Abington Votes

Voting machine glitch at Abington Library resolved, Dean and Mattiacci vote

Turnout was light to about average at the polls at Abington Library at about 10 a.m. There was one glitch, though. According to Dottie Morse, a member of the Montgomery County Republican Committee, there was a problem with one of the Republican voting booths. A county official came to repair the problem — apparently the “hearing impaired” function was being activated accidentally. Still, Morse said seven Republican voters had to be turned away; one returned, though. All of the voting machines appeared to be working properly at about 11 a.m. Democratic candidate for the 153rd legislative district Madeleine Dean voted with her husband.  Prior to voting, she said felt energized, and added that she has great people working with her. She called…

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Montco's New Government Takes Its Seat

Shapiro: 'Rancor and acrimony will yield to respect and accord'

New county commissioners Josh Shapiro and Leslie Richards joined returning commissioner Bruce Castor as the county's new government was sworn in during a ceremony at Montgomery County Community College in Blue Bell this morning. "Starting right now, rancor and acrimony will yield to respect and accord," said Shapiro during his remarks after he officially took office. "There have been zero statements undermining each other in public and zero statements undermining each other in private" since last fall's election, Castor said during his own remarks. "I think it bodes well. I think good things are going to happen," Castor said. A color guard detachment of the Montgomery County Sheriff's Department raised and lowered the national, state, and …

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Montco Commissioners Announce Senior Staff

Robert D. Fox, chairman of the transition committee, said job descriptions were developed for all of the senior positions.

  According to a release on Montgomery County commissioners-elect Josh Shapiro and Leslie Richards' website, the pair has announced a new organizational structure in the commissioners’ office and the senior staff that will fill the positions.  The new structure and staff was endorsed by Commissioner Bruce Castor Jr. and is the product of work by Shapiro, Richards and their transition team, led by Robert D. Fox. The organizational structure will be led by a Chief Clerk/Chief Operating Officer, who will be assisted by a Deputy COO for Policy and Planning and a Deputy COO for Operations. The rest of the senior staff includes a county solicitor, chief financial officer and a director of communications. "We wanted a structure that is commonly …

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Video: Veterans Day at North Penn VFW

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North Penn VFW, Post 676 Senior Vice Commander Drew Amici said he decided to go with the theme of “humanitarianism in the military” for the Veterans Day ceremony. He called it, “an aspect of the military that we don’t really think about. We always picture the military in war … but there’s a very human side to the veterans, to the military people.” State Rep. and Montgomery County Commissioner-elect Josh Shapiro followed Amici. Shapiro said that his father, a Navy veteran during the time of Vietnam, instilled in him a sense of community and public service. He added that we owe all vets a debt of gratitude. Shapiro said there are 933,000 veterans in Pennsylvania; there are about 51,000 vets in Montgomery County. To that point, Shapiro said…

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UPDATE: Abington Dems Party at Dean's

The Abington Democrats pick up a seat on the Abington Board of Commissioners; Republicans still control 8-7

There were a lot of smiles at Madeleine Dean’s house following the close of the polls. The Abington Democrats gathered at the home of Dean. There, they learned that the Democrats picked up a seat on the Abington Board of Commissioners; the Republicans still control the board by an 8-7 margin. Dean won her election for Ward 7, defeating Republican Matthew Willis. Abington Commissioner Steven Kline, who defeated his opponent James Reeves, said he hoped the Democrats would pick up the majority, but added that he was looking forward to working with everyone on the board. On the 8-7 Republican-Democrat split on the board of commissioners, Kline said, “It’s a tighter spread. I hope things change for the better.” Kline said he’d like to see an …

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Castor and Brown Talk Transparency, Ethics

The two pledge to advance "true reform" in county government.

Describing Montgomery County a 21st century county living with an 18th century government, Bruce Castor and Jenny Brown said Tuesday that under their leadership, the county's board of commissioners would advance "true reform" and restore public trust in county government. During a meeting with the media at Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Castor stressed a particular need for rules to protect whistleblowers in county government. The incumbent commissioner said that county employees approach him on "almost a daily basis" to tell him about hostile workplace situations, "mischief" and unethical practices taking place in county government. He declined to cite specific examples because, he said, the current lack of a whistleblower …

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Castor and Brown Announce Fiscal Platform

Republican candidates Bruce Castor and Jenny Brown announced their campaign agenda today. Their platform focuses on financial management reform.

Republican candidates for Montgomery County Commissioner Bruce Castor and Jenny Brown announced their campaign agenda today in a press conference at the Montgomery County Courthouse. According to the pair, their platform for the coming election will focus on financial management reform. If elected, Castor and Brown hope to turn the county’s finances around. “We are in deep financial trouble," said Castor. "[We're] seeing the highest debt Montgomery County has ever seen and need to implement fiscal policies that will insure stability of the county.” Castor said that “county officials are not looking at the larger context and instead spending money in the heat of the moment, causing us to go further into debt.” Castor continued to reiterate …

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Shapiro and Richards—Coffee to Quizzo

The pair has been making stops throughout the county to promote their campaign.

State Rep. Josh Shapiro, D-153, tagged behind Leslie Richards at the entrance of Bonnet Lane diner in Abington this morning. In the vestibule, Shapiro said jokingly to his running mate, “Do I know you?” The diner was the second of nine stops for the pair today, who are running for Montgomery County Commissioner. Though the day after Labor Day was stacked for the pair, Shapiro said it was nothing new for the campaign. “We’ve been at this since February,” Shapiro said. “Other people think this is the beginning of the campaign season since it’s the day after Labor Day, but the campaign’s been in high gear for quite some time. The day started for the pair at the Jenkintown Train Station; it will end with Quizzo at Henry’s Pub in Ardmore at 9:…

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Joe The Nerd

Can Shapiro/Richards Challenge the GOP in the West?

The Montgomery County Democratic Party is about to fumble the ball. After 10 years of explosive growth, it is basing a campaign in the declining side of the county.

Montgomery County has experienced explosive growth in the past 10 years.  Cornfields have been turned into McMansion Farms in the western part of the county and I don’t think the Democratic Party in Montgomery County is paying attention to this shift in demographics. The management of the current county-wide commissioner’s race has placed an inordinately large amount of its resources in the eastern end of the county. The resources that have been placed in the western end of the county reside in the urban centers of Pottstown and Norristown. Lansdale’s office is too far to be of service to a large number of people. You can see the Shapiro/Richards field office locations for yourself on this interactive map. This deployment may be disastrous…

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Guest Columnist

Shapiro: Proposed Budget Could Force School Districts to Raise Taxes

Guest columnist State Rep. Josh Shapiro, D-153, says the proposed budget shifts burden to local governments, school boards

On Tuesday, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett presented his proposed fiscal year 2011-2012 state budget to the General Assembly. While the numbers in the governor’s budget may add up, the math doesn’t work for most Pennsylvanians. The governor’s self-described “reality-based budget” is rooted more in political ideology than in meeting the real needs of Pennsylvanians. I agree with the governor that cuts are needed, and wasteful spending must be eliminated, but it ought to be done with careful thought and precision. The governor has not executed a single performance audit on any state program that he has proposed cutting. This proposed budget may be balanced, but in reality it shifts the burden to county and local governments, and could force …

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