I was lucky. If I began my turn 1/15th of a second earlier I would have been in a hospital or worse. The accident was my fault but construction equipment blocked the usual line of sight. The construction equipment was my fault too. It’s part of my legacy.

We moved back to hometown Coatesville partly by accident, partly because it made economic sense but mostly because most all of our family members still lived nearby. 

I was enthused by the flurry of economic activity proposing a revival of the City of Coatesville. A revival that promised to return Coatesville to the economic and social place it had in Western Chester County in the 1950s & 1960s. The “back in the day” Coatesville we grew up in.

My interest in municipal government came in a meandering way. Dave Baker, Tom Lennon and I had just began fishing at a fly fishing only section of Bushkill Creek (its was later closed to fishing by the property owner). I noticed my long johns were on backwards. That was not a problem since I wouldn’t need a stream side bathroom, we were close to highways.

After just 5 minutes of fishing an 8 inch diameter pipe began spewing brown sludgy water into the nearly crystal clear stream and we folded up our fly rods. That moment began my interest in municipal government. 

In Pennsylvania stormwater regulations are enforced at the local level by local municipal government regulations. 

In Pennsylvania nearly all land use is under the jurisdiction of municipal government. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and EPA stormwater regulations are enforced by our 2,500 + local government entities. 

If I wanted to stop nonpoint water contamination like that 8 inch diameter pipe spewing brown sludgy material into an otherwise pristine creek I needed to get into municipal government. 

I learned about zoning as a planning commissioner in Lower Frederick Township Montgomery County, PA. 

But I also learned about the drug business, marijuana growing and how most of the elected officials in Northwestern MontCo got high on hemp after work. 

Other planning commission members cautioned me in the dangers of  looking into the local KKK/Skinhead cross lightings along the Perkiomen Creek. 

That the KKK/Skinheads were powerful enough to be a threat to local municipal officials only got my interest. I began investigating and never stopped. 

All of that led to the construction equipment that blocked my line of sight so I couldn’t see a car coming. That construction might never of happened if we didn’t move back to Coatesville where I had a chance to become a planning commissioner and help write the zoning overlays used to permit construction of the 6 story apartment/condo/retail building the construction equipment was there for. 

I was not only a planning commissioner. I combined my knowledge of the drug business, KKK, Skinheads, JBS society, the Philly Mafia, stormwater regulations and knowing 100s of Black & White people in and around the City of Coatesville to stay one step ahead of people who wanted to stop developments like the one blocking my line of sight. 

I was fortunate to work with Tom Hogan since back when he was a Federal prosecutor. I was able to inform Governor Rendell about the shenanigans at Coatesville City Hall so that later when the fires began Ed Rendell knew what was happening here and ordered Harry Walker to call in the PA fire commissioner & ATF to investigate. 

Even if I had begun my turn 1/15 of a second earlier and wound up in a body bag, I would be a lucky man. I have a legacy that will live on when I am gone.