Downe Township Fire District 1 Election
Quick summary: It appears as though the Downe Township Fire District Website, at least in terms of meeting minutes, has not been updated since October of 2024, with no known time and location of meetings. I was able to verify 2 candidates through the Downe Township clerk and I sent outreach to the candidate's emails, though no responses have been sent back yet. Perhaps attending next months Downe Township Committee meeting will yield some info.
Candidates
Elizabeth Cowley
- ✓ Outreach emailed
- ✕ Response received
Duncan Munson
- ✓ Outreach emailed
- ✕ Response received
Ballot Questions
Each ballot question is posted with the literal language and a plain-English explanation.
No ballot questions confirmed yet
No ballot questions have been confirmed for this district yet. If question language is provided by the district or official sources, it will be posted here.
Issues
This section is split into district-specific issues and county-wide issues (which will appear on all district pages).
District-specific issues (Downe Township FD1)
- Public meeting visibility: Meeting minutes appear not updated on the district website since October 2024, and no current meeting time/location information is visible.
- Unknown meeting schedule: Until a schedule is confirmed, residents may not have a clear way to attend meetings or ask questions.
County-wide issues (applies to all districts)
- Staffing: Most, if not all, districts need more firefighters and EMS personnel.
- Volunteer model vs affordability: The use of volunteers versus the cost of living and affordability situations should be discussed.
- Turnout: Low voter turnout should be re-discussed, as it calls into question the strength of election processes.
- Visibility gap: Lack of public attendance and press coverage of meetings leaves the public and voters in the dark regarding essential emergency services.
- Legal Notice vs Meaningful Notice: Traditionally, public meetings across the county only needed to be advertised in one or two newspapers. As the digital age takes over, there is a push to publish on websites, but is that enough? Vineland's current data center issue and low awareness in fire districts suggest more advertising could be done.
- EMS uncertainty: The ongoing Inspira contract discussions leaves districts in limbo about how to handle EMS coverage on a long term vision.
- Radio programming: The lack of a radio programmer hinders inter-county communication during mutual aid endeavors.
Coverage
District-specific coverage links live here (posts, interviews, meeting notes, etc.).
Coverage log
- Post / article: TBD
- Interview: TBD
- Meeting coverage: TBD — meeting schedule and location not currently visible on the district website.