell us about your educational background:

• Liberty High School 2002 - 3rd generation LHS grad.
• West Chester University Bachelor of Science in Business Management 2006

Tell us about your professional/business background:
As a college freshmen I managed a student painting company called College Pro Painters. After two successful years I started Adam Waldron Painting. I painted in the summers to fund my degree, and continued my business in the Lehigh Valley after graduation from West Chester. Over the past 10 years I have built up my business and learned first hand what it takes to start, manage, and grow a small business in Bethlehem.

Why are you running for City Council?
I would like to represent the city I love and call home in order to move Bethlehem forward. I plan on growing a family in Bethlehem, and would like to insure it is a safe, and vibrate city to raise a family and do business. I think Council should be made up of individuals who look to move Bethlehem forward and can envision a future that allows all residents to feel included and empowered by their city government. 
What qualifies you to serve as a City Councilman?
Currently there are no members of Council with small business experience. I would like to bring my experience of starting and actively managing my small business to Council. I also live in West Bethlehem, which has been without representation on Council for 18 years. Residence in West Bethlehem have been very responsive to my campaign, and look forward to having a voice on Council. I also am not connected with any members of Bethlehem city government; nor was I asked or encouraged to run by anyone. My lack of connection to the political machine affords me the independence to represent the city without any baggage. 

What do you see as City Council's primary role and responsibilities?
City Council's role is to represent all citizens of Bethlehem by researching issues, listening to residents and having open and honest discussions about how together we can make Bethlehem a better city. Council also has the difficult role of finding a balance between providing effective city services and managing financial costs.
Tell us about three major challenges facing Bethlehem and how you would address them. (Please be as specific as possible):
The largest upcoming issue is future pensions liability costs. The city currently has funds for 75% of future costs, but still has a shortfall of $58 million. There is no option to reduce future payments, as they are currently at state mandated lows. The best and most positive way to cover these future costs is to increase revenue. Not by increasing taxes to homeowners and businesses, but by developing and creating new businesses and building new homes in the city.  The current administration and Council has also done well to reduce the number of unnecessary positions on the city payroll, as well as future pension costs.  Another possible area to reduce city staffing would be to explore the privatization of the golf course. While I realize that it is unpopular to eliminate jobs, Bethlehem needs to have an honest discussion about where we as a city would like to be in 5 and 10 years. There is no way Bethlehem will be able to continue to grow and succeed, without a thoughtful approach and plan to control our finances, with major emphasis being on pension costs. 

Martin Tower is another major project that was recently garnered serious attention.  With 55 acres of land surrounding the tower, it is one of the largest undeveloped tracts of land in the city.  I think the city and Lehigh County will need to be aggressive to attract the right developer for such a difficult project.  I would support the use of a TIF, if it was applied in way that would allow Bethlehem to have final input on what use the land would have. My personal opinion would be to take down the tower if it allowed for the best mix of residential and commercial properties, while maintaining open green space as well.  However, if their was a viable project that allowed for the tower to remain I would also support that project. Regardless, the property will remaining difficult to develop due to that large price tag of the asbestos removal, and will continue to become more difficult to develop as time passes. I think we should also consider relaxing the overlay that requires developemt of the tower, however, developing the property around the tower would not directly address the problem of the tower itself.

Trash collection is issue I most discuss when talking to Bethlehem residents.I have knocked on over 2,500 doors in my campaign and and overwhelming percentage of Bethlehem residents have told me they would like to keep the current trash collection system. And I agree. As a small business owner I can appreciate the benefits to both the consumer and the provider of an open system that rewards great service and competitive pricing.  I feel the current system allows for residents to choose a hauler and payment plan that fits their needs and allows for flexibility. The single hauler system is a one size fits all approach that will leave many residents without the benefits of the current system.
How much are you spending to run? How is your campaign being funded?
I have spent about $6,000 on my campaign. This covers signs, flyers and one mail piece. This money is from small donations of $25 and $50 from family, friends, and other Bethlehem voters. But the large portion of the money has been my own. My wife and I put plans to remodel our kitchen on hold in order to fund the campaign. The fact that I am self funding my campaign allows me to stay independent and not have to "pay back" donations in the future. It was a difficult decision to invest my own money into my campaign, but I am committed to winning the election and helping to make Bethlehem prosper.  

Do you use social media? If so, please provide links to your Facebook and Twitter.
Facebook - Adam Waldron for Bethlehem City Council
Twitter - @AW4Bethlehem