Meet the Democratic Candidate for Second Ward Commissioner

Diane Edbril is the Democratic candidate running for Radnor’s Board of Commissioners in the Second Ward, which covers the Radnor neighborhood and part of St. Davids.

The candidate said that the main issue facing the township is its debt and unfunded liability obligations.

“We need to make sure we are managing those as responsibly as we can,” she told Radnor Patch. The township should “strike a balance between protecting taxpayers and ensuring that we live up to our obligations.”

Edbril has been a committeeperson in the Second Ward for several years; she has also served as the Radnor Democratic Party’s vice chair for three years.

This is her second time running for commissioner. Four years ago Edbril lost in her bid for the seat to Kevin Higgins, a Republican who is not seeking re-election this year. In fact, the commissioner from that ward has always been Republican as far as she knows.

Of her opponent Rich Booker, she said “I think there’s a real difference between he and I in terms of connecting with people and building consensus and community…. I can bring much more to the table as commissioner.”

Edbril said she has been involved in government since she was in high school. Her undergraduate major was public policy, and she worked as a prosecutor in New York City for many years. She is also a founder and past executive director of CeaseFire PA.

“Working in the public interest is me, it’s what I do,” she said.

One of the Second Ward-specific issues she expects to work on if elected is the legal challenge to the leasing deal the township inked with Agnes Irwin School for Memorial Field.

“I think it’s very important for governments to follow the law,” Edbril said. The group of residents who say that the lease to the private school of public land is “an argument which if true is something that I will support.” She said the recent denial of an injunction “doesn’t speak to the merits of the case ultimately.”