Whitemarsh Supervisor Shooting for County Commissioner Seat

Despite years of public service in , Leslie Richards says she doesn’t think of herself as a politician.

“I realize that I am,” the Whitemasrsh Township supervisors said, “But I don’t think of myself that way.”

Personal perception aside, Richards, a Democratic canididate, is a day away from finding out if she will be one of the next Montgomery County commissioners.

It doesn’t get much more political than that.

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Richards, an 18-year resident of Whitemarsh, first moved to Lafayette Hill with her husband in the early 90s where, upon arriving, started to get involved in planning the township’s Fourth of July celebration. She says she tried to model the event after the ones she attended in South Hampton, where she grew up.

“Ever year I marched in that parade,” she said. “I marched in it as a girl scout, with my street when our neighborhood would get together and do something and even with my parakeet one time when there was a thing for pets.”

Her involvement in the Fourth of July parade and Whitemarsh Day eventually lead Richards to the Parks and Recreations board, where she served as a member for four years and chaired the department’s master plan project.

“As a planner, I really enjoyed being part of that process,” she said. “I had created and helped developed [master plans] before and being on the other side of that process, being the one interviewed and being the one given input, was a lot of fun.”

Her background as a planner also won her a position on the Whitemarsh Planning Board, a job that Richards says allowed her to use her experience to help the township.

“It was never a career goal but it was something I knew I would really enjoy,” she said.

While she was on the board, Richards was involved in , solar ordinances and increase communication about alternative fuel sources. Additionally, and perhaps more importantly to her county run, she learned how to juggle a large workload.

“It’s a tough schedule [being on two boards], she said. “You work all day, come home and feed the kids, make sure the homework is done then go off to these meetings that could last hours, but when the colonial-area Democrats called me and asked about running for [township supervisor], I knew it would be a huge step up.”

She says talking it over with her husband was the final factor in deciding to run.

“He really encouraged me,” she said. “I though ‘I never hard a chance to run for elected office, so let’s see.’”

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Richards says she first thought about running for county office in 2009 fueled by the township-to-township work her supervisor position allowed her.

“What I really enjoy is reaching out to neighboring townships and tackling projects,” she said. “I found myself working with Plymouth, Whitpain… on things like connected trails, traffic issues and flooding problems. I think that, working on this larger scale, that really needs more focus.

Richards hopes that, if elected, she can apply some community planning ideals to Montgomery County.

“I know that money is tight, but there could be a lot more cooperation and a lot more sharing of resources between townships,” she said. “I think the county could be a catalyst for that.”

Richards teamed up with and has been campaigning since. She says that, while things in the campaign have been hectic, her family, especially her three children, have been supportive throughout the summer and fall.

“Whenever I go to events, I make sure to take home four brownies: one for each child and one for the husband,” she said. “Sometimes I let them have dessert for breakfast, so they love when I’m campaigning.”

Editor's Note: Plymouth-Whitemarsh Patch is a non-partisan entity. We do not endorse any candidate for any position: local, county or state. This article is intended to profile a local resident and not as a position piece or a document of support. Please email Nate Adams at nathana@patch.com with any questions or comments.