On January 3, Dana Edwards was sworn in as the new mayor of Narberth. According to The Philadelphia Inquirer, Edwards has never run for office before and stepped into the public eye last year. Before running, Edwards had been involved in organizing Narberth’s Pride at the Park event in 2022 and had joined the Main Line NAACP chapter, which focuses on bringing equality to the Main Line. He won the local Democratic Party’s endorsement and ran unopposed in both the primary and general elections. When he won the mayoral election, he replaced Andrea Deutsch, who served as the mayor of Narberth since 2017.
In an interview with The Merionite, Edwards explained that one of his goals as mayor is to work on the sustainability of Narberth by “fixing the walkability, fixing the livability, working with groups like the environmental advisory council.” Currently, the Environmental Advisory Council of Narberth is researching gas-powered leaf blower bans, calming traffic, and adding bike lanes.
Edwards remarked upon Narberth’s growing real estate sales as well. “There were 41 home sales last year in Narberth. That’s a pretty good turnover for a [town] that’s… 0.5 square miles.” Demand for new apartment buildings on the Main Line has experienced a recent boom. When asked if large-scale development was the future of Narberth, Edwards responded with, “That kind of thing wouldn’t fit in Narberth… we don’t have the size… And it’s just not who we are.” Narberth resident and LM alum Hugo Delpech-Ramey ’25 expressed, “Hopefully there will be a crackdown on rent control and buyouts within apartments in Narberth.” On the same note, Agathe Bouton, a former resident of Narberth, stated, “I would ask [Edwards] to continue bringing prosperity to Narberth while ensuring there’s affordable housing for everyone.”
Edwards is also focused on maintaining and improving transportation services in Narberth. He stated, “I will and do partner with the state senators, state representatives, and the Montgomery County commissioners…to lobby to save our train station, because that would just be devastating to our community if we lost that, both in commerce and in green transportation.” Edwards explained that ensuring the train station is well-kept is important for the accessibility of Narberth. He is determined to maintain this accessibility, stating that he is “very focused on making [the station] more ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) accessible.”
Edwards also communicated that during his tenure as mayor, he will focus on supporting small businesses. He explained that “the downtown area is the heart of Narberth… supporting them, supporting the Narberth Business Association and what they’re trying to do with promotions.” Edwards wants to help celebrate new businesses, stating that he wants to put attention towards “mom and pop stores… ideally run by people who live in Narberth with employees who also live in Narberth.” Olivia Larney-Butler ’28, a Narberth resident, hopes that Edwards will “maybe bring more diversity to the town. Most of the stores in town tend to be closed, and it makes me sad to walk by them.” Delpech-Ramey echoes this in his opinions, as he said, “I’d love to talk about a small guitar shop owned by a beloved member of the community. Danny’s guitar shop has been in business for decades and is now closing due to his already high rent being raised. I find it tragic that Narberth is going to lose someone so key to its current culture.” These opinions are reflected in some of Edward’s goals as mayor.
Edwards expressed that he hopes to see “the downtown get reinvigorated… even if I’m not the mayor, I’m going to be fighting for that to happen again… when it does, you will see Narberth boom again.” Rebecca Hafkin ’28 states, “I hope to see downtown Narberth brought back to life. After COVID, half the shops closed, and it hasn’t felt as vibrant or lively as it once did. I especially miss the music and the sense of energy the town used to have.”
According to Edwards, communication is an important quality of local politics and is critical for the area because “that’s what impacts you day to day.” He finds it important to connect the voices of all races, classes, and ages. He expressed that, “It’s not the easiest thing… we, the US, are very polarized… open any news site, and it’s polarized.” Edwards believes that people with similar opinions get “put in these echo chambers… they just hear more of the same idea.”
Edwards also communicated his commitment to the role of mayor: “I want people to know that… I take the job very seriously… I want to hear what you have to say… I want to hear it so that I can learn and understand how you see the world as somebody different.” On the political side of communication, Edwards works with the Democratic Committee of Lower Merion to open up the Democrat headquarters in Narberth. Opening this headquarters serves as a bridge between political and community voices.
Edwards has another goal: to create bonds with local mayors. He says, “We have an active group of mayors that really care about their communities in Montgomery County.” He finds it important to help each other out in order to revitalize the entirety of the Main Line. In order to achieve this goal, he hopes to create a bus that connects civilians from borough to borough. This initiative would aim to help the elderly and ADA community get around to different parts of the Main Line.
Ultimately, Edwards emphasized his enthusiasm to hear what inhabitants of Narberth would like to see: “What can I put in Narberth for you that you want? How would you like to give me feedback? What do you like? What do you not like? What would make Narberth a place where you and your friends would come and hang out?” Hafkin says about the new mayor, “He is really kind and welcoming and truly cares about Narberth.”
