Karen Geld Sanchez, Abington Township’s current tax collector, is seeking election this November.
A former Montgomery County Controller, Geld Sanchez was unanimously appointed by the 15-member Board of Commissioners earlier this year to fill the vacancy of retired Abington Township Tax Collector Jay Blumenthal. Since that time, Ms. Sanchez has taken a personal approach to her role; greeting residents as they enter the office, answering the phones to address any questions or issues, and meeting one-on-one with residents who have questions about their bills or who need assistance with payment plans.
“When I walked up to the counter at the Abington Tax Office to pay my taxes, Karen Sanchez was there introducing herself to residents and personally helping them,” Abington resident John Miles explains. “I heard a resident ask for more details on the tax installment plan and saw Karen invite them to sit down so she could fully explain the process. In this day and age where we are used to impersonal technology and hardly ever getting a live person on the phone, it was so refreshing to see such diligent customer service provided in a friendly and helpful manner from Karen herself and her wonderful office staff.”
Helping neighbors is not new for Sanchez, who has been an active member of our community for her entire life. She attended McKinley Elementary School and Abington Junior High and is a 1996 graduate of Abington Senior High School. She has served on the Board of Directors at Briar Bush Nature Center and the Cora Services Board and is currently serving on the Family Promise MontCo PA Board, which addresses homelessness and hunger in our community. Ms. Sanchez directly assists families in need every Thanksgiving with a turkey/food drive and throughout the holiday season with a gift drive, both of which have been positively affecting families in our community and beyond for many years. Family Promise MontCo PA has expressed its thanks to Karen for her Board service: “Even before joining the Board of Directors, Karen was a dedicated friend to our mission, organizing an incredible Thanksgiving food drive and turkey donation for more than 10 years. She didn’t just do it herself; she created a community buzz that had cars lined up down the block and around the corner with turkeys and groceries to share with families in need.”
Ms. Sanchez has an impressive resume, having earned her college degree from Penn State and both a Masters of Business Administration and a law degree from Temple University. For over twenty years, she’s been a finance attorney at a Philadelphia law firm, and she has been a child advocate representing kids pro bono in the Philadelphia dependency courts, earning volunteer awards year after year. Her experience, integrity, and high ethical standards are well established and documented by her impeccable track record proven after nine years service as Montgomery County Controller, where she was the “fiscal watchdog” guarding our county’s tax dollars.
Ms. Sanchez will continue to focus on the compassion she has been bringing to the tax collector role, noting that “We live in hard financial times and sometimes it seems it is only getting tougher to make ends meet. People want to be able to stay in their homes, and need to be able to afford to do so. While I do not set the tax rate or policy, I am here to personally work with and meet with everyone who has questions to reach helpful fair, legal, and ethical solutions. My office is open for walk-in service Monday through Thursday 8am–5pm and Friday 8am–4pm, and we have convenient dropoff boxes at the Township Building that are available every day around the clock.”
With only a few weeks to go until Election Day on Tuesday, November 4, Karen Geld Sanchez is looking forward to connecting with even more of her beloved community in the final weeks of her campaign, while, of course, carving out family time for coaching youth fall softball and baseball and for other seasonal fun like Halloween.
This article was sponsored by and submitted to Glenside Local by friends of Karen Geld Sanchez
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