- Candidates Dean Turner and Huntington Keim are facing off for one open supervisor seat in Forks Twp. for 2024
- Turner, a Democrat, is vying to maintain the seat he took over for Dan Martiyak last year, while upstart Republican Keim is challenging his close advocate for the position
- Both candidates are largely focused on the township's infrastructure, along with maintaining low taxes
FORKS TWP., Pa — A Forks Township firefighter and home improvement contractor is taking to the campaign trail in an attempt to unseat Democratic incumbent Dean Turner this election season.
In a bout for the single open supervisor seat in Forks for 2024, upstart Republican Huntington Keim is going head-to-head with Turner, who last fall was appointed to fill the final year of former supervisor Dan Martiyak’s seat.
While Turner brings decades of local government experience to the game and Keim aims to introduce some fresh perspectives, both parties appear to be focused on the fundamentals for Forks: namely, issues with infrastructure.
Turner is a 30-year Forks resident, having served on the township Planning Commission from 2001 through 2010 and 2013 through 2022 while also working as a probation officer for the New Jersey judiciary.
He co-chaired the township’s 250th anniversary in 2004 and participated in the Forks Historical Society.
Turner noted he pushed for a per-trip traffic impact fee for new development and chaired the committee, which handled the operation, with the intent to help pay for road and intersection improvements.
“I’ve reviewed zoning for updates and improvements several times,” Turner said in a statement. “I’ve participated in two comp plans and updates to SALDO," or Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance.
"I believe in keeping costs in check to avoid tax increases as much as possible. I believe in managed growth. I’m familiar with laws and policies. I’m familiar with problem areas in the township and appreciate what the township does well.
"I rarely miss a meeting because I take my commitment seriously. I would like to continue representing the community helping Forks remain a positive place to live.”
Keim said that while he doesn't have a college education, he has gained plenty of perspective and knowledge through his own ventures.
Keim is a contractor running a small business, while also serving as a volunteer firefighter.
“I've been an advisor for other small businesses and have been part of a few different boards, so I think, from my mind, I know what it's like to run a business and how to run a successful business,” Keim said.
“And I think the township, in theory, is a similar concept.”
Keim grew up in Bushkill Township before moving to Forks, where his family currently resides.
"My mom and grandmother live right down the road together,” he said.
He said he enjoys volunteering in his spare time, and has offered his services to an animal rescue over the past few years. A self-admitted animal lover, he owns four dogs and several fish.
He said he has been inspired to be a politician since he was young, aiming to be “a regular person who helped people,” creating a government dynamic, “to encourage people to come to speak to us and feel comfortable with it and not be stressed out or anxious.”
Basic infrastructure needs attention
Both Turner and Keim say basic infrastructure in the township needs to be addressed to accommodate the growth seen over the past few years.
“We need to address stormwater runoff to minimize the flooding, and road damage," Turner said. "Each storm that comes through, the damage gets worse and worse.
"We need to fix it once and for all, or at least mitigate it, if we can't fix it.
“We need to build our commercial sections of the township to increase our tax base. We need to put measures in place to further manage growth so that growth doesn't continue in an explosive manner.
"If it’s growing at a manageable rate, we can make all these other changes instead of having major things to fix.”
Keim said he has seen many townships neglect the core basics of managing their areas, a problem he said he intends to address, including problematic traffic signals.
“Pedestrians crossing sidewalks on main roads, where we literally just had a fire call on, I believe it was last Monday," are a problem, he said.
"Someone got hit by a car trying to cross the street. And I think that's a basic thing that shouldn't be happening because we don't have good crosswalks.
"We don't have good signals for them. So I think things like that are the basics, and I think they're important."
Balancing budgets and controlling taxes
Finances are always a hot topic when it comes to elections, and Forks Township is no different. While both parties acknowledge there are necessities that must be met, keeping costs in check while funding new initiatives is a challenge.
“Just like most other places, it's about keeping a lid on tax increases and being able to make our expenses and meet our bottom line so that people don't have to pay more and more and more, making things more efficient,” Turner said.
“The supervisors have made things pretty efficient in the last several years. But with pensions and health benefits, just like everywhere else, you have to figure out creative ways of dealing with that while also being able to fix roads and other things that the township needs.”
Keim said he is focused on finding additional funding to support firefighters and other first responders, in addition to curbing costs for municipal activities.
“One thing is trying to find more funding or find a way to support firefighters, first responders, and encouraging youth, and I think there should be a budget line for that alone,” Keim said.
“I also think our community center, you know, everyone that does anything there has to pay for it. So like our gym memberships are $20, $25 a month to use the basketball courts and a lot of other stuff. And to me, I feel like we have our tax dollars paying for it. So why are we double-taxing them? That kind of stuff frustrates me. I don't have answers to that just yet. The biggest thing is working with our supervisors and trying to come up with a solution,” Keim said.
Traversing the political divide
As partisan politics become increasingly present in both school boards and local government, the question of reaching across that divide is ever so important.
Both Forks candidates have expressed a desire to tear down the walls and work mutually toward goals that will benefit the township as a whole.
“I don’t think that party politics had any effect in our township, I thought that the five supervisors work well together,” Turner said. “I would hope that we could maintain that. In local politics, parties aren't as important. It's just making the best decisions possible for the community.
Keim has gone on the record saying Turner has been like an advocate for me for quite a while,” encouraging him to get involved in politics. As such, he believes in reaching across the aisle as well.
“Honestly, if I had a choice, I'd run against anyone but Dean, but of course, I've been working towards this for a long time,” Keim said. “In my opinion, for small-level stuff like this, party does not matter. If I had a choice, I'd be an Independent. Since I'm new, I'm learning I need support. And of course, my opponent is a Democrat, so I chose the Republican side.”
Essentially, both candidates appear focused on ignoring the grandiosity of performance politics in order to double down on what actually affects their constituents.
“Yeah, I have no private agenda. I'm just there to make informed decisions, to listen to the needs and wants of our township citizens. And just continuing the conversation so that we can grow as a community and not have constant negativity,” Turner said.
“I do have old-fashioned Republican views like small government, free speech, low taxes, the concept of the government helping you, not limiting you. I have a lot of old-fashioned Republican views like that, that you don't hear very often anymore,” Keim said.
