Upper Pottsgrove Area 2 Republican Committee
An article from the Pottstown Mercury dated October 15 2025 (link below)
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UPPER POTTSGROVE — There is a full slate of candidates seeking the three open seats on the board of commissioners. None of them is an incumbent.
The Republican slate is Tom Ziegler, Tina McIntyre and David O. Morris.
Commissioners serve four-year terms.
All candidates were invited through an article in The Mercury to respond to an online candidate questionnaire. What follows are their responses in the order they were received.
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Tina McIntyre
McIntyre, 53, who served on the Pottsgrove School Board from August of 2018 until January of 2025, holds a bachelor of science in business administration from Kutztown University.
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“My work experience includes supportive roles within finance teams of global pharmaceutical and agricultural chemical companies. In years prior to these roles, I served as a business administrator, office manager, accounting administrative specialist, and customer service specialist,” McIntyre wrote.
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She wrote that the most important issue facing the township is “navigating the need for viable municipal buildings.”
McIntyre wrote she would approach this issue by “further discussing the potential to rebuild the municipal building at Heather Place. Further, the administrative offices and fire house are also in need of renovations and potential rebuilding. The board of commissioners will need to thoughtfully plan for each of these needs. I would be most focused on considerations for rebuilding/renovating at each current site. I would seek to collaborate as a full board with the township manager, planning committee members, and related parties to create a feasible plan to resolve these needs.”
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“Preserving open space in Upper Pottsgrove Township is key to maintaining the character of the area. Collaboration with the township manager, parks and public works department, and planning committee members is necessary in order to properly plan for the maintenance of these properties,” McIntyre wrote.
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“Where development is concerned, it is important to understand and consider the impact to our school district. The Pottsgroves, collectively, do not have as strong of a commercial base as neighboring townships, which places a greater tax burden on residents,” she wrote. “I would seek to better understand how we, as a board, may facilitate opportunities for growth of our commercial base while preserving and honoring open space properties.”
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With Pennsylvania still without an adopted budget, at this writing, McIntyre said she would deal with that as a commissioner by seeking “to work with the township manager to prioritize spending in times of state funding uncertainties. Expenses must be prioritized and potentially placed on hold in the interim. These discussions should be highly collaborative in nature.”
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“As with the state budget impasse, the potential absence of federal funding should result in collaborative discussions and careful planning with the township manager to prioritize expenses, with the potential of holding those not critical to usual operations,” she wrote. “This is a short-term tactic that should be re-evaluated as new developments are reported.
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McIntyre concluded, “I view this position as one of service to my community. I do not believe, nor have I ever believed, political party is of importance in my service. We are a community comprised of residents of varying political party affiliations, or none at all. I am here to serve the community at large. Should I be entrusted with this position, I will consider it a success if my neighbors come to know me by my service, versus how I am registered.”
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Tom Ziegler
Ziegler, 74, has never held elected office before. He holds a bachelor of science degree in civil engineering and construction technology from Temple University.
Ziegler has “55 years experience in the engineering field, with 35 years in private practice as a structural engineer, licensed in the state of Pennsylvania,” he wrote.
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“Open space and over-development” are the most important issues facing the township, Ziegler wrote. To address it, “we need to step back, look at all factors, and make common-sense decisions that benefit the township.”
Addressing the issue of balancing development and open space needs, Ziegler wrote, “First, we must hold developers accountable for adhering to township ordinances.
We must grant variances only when they benefit the township. We all like open space and would like to create and preserve open space, but must also understand some comes with maintenance costs. There is a balance with no one answer for each parcel.”
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“Now more than ever, we need to review the budget and trim any unnecessary costs we find and look for ways to better utilize the resources we have. Look for possible grant money, which may be difficult as well,” given that Pennsylvania has not adopted budget, Ziegler wrote.
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Dave Morris
Morris, 65, has never before held public office, “however, I feel my experiences in industry participating as part of a Team and Leading Teams will lend itself greatly to being part of the ‘Commissioner Team,’” he wrote.
“I hold an associate’s degree in electrical engineering from R.E.T.S Electronic Institute, which has since changed to CHI Institute. I have completed numerous training programs over the years at Lockheed Martin, including but not limited to engineering certifications, agile development, risk and opportunity management, capture management certificate for new business, certified cost account management/earned value management, program management professional (PMP) and subcontract management professional certifications,” Morris wrote.
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Morris further wrote, “I worked for several commercial companies before beginning my career in the defense industry with over 35 years of experience, I’ve served as a verification engineer, systems engineer, and engineering program manager at Lockheed Martin, leading mission-critical programs from concept to deployment. I’ve managed global teams, complex budgets, and high-stakes deliverables. I’m now ready to bring that same level of discipline, strategic thinking, and accountability to serve Upper Pottsgrove as township commissioner with 35+ years in the defense industry, with a focus on complex systems engineering, program execution, and technical verification,” Morris wrote.
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He further wrote, he has “led multi-million dollar defense programs ($20–30 million annually), managing all phases from bidding and contract negotiation through design, testing, and delivery; directed international engineering teams of 25–45 personnel across program sites, ensuring seamless system integration and field deployment; consistently delivered projects on time and within budget, meeting strict technical and security standards for global defense customers; specialized in high-reliability systems, applying rigorous analytical and quality control methods that ensured program success under intense oversight.
I was also a member of the United States Navy Reserves for 10 plus years as a Combat Air-crewman flying on the P-3 Orion aircraft, flying missions in support of national defense over the oceans in Europe and the Caribbean to include anti-submarine and counter narcotics operations,” wrote Morris
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He replied to a question about the most important issues facing the township by writing, “I believe two issues that are not mutually exclusive.
1. Protecting current open space along with a long-term common-sense plan
2. The new municipal complex, the township needs new/updated facilities, currently proposed to be built on open space.”
To accomplish these goals, Morris wrote he would “preserve open spaces to maintain its rural charm and character by ensuring the funding from the open space meets the needs for maintenance. Investigate ways to lower those maintenance costs. Reject development plans that threaten protected open spaces. On development that is approved, (I would) hold developers to high standards, and ensure they complete projects by holding a bond with a significant amount of funds that deter them from walking away, leaving a good portion of profits.”
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On the subject of the new municipal complex, Morris wrote, “We need to identify alternate site for the complex. Several have been cited, including Heather Place. Smola and Gilbertsville sites were acquired with open space and can’t be used, the trial date for the Gilbertsville site is 17 October.”
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To balance the needs of development and open space, Morris wrote he would “make development decisions that align with the community’s values and priorities; safeguard Pennsylvania’s open space laws and ensure long-term, sustainable land use planning.
Engagement is the key:
1. Empower residents to actively participate in local governance and decision-making processes.
2. Work with the planning commission for 3-, 5- and 10-year plans
3. Coordinate with the open space committee on the above plans.
4. Work with the Montgomery County Planning Board.”
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Replying to how the absence, at this writing, of a state budget should be dealt with, Morris wrote, “In the current 2025 budget, the revenue from the state and federal government totals $285.6K this constitutes about 6 percent of the annual budget. The township has a reserve fund of $612K that is approximately 13 percent of the annual budget. The township could use the reserve fund to fill the shortfall temporarily and when each state and federal government resolve and approve their budgets the township would then back fill the reserve fund with those funds,” he wrote.
He provided an identical answer to a question about dealing with the federal government shutdown.
Here's the link to the article.
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