Bristol Business Owners Go Political

There is a war brewing in Bristol Township. This war isn't over territory, it isn't being fought with bullets; it is a battle over ideology. There are two sides: small businesses and the township council.

Craig Bowen, head of the Bristol Township Business Coalition (BTBC), is not an Army general, but in recent days he is surely playing the part. In meetings with other business owners he plans his attack. His secret weapon is a political nuke; he's running for council.

"I had no inkling to be a politician," Bowen said.

Bowen claims he will only be running for a single term.

"I'm not going to be a career politician," Bowen said.

The 54-year-old has actively been in business in Bristol Township since he was 19. He started up buying real estate and eventually, paved his way to building his current business Bowen Automotive.

Like Bowen, many members of the business coalition said they feel burdened by the township.

"We are all struggling. We are in it together. So why is there a line between us and them?" Bowen asked.

Since Levittown Patch reported on the coalition several months ago, the township has recognized its existence and even appointed Vice President Linda Tarlini as a formal liaison. Since being appointed, Tarlini said she has met resistance from the BTBC.

"I would like to hear their problems and come back with solutions. I will go (to BTBC meetings) with an open mind. I will hear what they have to say," Tarlini said in a council meeting on March 3. 

In that council meeting, Tarlini said the BTBC blocked her from coming to their meeting.

"… (a BTBC board member) called me and requested me that I not attend. He assured me nothing adverse was going on, but didn't want any interference from council … He assured me that he would call me the day after to tell me how the meeting went and what the issues brought up were. That was 10 days ago, I have still not received a call,"  Tarlini said.

The resistance isn't a major surprise. To BTBC, Tarlini is part of the problem, not the solution. Members cited perceived charges of past nepotism; her husband works in the Public Works Department and her brother-in-law's company, Patch Management, was awarded a high-priced contract in October of 2010 for pot hole pavement. In addition, Tarlini's claims of being "like them," -- a small business owner -- came under heavy scrutiny.

"She says she's a business owner. What business?" Bowen asked.

According to Tarlini's political profile on OurCampaigns.com, her occupation is "Rental Property Investor and Homemaker."

So why all the conflict?

Troy Brennan, a business owner who is running for council alongside Bowen, said it has to do with what he sees as the decline of the township.

"For years, this township has been the dumping ground of Bucks County … Drive down Street Road, what do you see? Businesses thriving, choices. Drive down our Rout 413. What do you see? Nothing," Brennan said.

Brennan and BTBC point to two things as the cause of this decline: Excessive, sometimes corrupt bureaucracy and exorbitant taxes and fees for small businesses.

Even worse, the BTBC said this is the way the township goes through its inspections.

"You never pass. It's rare," Bowen said. "They have a system in place where the incentive to fail you outright is higher than to pass you."

Bowen claims the insurance investigators that Bristol Township uses, USI MidAtlantic, has a commission fee for each safety code failure they find.

While the claim is unsubstantiated, several small business owners in Bristol, who wished to remain anonymous, suggested that they were unfairly targeted for code violations while they said they were in fact, up to code.

USI MidAtlantic received a plethora of bad press in Bucks County during the early 2000s. According to a March 16 article by The Courier Times, two former USI MidAtlantic contractors for Bristol Township were found liable of fraudlent activities in a 2005 insurance claim by injured Bristol Township Police Officers Michael Egan and Mark Buzby. In that incident, the two USI employees -- claims manager Robert Brown and Assistant Vice President Freda Batipps -- attempted to fraudulently claim backlogged waiver documents in an attempt to prevent the officers from collecting their disability claims.

"Our goal is to get rid of the politicial tentacles of the 'machine' that are corrupting the township," Brennan said. "The biggest problem with this township right now is the same problem with most people in this country; they are living beyond their means."

Bowen and Brennan, prepping for their campaigns in the May 17 Democratic primaries, said they are making plans for the future.

"The end game is to promote this township. Bring businesses back. To do that, we need to look at how the system works," Bowen said.

Tarlini's paradigm differs drastically from the likes of the Business Coalition.

"I understand what it's like to run a small business," Tarlini said, "but I also understand that there are residents here who pay property taxes. We can't just drop all the fees (for businesses). Then, we would have to raise residents' taxes. Nobody wants that. We need a happy medium."

BTBC has also gained the attention of a local Congressman.

During a meeting on Monday, Rep. Michael Fitzpatrick told Patch he will meet with the BTBC at the Newportville Fire Company at 7 p.m. Tuesday.

Check back with Levittown Patch for more on this developing story.