During last night’s meeting of Conshohocken’s Borough Council, council members interview four applicants for the open seat representing Ward 5. The seat is open due to the resignation of Jane Flanagan (D) who has moved or is moving out of the borough.

Whoever is appointed, might not be in the seat for long. The state’s rules call for an election due to the number of days between the resignation and the next election, which is November 2nd.

According to a spokesperson for Montgomery County, “Any party that has been recognized by the state (Democratic, Green, Libertarian & Republican) can nominate a candidate. Any politically unaffiliated resident may file nomination papers with our Voter Services office and should contact them at (610) 278-3280 or voters@montcopa.org so that we can assist them.”

The four applicants seeking the appointment were Kevin Lukens who ran against Flanagan in 2019, and Daniel Lynch, Rita Montemayor, and Kathleen Kingsley.

Among the four only Rita Montemayor had served the borough at the committee level. She was previously on the comprehensive plan committee and is currently serving on parking task force. These are appointed positions.

The questions asked of the candidates were inconsistent. Only Lukens was asked about conflicts of interest (by Councilmember Tina Sokolowski) and only Montemayor was asked a very specific question about municipal tax policy (by Council President Colleen Leonard). Mayor Yaniv Aronson asked two of the four (Montemayor and Kingsley) their thoughts on COVID-19 policy. Nothing was asked about zoning.

Borough Council will consider the appointment in an upcoming meeting.