Horsham Democrats Annual Reception

The Horsham Democrats held their annual reception on August 12, 2014 at the Horsham Pub in Ambler.  Several local officials and candidates attended.  Former 8th District Congressman Patrick Murphy was a special guest.  Joe Hoeffel, who has held office as a Congressman (13th), Montgomery County Commissioner, and State Representative (153rd) and is now an author (of Iraq Lies) was also in attendance but did not make formal remarks.

These are my rough notes from the event.  Public remarks were longer and more detailed; this is in no way intended as a transcript.  It is just my notes from what people said.  My apologies in advance for any errors or misconceptions.  A few personal observations are given at the end of the post. 

MC:  Horsham Dems co-chair Pat Costello

Co-host:  Horsham Dems vice chair Ron Kolla

In addition to speakers the following were present:

Joe Hoeffel, D. Bruce Hanes (Montco Register of Wills), Ann Thornburg Weiss (Montco Clerk of Courts, JeanneSorg (Mayor of Ambler) and Rick Taylor (First Gentleman of Ambler and former State Representative), Greg Holt (Montco State Democratic Committee), Mark Levy (Montco Prothonotary), Madeleine Dean (State Representative for 153rd district), Dottie Miller (State House candidate in 53rd district), RuthDamsker (former Montco County Commissioner, candidate for State Senate in 12th district), [Mary Ellen Balchunis -- 7th district congressional candidate -- she was mentioned but I'm not sure she was there in person]

Brendan Boyle, candidate for Congress in the 13th district and current state representative in the 170th district, who had to leave early, spoke before the other formal remarks.  He referenced being the first Democrat in history to win in his district, and now people were saying a Republican couldn’t win the seat.  He said he looked forward to growing the party.

Pat Costello gave opening remarks, welcoming everyone.  He pointed out the labor leaders in the room and said labor is the backbone of Horsham.  He mentioned candidates in the room (see list above)

Josh Shapiro, chairman of the Montco Commissioners:  Recognizes Pat Costello.  Understands what it takes to build a party.  Bullish on Horsham Dems.  Believe in one another.  This is a tremendous group of people, who know how to mobilize.  Ruth Damsker will vote with Tom Wolf to put more money back into education.  Starts with boots on the ground.  Introduces Patrick Murphy, watches him on MSNBC, doing great things with veterans.  Murphy is raising awareness, and being a voice for the voiceless.

Patrick Murphy, former congressmen in the 8th district:  thanks.  When he signed up with MSNBC he can no longer endorse candidates but got special permission to be here tonight.  The only thing you have is your word.  Special mention of Hoeffel, who is the conscience of the party in this area.  A lot of great things going on in Horsham.  He was only elected to Congress because of the voters Montgomery County who were in the 8^th district.  He recognizes Wendy Rothstein (??), who is also a lawyer at Fox Rothschild, and mentions that Montgomery party chair Marcel Groen is also at Fox Rothschild.  References Joe Hoeffel’s book, Iraq Lies.  Less than 1% of Americans have served in Iraq.  Many have come home broken.  Leave no one behind.  Every day 22 veterans commit suicide, over 70% with a gun.  Heart broken over Robin Williams’s death; he did a lot for veterans.  Tells the story of getting a death threat the night the Affordable Care Act.  He slept on the floor of his congressional office and someone called him and said he was dead.   Mentions that while in Congress he did the PX90 workout with Paul Ryan.  Mentions ISIS conflict, and humanitarian drops by US.  Says Tom Corbett has been called the most ineffective governor in the country. 

Leslie Richards, Montco Commissioner:  Great to see so many old and new faces.  When Josh and I won we made history.  Not possible without work by Joe Hoeffel and Ruth Damsker.  Elect Ruth to the State Senate.  Let’s help Tom Corbett make history by being the first PA governor not to win a second term. 

Josh Shapiro:  Thanks Pat Costello and others.  

Personal observations:  This was a lively gathering.  Boyle, Hoeffel and Murphy were the popular kids; there was always a crowed around each of them.  The room was full and the event well-attended, especially on a rainy night.  The food looked good, too.  I had already eaten but did have some blueberries.  There were more influential women there than I am used to seeing, which was encouraging.

Leslie Richards to Head DVRPC

from the inbox:

Montgomery County Commissioner Leslie S. Richards has been elected to a one-year term as chair of the board of the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC).  Richards, who had been vice chair of DVRPC and is also vice chair of the county commissioners, is the just the third woman and the second Montgomery Count representative to serve as chair of the regional planning organization.
                Before becoming a county commissioner, Richards worked in the planning and engineering fields for the two decades. She worked as a senior project manager at a woman-owned civil engineering firm, and is experienced with managing a wide range of infrastructure projects such as bridge rehabilitation, road repairs, street scape improvements, trail and park development, environmental assessments, and feasibility studies.


                In addition to her duties as county commissioner and with DVRPC, Richards is chair of the Montgomery County Board of Elections and a member of the SEPTA board of directors.

                The DVRPC board is an 18-member body having the authority and responsibility to make decisions affecting the entire organization as well as the nine-county region.  In its capacity as the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for the region, the board establishes regional transportation policies, determines allocation of available transportation funds and prioritizes transportation projects for the region. In addition to transportation planning for highways, transit, airports and freight, the agency develops plans and policies for other regional physical planning elements such as land use, air quality, housing, water supply and water quality.
                DVRPC is dedicated to uniting the region's elected officials, planning professionals and the public with the common vision of making a great region even greater. Shaping the way we live, work and play, DVRPC builds consensus on improving transportation, promoting smart growth, protecting the environment, and enhancing the economy. DVRPC serves a diverse region of nine counties: Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia in Pennsylvania; and Burlington, Camden, Gloucester and Mercer in New Jersey. 

Montco Commissioners Townhall in Lansdale

The Montgomery County Commissioners are holding a series of public meetings, called “Conversations with Your County  Commissioners,” throughout the county.  The first was this past Saturday and held in the Lansdale Borough Hall.  

These are my notes from the meeting.  As always, this is not intended as an exact transcript and I apologize in advance for any errors or misconceptions.   Below the event notes are some personal notes and a list of articles on the event.

Commissioner Bruce Castor could not attend but both JoshShapiro and Leslie Richards were there.  The event was slated to start at 10:00.  I got there about 10:05 and it was just getting started.  Shapiro spoke, then Richards spoke, and then it was opened up for questions.  The commissioners stayed until all the audience’s questions were answered.

Shapiro

Benchmarks for assessing the commissioner’s performance:

1      Improving moral

2      Reforms

3      Fiscal mess

Morale

The three previous commissioners engaged in a lot of bickering and fighting.  That had an effect on government and morale.  All of the votes of the current board have been unanimous. 

Reforming county government

I tried to pass reforms in the state house.  In the county we hold everyone to the highest standard and have passed a county employee ethics standard.  There will be no politics on county time and you can’t enrich yourself by what you learn on the job.  The County District Attorney has also adopted an ethics policy.  Other counties have asked for copies of our policy.  We also have a new procurement policy.  There is a Montco First initiative.  In some cases local businesses receive additional points in the decision.  We eliminated 19% of county departments and streamlined costs.  In the solicitor’s office there used to be two full-time employees and for other work the county hired outside counsel.  There are now nine full-time employees and that has cut down on outside legal costs.  The $450M pension fund used to have several money managers; it is now in a Vanguard  mutual fund. 

Fiscal situation

The 2012 budget was $10M short when we took office and also had a $49.3M structural deficit.  We can’t tax or cut our way out.  We instituted zero based budgeting; each department has to tell us what they need to do and how much that will cost.  We have passed a balanced budget.  We made investments.  When we took office the reserve fund was $20M; it had been $80M four years earlier.  We had lost our triple A bond rating.  We grew the reserve fund and made the first payment to the pension fund in four years.

Future

We will revolutionize delivery of human services.  We plan to deliver human services through navicates, who serve as a navigator and an advocate.  We will start with four locations and grow to more. 

Emergency radio communications – Commissioner Bruce Castor led a task force on this.  It was estimated that it would cost $120M to get the system we want but we made a deal with Motorola for $29M.

We want to invest in infrastructure.

Leslie Richards (10:30)

The new 202 parkway took 50 years to complete.  We will work with DVRPC (Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission) and have received $8M in CMAQ funds. Only $16M came to the region and we received half of it.  We are embarking on a new planning process.

Voter services

I chair the Montgomery County Board of Elections.  Because of Voter ID concerns we issued our own id cards to make sure people could vote.  Only one other county in the commonwealth did that.  We issued 100 ids and then the law was put to rest but it is not coming back up again.

Questions (10:37)

Q:  In July the county was $417M in debt, what is the debt now?

JS:  We inherited about $420M in debt.  What matters is debt service.  We pay 10% of our budget on debt service.  We are trying to reduce that.  One way we are doing that is looking at assets we can sell to reduce the debt.  We recently put the human services building on the market.  Ratings agencies say our debt could be increased.  But in raw numbers it is still about the same.

Q:  Thanks for the transparency.  Presents report on hunger in Montgomery County.  Why didn’t the commissioners apply for a Medicare block grant from the state?  This was the only county in SEPA to decline.

JS:  A lot of human services is from the state.  Block grants are a little more flexible.  It’s less money but more flexible.  We think the navicate system is better than a block grant.  Not ruling out block grants forever.

Q:  [long speech on CADCOM program; want to be part of navicate program]

JS:  We rely on outside organizations to help with the navicate program.

Q:  International trade with China

LR:  Some restructuring in the Department of Commerce.  Looking at our sister counties internationally.  

Open to it.  Excited about it.

Q:  Gov. Corbett’s proposal to change the way PA’s electoral votes are awarded.

JS:  I am opposed to this.  You should contact your state representative and state senator to let them know what you think.  You can also write a letter to Gov. Corbett.

Q:  Will the cost of the new radio system be paid by local municipalities?

JS:  The radios will cost around $6M; the number for all the municipal departments will be around $3M and will work with them on a plan for paying for it.

Q:  Sandy Hook, county mental health program

LR:  We need common sense gun laws.  We’re on top of it, meeting with departments.

JS:  We are working to decrease the possibility of something like that happening here.  Montco installed a button in all public and some private schools that when pushed alerts the 911 system and local police respond.

Q:  There was a plan for a road from 309 to the Turnpike and a portion of it in Hatfield, along Allentown Road, isn’t completed.  Large trucks drive on residential roads.

LR:  I advocate for large transportation projects.  There are five projects on our plate and this is one of them.  It is programmed but at present the funds aren’t available.

Q:  privatization of the lottery

JS:  It doesn’t make sense.

Q:  Lansdale

LR:  [lengthy praise of Lansdale]

Q:  300 properties up for sheriff sale

JS:  The county can’t solve the problem but it can help, often by connecting people.

LR:  The planning commission is looking at that.

Q:  welfare reform / fraud

JS:  That is primarily a concern at the state and federal level.  We work closely with them.

Q:  fracking.  North Penn water supply is 75% from the Delaware River, Liquified natural gas sales overseas

JS:  Zero wells scheduled to be built in Montco.  Not aware of any pipelines in Montco.  When in the state house I pushed for a several tax.  We should have clean drinking water.

LR:  I worked closely with EPA and Conservation District.

Q:  Will the navicate program use existing employees or hire new employees? 

JS:  We advertised for four navicates and one supervisor.  There are some internal applications and some external.  The hiring process is underway.  The office locations have not yet been formalized.

Q:  People on disability with mental illness

JS:  We need to get them into the system as soon as possible.  The Montco Community College Power program helps with this.

Q:  [comment about stun guns in school]

Closing Comments

LR:  The county website will have a new look, but same address www.montcopa.org

Personal observations:  I counted around 35-40 people, though some were staff; given the number of news articles on the event a handful were journalists.  

When Shapiro was in the state house he sometimes wore an orange tie.  It showed up often enough when he was pushing for legislative reform that I dubbed it the orange reform tie.  At this event he was again sporting an orange tie.  My memory is not good enough to say whether or not it was the same orange tie but I tend to think it was a  new one.  Perhaps it is version 2.0 of the orange reform tie or the county level orange reform tie.

At the requisite information table outside the meeeting room there were several flyers on Lansdale.  All were nicely done.  I was especially impressed by a packet on starting and running a business in Lansdale. That's a great idea!

List of published media articles on the event

For those who prefer their news via mainstream outlets, here is a list of articles on the event.  

"Montco commissioners answer questions in Lansdale" by Jennifer Connor, The Reporter 1/19 

"County Reform, Debt Service at Heart of Conversations with Commissioners," by Tony Di Dimizio 1/19

"Standing room only for commissioner's chat," by Christina Kristofic Phillyburbs 1/20

 

 

A Note on Posts About Leslie Richards

The Montgomery County Democrats have been sending out a weekly list of campaign events, which has allowed me to follow campaigns there more closely than in the other counties I cover. Before the election I wanted to put together a list of posts I've written about Leslie Richards, one of the candidates for county commissioner (people can vote for two commissioner candidates).

Here goes:
Leslie Richards's electoral history (vote percentages / totals of her township races)
quick look at Leslie Richards
Richards and Shapiro on "Comment Please" radio show
Campaign office openings

Richards, who resembles fashion editor Nina Garcia, works at a civil engineering firm and is knowledgeable about infrastructure (roads and bridges) and urban planning. She is on the Whitemarsh Township Board of Supervisors. She's the only county commissioner candidate who is not a lawyer. There is a lengthy biography of her on the county party website and also on the Shapiro Richards campaign website.

It's difficult to write a more personal post about Richards or a longer fact-based one. There isn't much in area newspapers or the internet about her. She's quiet and I'm quiet so it is hard to keep a conversation going for any length of time. It is a confident quiet though, not a shy quiet. I've asked her a variety of questions at events, on politics, the campaign, engineering, and so on. She's always had a good, sensible answer without a lot of flowery words or embellishment. She doesn't have the polished veneer that many candidates or elected officials do. You wouldn't get a lot of flash with Richards as a county commissioner, but you would get quiet, confident common sense.

Leslie Richards's Electoral History

Josh Shapiro and Leslie Richards (www.shapirorichards.com) are the Democratic candidates running for Montgomery County Commissioner this year. Shapiro is fairly well known, Richards less so. Since I took a look at the electoral history of one of the Republican candidates last month it seemed prudent to look at Richards's as well.

She was elected to the Whitemarsh Board of Supervisors in 2007.

Three Democrats ran in the primary (# votes in parentheses): Sara Erlbaum (895) Leslie S. Richards (863) David E. Brooke (850)

In the general election the three Democrats ran against three Republicans. Vote totals for the Democrats were all higher than the Republicans. Vote totals for the Dems and the percentage of overall votes is listed below:

Leslie S. Richards 2,421 (18.56%) Sara Erlbaum 2,344 (17.97%) David E. Brooke 2,280 (17.48%)

The Republican with the highest number of votes was Richard Cutler with 2,032 (15.58%). He was only about 250 votes behind the lowest Dem vote getter, but nearly 400 behind Richards.

There is always a higher turnout in a general election than a primary so comparing the two is a little difficult but I did notice that while Richards came in second in the D primary she came in first in the general, not only getting more votes than all the Republicans but more than all the other Democrats.

I haven't been able to find out much about the campaign but one might assume that Richards was out hustling for votes during the summer and fall of 2007. In any event she has some experience with a contested election, has worked with a team of candidates, and can draw broad support from the community.

[Source note: if you want to review the returns yourself, they are at: http://voterservices.montcopa.org/voterservices/cwp/view,a,1459,q,66459.asp

Shapiro Richards Meet and Greet, Spiegelman Version

This evening I went out to a “meet and greet” for Josh Shapiro and Leslie Richards, the Democratic candidates for Montgomery County Commissioner. First the politics then a few personal observations, but I encourage you to hang on till the end because those personal observations pertain, in part, to food.

The event was held at Roman Delight in Abington and sponsored by John Spiegelman, candidate for Abington Township commissioner (Ward 11). Other candidates in attendance while I was there:
Richard Haaz – Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas
Josh Shapiro – Montgomery County Commissioner
Leslie Richards – Montgomery County Commissioner
Linda Hee – Montgomery County Recorder of Deeds
Will Holt – Montgomery County Sheriff
Jack Kessler – Magisterial District Judge
Daniel Kaye – Abington School Board

Remarks by candidates:
Leslie Richards – as a civil engineer (at a women-owned firm) she has worked to make lives better, by building bridges and parks. On the Whitemarsh Board of Supervisors she has done the same thing, without raising taxes.

Josh Shapiro – There are 800,000 people in Montgomery County, and it is the 3rd largest county in Pennsylvania. In the last presidential election 70% of eligible voters voted, but in the last county commissioner race 70% stayed home. The bickering in DC and Harrisburg is similar to the bickering in Norristown. Elect Shapiro and Richards to get things done. Remember that you get to vote for two names for county commissioner. Two Republicans and two Democrats will be on the ballot. Vote for both Josh Shapiro AND Leslie Richards.

Shapiro (introducing Spiegelman): I met John Spiegelman on my first campaign for state representative. He was interesting in winning but also in what happens after the election.

John Spiegelman: Ward 11 is indeed the heart of Abington, encompassing the hospital, the public library and several of the township’s schools. Spiegelman wants to put together a comprehensive "quickest possible way to contact" list for the entire ward and will use this list to send out township board agendas, etc. before the meetings so people can share opinions, decide whether or not to come out to speak, and work together. He wants to keep the Abington dollar in Abington, for instance creating a small-business-friendly environment to help turn empty, blighted commercial areas into business that will draw from within Abington and beyond to neighboring communities, creating Abington jobs and a thriving community while keeping taxes low. He also thinks the township commissioners should take a stand against developers and other outside forces.

You can find the entire Democratic slate for county races at www.montco2011.comhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

Personal observations: It is an unfortunate truth that the food at many political events is unexceptional. I don't know if it is the presence of candidates or bloggers or what, but sometimes even the carrots are bad. So I hadn't planned on eating at this event and planned to heat up some leftovers when I got home. But one look at the deep dish Sicilian pizza at Roman Delight changed my mind. It was GREAT! I haven't had deep dish Sicilian pizza in awhile, living in a thin crust household. Roman Delight makes great pizza. This cannot be said too many times. Roman Delight makes great pizza.

Even better, Spiegelman, the host, had an unusual, but very welcome, parting gift. Forget refrigerator magnets, palm cards, the like. Spiegelman gave out chocolate bars in the shape of his yard signs, complete with his name embossed on it. It's the first time I've seen that. The chocolate bars were made to order by Lores Chocolates of Philadelphia.

As the movie Babette's Feast so clearly pointed out, good food can make good company. The room at Roman Delight was packed and people had to squeeze past each other to move around. I found a chair in a corner to people watch. It was very much a community meeting, a neighborhood get together. Everyone I saw seemed to be having a good time.

Shapiro Richards Office Openings

Of the three counties I cover Montgomery County posts the most information about events on their website, which makes it easier to cover events there. This weekend I attended two office openings for the Josh Shapiro / Leslie Richards (Democratic) campaign for County Commissioner. Montgomery County is the third largest county in Pennsylvania, larger than Boston and Atlanta. It’s a race that many across the state are watching (see Politics PA’s analysis of the race with a link to their interview of Shapiro & Richards).

The campaign already had two offices, one in Abington, Shapiro’s home territory, and Ardmore (see news articles on these openings at www.shapirorichards.com). This weekend offices in Elkins Park and Lansdale opened. A fifth, in Conshohocken, is due to open next week. More offices open throughout the county before the November election.

The Elkins Park office is near the intersection of Old York Road (Rt 611) and Church Rd (Rt 73) in the Yorktown Shopping Center. It’s at street level, by the exit onto the Old York Rd spur. When I was there Shapiro and Richards were talking to people in small groups. About 30 people, give or take, were there, clustered in conversation. A number of candidates were there. County-wide candidates, Linda Hee (recorder of deeds), Jason Salus (treasurer), Richard Haaz (judge for Court of Common Pleas), and Cheryl Austin (judge for Court of Common Pleas) were among them. Abington Township Commissioner Lori Schreiber (she of the spiky silver hair), and Sean Kilkenny, who is active in county politics, were also present. Olivia Brady of the Montgomery County Democratic Women’s Leadership Initiative was greeting people at the door. If there were other local political luminaries in the crowd I missed them. One wall in the campaign office was covered with brochures, info on local candidates. You don’t always see this and to me it’s a sign that the candidates for the higher (county) office are partnering with candidates for lower (township) office. That’s always a good sign because it implies the higher level candidates will look out for the little guy. I don’t know anything about Cheltenham Township Ward 7 candidate Heidi Morein but her logo is very catchy, appealing, and a design I haven’t seen before.

The Lansdale office is in Sumney Forge Square, at the intersection of Valley Forge Rd and Sumneytown Pike. It’s in the row of storefronts that parallels Valley Forge Rd, at the end furthest from the intersection. The walls in this office were decorated with colorful maps of the area but that might change as it looked like the office was still being finished. Richard Haaz and Jason Salus were at this opening also, as was Olivia Brady. Again people were talking among themselves and the candidates were working their way around the room. There were about 35 people there when I was there. The office has a lot of windows with great views of the surrounding area.

Most campaign offices have both experienced staff and fresh faced newcomers. These were no exception but the youngsters had a bit more polish than most. They were very professional. I’m told that the campaign has attracted a lot of interns; if the people I talked to are examples, the campaign is getting the cream of the crop. While there were candidates and political figures around there were a lot of regular folks, too. I enjoyed some small talk and came away with a few good book recommendations. At each office there was a least one toddler. A campaign that is accepting of small children is a good campaign. (Shapiro has four children, Richards three – that may be a factor.) The informal political events I like the most are those that resemble community gatherings. There was no resume waving or bluster. The candidates moved through the room easily, greeting people they knew, and meeting those they didn’t. The people were pleasant. There wasn’t any GOP bashing. The talk was positive and forward looking. It was a hot day and it’s a tribute to the candidates that that many people would come out in such uncomfortable weather.

Shapiro is currently a state representative for the 153rd district (most of Abington township, some of Upper Dublin). He has favored, and worked towards, strong ethics laws for elected officials, makes his expense accounts public on his state house site (www.pahouse.com/shapiro) and is widely regarded as an elected official with a bright future. One of his signature pieces of legislation, which has yet to become law, bans texting or handheld cell phone use while driving. One that has passed makes it easier for college students to transfer credits from one public college in the state to another. He’s known for being accessible to the public, holding over 70 townhalls in his six years as a state rep. He also has a reputation for working with people across the aisle. I’ve attended some of the multi-candidate or multi-official events he’s been at and he is frequently acknowledged as the most knowledgeable person in the room, with even more senior politicos deferring to him for facts or opinions.

Richards is on Whitemarsh Township Board of Supervisors and during her three years in office the township has balanced the budget without raising taxes. Like her running mate she has supported efforts to make government more open and transparent. For those who don’t like attorneys, Richards is the only non-lawyer running for county commissioner. She is a senior project manager at a woman-owned civil engineering firm, and has managed projects dealing with infrastructure, such as bridges, and trail development. These skills have served her well helping Whitemarsh complete stormwater projects and on preservation and open space measures. Personal trivia: I think her celebrity lookalike is Project Runway judge (and former Elle magazine fashion editor) Nina Garcia.

The campaign is utilizing not only traditional outreach measures such as knocking on doors, but social media such as Facebook (www.facebook.com/shapirorichards) and twitter (@shapirorichards). They’ve also initiated an “11 for ‘11” program, asking supporters to reach out to 11 friends and family members and encourage them to be voters as well.

As mentioned, another office opens this week in Conshohocken, followed by one of the campaign's quizzo events (see their facebook page for details). I went to an earlier quizzo meet. They're fun, so if you live near Conshy check it out.

Thanks to the Montgomery County Democrats for having an updated events page and to the Shapiro / Richards campaign for putting me on their email list.

Leslie Richards & Nina Garcia: Separated at Birth?

Over the holidays we visited with family. One is a Project Runway fan and as I watched a few episodes with her I noticed the one of the celebrity judges, Marie Claire fashion editor Nina Garcia, looked a lot like Leslie Richards, one of the two Democratic candidates for Montgomery County commissioner.

Richards, the only non-lawyer running for the office, is a Whitemarsh Township supervisor and an environmental, community, and long-range planner.

Separated at birth?

Shapiro and Richards on Comment Please

Comment Please by Univest on WNPV with host Darryl Berger hosted Democratic candidates for Montgomery County Commissioner today. State Rep. Josh Shapiro and Whitemarsh Township Supervisor Leslie Richards. (campaign site: www.shapirorichards.com).

These are my rough notes from listening to the taped interview available on the WNPV website; only the first 45 minutes is the interview.

Berger is a wonderful interviewer. He frequently makes a subtle comment that steers the guests answer or has a short conversation intended to move the discussion forward or in another direction. It is difficult to catch all these verbal maneuvers so I frequently leave them out. Nor is this intended as a full transcript -- it is just my notes from listening. I just listened to it once through and typed phrases and notes; later I went back to smooth out the wording and use full sentences, so without doubt I missed quite a few things. I encourage Montgomery County voters to listen for themselves to get the full effect.


DB: Good afternoon, it is March 17, 2011, hope you have a great St. Patrick’s Day. No one on the show is Irish today but maybe we can ask our guests to answer in an Irish brogue. We have the two candidates for the Democratic nomination in the primary and they’re unopposed so they will go on to the general election for Montgomery County commissioner.

JS: can’t sport an Irish accent but am wearing green.

LR: I am willing to talk about my travels in Ireland. It is a friendly country. I rode bike trails along the peninsula. If you want to visit the pubs bikes are a good way to go from pub to pub. Great golf, very green.

DB: The Democrats have never held a majority in the board, or at least not in recorded history. Why this year different?

JS: People want to see their county govt do better. They want four fresh eyes. What Leslie has done in the private sector and what I’ve done in state government we hope to do in county government.

DB: Rendell said you were a rising star in politics. Why leave your state representative seat?

JS: It is an honor to serve Abington and Upper Dublin. A state representative represents around 70,000 people but as county commissioner I would represent nearly 800,000. Could affect things like roads and bridges and care for elderly. Apply skills learned in state govt to county level. And I have a heck of a partner in Leslie Richards.
DB: What is the political equation? Do you want to be governor?

JS: I want to be a Montco commissioner. Flattered by support across county. In life and politics you need to pick a job you want to do and do it well. Create luck and opportunities by working hard. In politics there are so many outside factor so you can’t ever count on going from to a to b to c.

DB: Leslie, you are currently a Whitemarsh Township Supervisor, what prompted you to get into politics and run for Montco commisioner?

LR: Had I known the opportunity existed this would have been an ambition. Asked to run for local office as many women are. Had been involved in community. Helped start Whitemarsh Twp day and enjoyed serving on that as well. Whitemarsh has a big identity, Erdenheim Farm is right in the middle of township but the township also borders on Philadelphia. Just a couple of turns you are in front of a 400 acre farm. The township covers 14 square miles. Work as a community planner, education in economics and regional planning. Entire life worked with communities on economic development, parks, trails, transportation issues. Traffic is always an issue. It has been very helpful to be able to discuss hard numbers and what can be done in long and short term.

DB: regional planning?

LR: That’s where county govt can make that a focus. Often good planning starts at a municipal border. Joint planning can go on. In Whitemarsh we have worked with our neighbors to pool resources to put together design and construction. The county should be proactive using county planning commission to help local planning commissions.

DB: Montco is a huge area, a quantam leap from township to county commissioner. How will running affect your job?

LR: professionally I’ve worked in all areas, rural, suburban, urban, very familiar with area. I’m currently a senior project manager at a civil engineering firm. I feel I’d be able to keep my hand in at least a few hours a week to see projects through.

DB: The governor has come out with budget, how will that impact Montco?

JS: it was an irresponsible budget. He campaigned on cutting spending and I agree with that. The problem I have with the budget is the priorities are all out of whack. He talked about the must haves and be nice to haves then he talked about the education cuts. It will be, for example, 10% of North Penn School Disctrict which will mean an increase in property taxes. I think one of the biggest issues I have is that rather than ask Marcellus Shale gas drillers to pay for the infrastructure they will crumble, he’s asking you and me to pay for it. In Sarah Palins’ Alaska they passed a severance task. If we did that here it would mean less cuts for education. I’ll stand with Sarah Palin and George Bush. Tom Corbett can stand on his own. The drillers aren’t going anywhere. The CEO of one of the largest drilling companies said they were prepared to pay a severance task. The plan that a lot of people agree with is a severance tax with a third to local govt, a third to environmental protection, and a third to the general fund. The group the governor established to look into this – if you added up how much money they gave the governor you can guess what the group will come up with.

DB: I think we are losing money.

JS: if you cut social services the way the governor has proposed but the need still exists, there will be an added burden on county taxpayers and on hospitals. More people are showing up in the emergency room. People who pay into their health insurance will pay for other people’s unreimbursed care. Corbett is proposing to cut higher education 50% . If you do that you get rid of in state tuition when everything goes up. The Republicans are in charge now of the state house, state senate, and governors mansion. He should be able to pass this but lately you see Republicans disagreeing. Republican State Rep Bob Godshall who represents North Penn School District might have some problems with that.

DB: There is currently a coalition govt in Montco. Jim Matthews and Bruce Castor are Republicans but Jim Matthews and Joe Hoeffel, the Democrat, formed a coalition and are running the show. As a Democrat you’d have to be thrilled by that.

LR: People are frustrated. County govt seems distracted and not trying to move things forward. The personality conflict distracts the county commissioners. I serve on split board in Whitemarsh, and was elected chair. It was my responsibility to listen to everyone and work together as a board. The board should be working together for the county and not worry about who is calling who a name.

DB: Matthews and Castor have a tremendous amount of personal animosity.

LR: They just seem more interested in name calling.

JS: People want to see competent good govt. Leslie can bring Republicans and Democrats together to get things done. In Harrisburg I have done that. I worked to get a Republican elected Speaker of the House. People want three commissioners to show up for work and get things done. We will work with Republicans whether we are in the majority or minority. People are sick and tired of the bickering and want to see results.

DB: What has been the effect of bickering, what has not done that should have been?

JS: County bureaucracy not as efficient as it should be. When you have 3 people at the top who don’t always talk to each other then how can you expect county workers to work together? When you have 3 commissioners listening and being respectful more gets done. People want new people with new ideas and a new approach to get things done. The county’s budget is $400Million. It can be more efficient. People don’t think about govt every day but when they have a problem they show up in my office. People want to know how to get an answer to solve their problems.

DB: Joe Hoeffel is a progressive. Some people say the county reflects his activist view. Castor follow s a Republican line of less govt is better govt. What should county govt be?

JS: I guess that depends on how you define activist. I disagree with some of what Castor says but do so respectfully. County has a AAA bond rating but what does that mean to a small business owner who can’t get a loan or someone who needs a social service? I do think the county govt has a role to play in those social services but needs to do so in a more streamlined and efficient way.

DB: What sort of increased efficiencies would you propose?

LR: Not a restructuring but better communication in govt, some departments don’t talk to other departments. Learned this working with Whitemarsh govt. When the police department wanted to upgrade their communications system we talked to other departments and upgraded the whole IT system. On county level it just hasn’t happened. People don’t know what other departments are doing. The leadership needs to come from commissioners.

DB: No pay increase for county workers in a while. Low morale

LR: I am hearing that as I talk with several staff. First we need to listen to county employees. They have some fabulous staff members. I’m very familiar with planning commission. They are so talented and their resources aren’t being utilized as much as they can be. Josh and I have talked about going out to municipalities to work with local planning commissions. Local planning commissioners are volunteers. County planners can help.

JS: County workers have reached out to us. Morale is low. Message we have sent back is we are not interested in balancing county budget on their back. Efficient govt works when we get suggestions from staff. They haven’t been asked. Dedicated workers want county to work better. We need to listen, ask them how we can save money. We want their opinion and advice. When we say that to county employees they get excited about it.

DB: need to restructure county govt. It is ridiculous that we are electing a prothonotary, register of deeds, etc.

JS: We’re going to reform county govt. We’re going to ask “why?” Why do we do things this way? The people elected to county offices are good people. But we need to ask why do we have, for example, 50 different departments. We are not part of Norristown culture so we can look with fresh eyes.

LR: I agree that many people don’t know what a prothonotary does or who the prothonotary is. He’s a great guy and has saved a lot of money and is doing a great job. Judges are also elected.

DB: I think this is something county govt should look at.

JS: Certainly these issues are on the table.

DB: What can people expect from this campaign?

JS: We’ve been all over the county and are seeing excitement for the election and our campaign. Our base is mobilized. An unprecented level of enthusiasm. My district is about 50% Republican but I got 70% of the vote in the last election. You can expect us to talk with everyone and run a substantive campaign but be respectful of the other candidates. Respect and commitment to the county.

LR: I love to talk with people as we travel around the county.

Berger thanks his guests.