- Upper Milford Supervisors Chairwoman Joyce Moore is up for re-election, challenged by the current head of the township Recreation Commission, Angela Ashbrook
- The single seat on the three-person board that leads the township is for a six-year term
- Candidates referred to open space and funding the fire departments as primary concerns going into the upcoming term
UPPER MILFORD TWP., Pa. — One of the township's three Board of Supervisors seats is up for grabs, as incumbent Chairwoman Joyce K. Moore, a Democrat, is challenged by Recreation Committee member Angela Ashbrook, a Republican.
The seat has a six-year term, with responsibilities such as adopting an annual budget, levying taxes, enacting ordinances and hiring township employees. The seat is among three on the township's board.
Election Day in Pennsylvania is Nov. 7.
The deadline to apply for mail or absentee ballots is Tuesday, Oct. 31 — the same deadline to vote early in person.
The deadline to register to vote for the general election in Pennsylvania is Monday, Oct. 23.
Here are the candidates:
Joyce Moore
Moore, a financial planner, is seeking a second term on council. She first was elected in 2017.
Moore said she initially volunteered on a number of committees, wanting to do what she could to help out the municipality, and has been a member of the environmental advisory council and open space committee.
"In Upper Milford, it's a rural area, we don't have a lot of infrastructure, and open spaces [are] a real important priority to the residents."Financial Planner and current Chair of the Upper Milford Board of Supervisors Joyce More
She cited her primary motivation at the time to be farmland and open space preservation, managing development in a way so as to keep the township's density low compared with other areas of Lehigh County.
"In Upper Milford, it's a rural area, we don't have a lot of infrastructure, and open spaces [are] a real important priority to the residents," Moore said.
Moore said her major priority is to work to improve funding sustainability for the fire companies in the township, which exist as nonprofits separate from the government.
"We've tried as hard as we could to support the fire companies and support them in their goal to be financially sustainable," she said. "And we're struggling with that now and I'd say that's the biggest hurdle we find right now."
She also voiced the desire to keep taxes low in the township.
Angela Ashbrook
Former Macungie Borough Council member Angela Ashbrook said she is getting back into local politics to use her experience, make the government closer to the residents and give an option.
As a current Upper Milford resident, Ashbrook had to vacate that seat but cites it as an experience that prepared her to do the job needed in Upper Milford.
Ashbrook also is president of the township recreation commission and said she wants to keep much of Upper Milford open space, not desiring much more development in the municipality.
"They are the taxpayers; they are the voting base. They're the ones whose money you're trying to spend responsibly."Former Macungie Borough Council member Angela Ashbrook
She said she wants to act as an ambassador for local people and feels Upper Milford has "lost sight" of that, desiring to increase local involvement and transparency.
"I want people to feel comfortable coming to meetings," Ashbrook said. "They are the taxpayers, they are the voting base. They're the ones whose money you're trying to spend responsibly."
She cited her familiarity with reading blueprints of proposed plans and engaging with finances, given her accounting background working as a controller for a small manufacturing firm in Bethlehem.
She said she would be comfortable working with the budgeting process to not overspend and address needs within the township.
Ashbrook said money being discussed for local fire departments could be well above the budgets of the township and the fire departments, and is a hot-button issue for her.
