Although Mayor Conlen Booth never imagined himself in his current role, the transition has been smooth. 

Taking office in early 2026, Booth was driven to become the mayor by positive encouragement from the community.

The idea to run for such a position wasn’t even on his radar — in fact, Booth doesn’t consider himself a political guy. 

“It’s not something that I initially sought out,” Booth said. “It was never on my horizon. I was actually asked by friends and other members of the community to do it.”

The decision emerged gradually, after those around him told him how well-suited the role was to him.

“I often feel like you shouldn’t do something unless you’re going to help to benefit people in some way,” Booth said. “I felt that I could contribute in a positive way.”

Booth may be new to his role, but he certainly isn’t to the community; he was a part of the Strath Haven graduating class of 2001. During his time as a student, he was deeply involved in school events.

“When I was a student, I was president of the activities council my senior year, and I was on the principal’s advisory board,” Booth said. 

He also notes that he helped to organize a student blood drive program. 

His streak of community engagement can be traced back to these years, when Booth found his way to the local firehouse, an experience that would shape his life for years to come. What began as a test to gauge his interest in a potential future in emergency medicine quickly became something special. 

“I joined the firehouse when I was still in school at Strath Haven,” Booth said. “I had never experienced true emergencies, so I joined as a student. Back then, it was a little bit more lax. We would leave the school for 911 calls, and we would do that for both the fire department and the fire truck, and also sometimes the ambulance.”

His time at the fire station would prove to be a formative experience, influencing his career path. 

“I went to school and became a paramedic, got a bachelor’s in the management of emergency services, and I think it really all stemmed from joining the fire department in high school,” Booth said. 

Booth has maintained a deep connection with the firehouse, still serving as fire chief today alongside his role as mayor. Juggling the two roles has required attention to detail.

“I do my best to keep them separate,” Booth said. 

There is, however, some overlap.

“There’s a lot of bleed over, as the department is, really broadly speaking, a department of the borough,” Booth said.

In recent months, his involvement with the fire station has been inhibited by a personal injury. Despite this, he has remained involved from an administrative standpoint, a role he credits to the support of those around him. 

“I’ve not been actively responding to calls for eight months now, because I broke my neck this past July,” Booth said. “I’m really fortunate that I have a strong team that steps up in a big way.”

As mayor, Booth views his role as a sort of civic stewardship. His priorities have been focused on maintaining stability in the borough’s administrative leadership. Specifically, Booth is looking for a replacement Borough Manager, a position currently vacant after the removal of Sean Halborn and David Unkovic, serving as interim manager. 

“We’re really focused heavily on, ‘How do we get the right person to get this moving as an organization?’ I think this takes precedence,” Booth said. 

In addition to this, he is excited to find ways to broaden engagement across the community. His goals include strengthening ties between Swarthmore College and outlets for local students. 

“We’ve been talking about how to engage young people in local politics more,” Booth said. “If there are students who are interested in getting involved, they should raise their hands. They should absolutely come and attend meetings [and] listen.”  

Booth says his goals focus on innovation and expansion while simultaneously maintaining the fabric of the community.

“How do we draw people into the borough? … We make sure people know what is here and bring them to town to enjoy it, so that the businesses are doing well, and we don’t have a bunch of empty storefronts,” Booth said. 

Fond memories of community collaboration cement Swarthmore as a town built on collaboration in Booth’s mind.  

“I have this nostalgic memory of when the fire horn would go off, and you’d see like 20 or 30 college students and townspeople running as fast as they could to the firehouse. That memory fills me with such a good feeling of community involvement,” Booth said. 

He hopes that similarly inspiring teamwork will continue to shape the community. 

“We still have so many people that are doing so much stuff to make it such a great place,” Booth said. “All the volunteers around the farmers market and all of the businesses are coming together, not to fight each other, but to work together. To me, it’s such a positive environment for people to be in and grow up in and experience.” 

Outside of his official roles, Booth enjoys spending time with family, friends, and his most loyal four-legged companion, Huckleberry, who accompanies him all around town. 

“He’s very good at listening, and so he’s a very good boy, but he’s a little overweight,” Booth said of the eight-year-old Australian cattle dog rescue.

A focus on local vibrance and community support has shaped Booth’s road to becoming mayor, a role that aligns closely with his own personal morale. 

“We live in a town where everybody wants to pitch in, and everybody is engaged, so we’re really fortunate,” Booth said.