Montgomery County Commissioner Bruce L. Castor Jr. has had to put up with a great deal of ignominy at the hands of fellow Commissioners Jim Matthews and Joe Hoeffel over the past four years.

Castor was the top vote-getter in the 2007 election and was expecting to play a major role in leading Montgomery County government. Instead, Matthews stabbed Castor (and county taxpayers) in the back by entering into a back-room, power-sharing deal with liberal Democrat Joe Hoeffel.

The Matthews-Hoeffel regime has nearly bankrupted what was once one of the most fiscally-sound counties in Pennsylvania.

The Montgomery County Republican Committee censured Matthews for his betrayal and told him not to bother running for another term because the party would not support him. The Democratic Party also had enough of Hoeffel and told the career politician he would not be endorsed for re-election in 2011.

On Tuesday came the bombshell news that Matthews is facing criminal charges for a variety of alleged improprieties during his tenure as a county commissioner.

From a story by reporter Jenny DeHuff of the Norristown Times Herald

Alleging that Matthews repeatedly lied to jurors "with impunity," District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman unsealed a 69-page grand jury report detailing charges of perjury and giving false statements during a press conference Tuesday morning.

The presentment was the culmination of an 18-month investigation into the inner workings of the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners. The allegations are extensive, from no-bid contracts with a Matthews-affiliated title insurance company to allegations surrounding his violations of the state's open meetings laws during repeated breakfast meetings at an East Norriton diner.

Ferman identified five areas outlined in the grand jury report, including the alleged use of campaign funds for personal expenses, the county's competitive (or non-competitive) bidding process, allegations of Sunshine Law violations by two of the county commissioners, matters of expenditures through the county's open space program, and a potential conflict of interest involving Matthews and a company called Certified Abstract, which had been given the county’s contract for title insurance.

So what does Bruce Castor, a former two-term county district attorney, think of all this?

DeHuff contacted the only commissioner who will be returning in January and this is what Castor had to say about Matthews, whom he described as a "very arrogant man" -

"Jim Matthews lied to the voters, to his supporters, to his contributors, to the party – those things don't surprise me, but when he lies to a grand jury, that is a crime. My experience is that perjury cases before a grand jury are almost always successful for prosecutors. I cannot recall a perjury charge in any court that I've ever worked in or around that did not result in a guilty verdict, because it's such a rarely used charge. A prosecutor only uses it when they're sure they're going to win."

It appears Bruce Castor will get the last laugh.

The calendar may say June, but Bruce Castor and Jenny Brown, the Republican candidates for Montgomery County commissioner, are thinking November, when they hope they will form a new majority on the three-member board.

Castor, Brown fire opening salvo of campaign (video) - timesherald.com

Thorns to Joe Hoeffel, Jim Matthews for wasting taxpayer time and money on ethics appeals - pottsmerc.com

Check out the editorial in today's edition of The Mercury about embattled Montgomery County Commissioner Joe Hoeffel.

Hoeffel's bowing out sets stage for needed change in Montco - pottsmerc.com

After finishing a distant fourth in a four-man race for the Democratic nomination for Pennsylvania governor, Montgomery County Commissioner Joe Hoeffel says he will never run for higher office again (that's the good news) but instead will now concentrate on re-election to his county post in 2011 (that's the bad news).

Under Hoeffel's "leadership," Montgomery County has been beset by a series of ethics scandals and financial woes.

Hoeffel is 0-3 in bids for higher office (U.S. Senate, PA lt. gov, and governor) in his last three statewide elections.

"I'm back as county commissioner, and I have no intention or desire of running statewide again," Hoeffel told reporter Keith Phucas. "I told my wife, I got it out of my system."

Montco voters can finally send Hoeffel packing for good next year.

Read about Hoeffel's re-election plans in the Norristown Times Herald.

A hilarious new political ad released by the Joe Hoeffel for Governor campaign proclaims Joe stands for "old-fashioned values" such as abortion-on-demand, gun control, same-sex marriage, protectionism and special breaks for unions.

This guy couldn't get elected in Massachusetts let alone Pennsylvania.

The final howler is when Hoeffel describes himself as "fiscally responsible."

Before Hoeffel took control of Montgomery County government in 2008, the county was a model of efficiency that other Pennsylvania counties could emulate. Montco government was so well run that the commissioners were able to cut property taxes while increasing services.

Under Hoeffel, Montgomery County has turned into an economic basket-case, facing deficits, layoffs and cuts in services. Cronyism is rampant as Hoeffel has hired all sorts of political allies to well-paying county jobs that didn't exist before Hoeffel came into the picture.

Now Hoeffel wants to do the same for Pennsylvania? Good luck with that.

Actually Hoeffel may be too late. His pal, Ed Rendell, has already bankrupted the state.

Prediction: Hoeffel will finish a distant third or maybe even fourth in the four-man race for the Democratic nomination for Pennsylvania governor.

Originally posted at TONY PHYRILLAS

Now that he is a candidate for Pennsylvania governor, Montgomery County Commissioner Joe Hoeffel has resigned from the county's Board of Elections, according to Keith Phucas of The Norristown Times Herald.

Hoeffel, who has served as chairman of the elections board since 2008, was asked to stop down by the county solicitor, Phucas reports.

Hoeffel, a Democrat, notified fellow commissioners James R. Matthews and Bruce L. Castor Jr. on Wednesday about his resignation.

Although Montgomery County Republican Chairman Bob Kerns issued a press release Wednesday calling for Hoeffel to step down fro the elections board, Hoeffel told Phucas that he made the decision on Tuesday.

Read the full story at the newspaper's Web site.

Montgomery County Republican Chairman Bob Kerns has asked Democratic County Commissioner Joe Hoeffel to step down from the Montgomery County Board of Elections.

Hoeffel announced this week that he will seek the Democratic nomination for Pennsylvania governor in the May 2010 primary election.

"Joe Hoeffel chairs the Montgomery County Board of Elections and can act in that capacity to advantage his candidacy for governor, Kerns said in a written statement. "He needs to step down immediately and allow for an alternate to be appointed in his place."

County commissioners who have run for office have traditionally resigned from the Elections Board "and I think Hoeffel needs to step down now," Kerns said.

"Elections should be free and fair. Hoeffel needs to step aside immediately to ensure he’s not setting the table for himself," Kerns said, noting that Hoeffel remained on the Board of Elections when he was a candidate in a contested election to be a Hillary Clinton delegate to the 2008 Democratic National Convention.

The President Judge of the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas has the legal authority to appoint a replacement to the Board of Elections once Hoeffel steps aside.

Hoeffel has been criticized frequently over the past two years for politicizing Montgomery County government. Under Hoeffel's tenure, several losing Democratic candidates have been hired to well-paying county jobs, prompting charges of cronyism.

Reporter Keith Phucas recaps the political soap opera otherwise known as the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners in a year-end roundup story published in The Norristown Times-Herald.

The problem began when Republican Commissioner Jim Matthews, reelected with the help of fellow Republican Bruce Castor, stabbed the former district attorney in the back and made a pact with Democratic Commissioner Joe Hoeffel.

Almost every vote taken by the commissioners in 2008 was 2-1 with Matthews/Hoeffel getting the advantage over Castor.

Don't expect things to change in 2009, Phucas says.

From his story:

Based on what has transpired, expect the two Republicans to remain at odds and occasionally butt heads on policy issues going forward.

What political fallout will result long term from the rift is anyone's guess.

Read the full story, "As Montgomery County turns," at the newspaper's Web site.

The Montgomery County Republican Committee has adopted a unanimous resolution censuring renegade county Commissioner Jim Matthews.

"Since I was elected chairman and even while I was campaigning, everywhere I went, I was asked 'What are we going to do about Jim Matthews'?," county GOP Chairman Bob Kerns said in a press release announcing the censure.

"The voters I talk to feel betrayed and the Republican committee members are just devastated by Jim's actions. The voters placed their trust in Jim Matthews and Bruce Castor and the committee members put their hearts into the campaign to elect the Matthews-Castor team last year. This has been a difficult year for everyone," Kerns said.

Matthews rode Bruce Castor's coattails to re-election last November, but on Dec. 18, he announced that he had negotiated a power-sharing agreement with the lone Democrat on the three-member commissioners board. The deal made Democrat Joe Hoeffel vice chairman of the commissioners. Hoeffel then proceeded to hire all sorts of political cronies to lucrative county jobs.

Most votes taken by the board have been 2-1, with Matthews and Hoeffel getting their way over the objections of Castor.

More from Kerns' release:

"Montgomery County's voters pick the person, not the party. It's been that way for two decades and Jim Matthews and Bruce Castor campaigned on a set of priorities that are not being implemented. Instead, we're implementing the major priorities outlined by Joe Hoeffel and Ruth Damsker, but that agenda was rejected by voters in favor of a Matthews-Castor agenda. The voters have to know we don’t condone what’s happening in Norristown."

As an example Kerns cited the Hoeffel promises of hiring a Chief Financial Officer, enacting a $50 million economic development plan, and Hoeffel's record in the 1990s of running up debt and paying for budget items with bond issues.

"When Hoeffel left the Board of Commissioners in 1998 he left us with hundreds of millions in debt and just $12 million in the bank. Our AAA bond rating was threatened. It was a disaster. Hoeffel and Matthews are pursuing policies that will put us right back in the same hole. This year alone they are looking to raid the county’s dwindling savings to pay for their programs. It's not the way Republicans would run this government. Jim Matthews got elected in 1999 and again in 2007 by pointing out what a disaster Hoeffel was as a commissioner in the 1990's. Now he's forming a government with him and implementing Hoeffel's agenda? It makes no sense and our committee and the voters are confused and hurt,” Kerns said.

Since taking over control of the county party in the spring, Kerns said he attempted to "bring Matthews back to the table."

"I did meet with him in early summer in the hopes of bridging the divide between he and his Republican colleagues in county government. He made it clear that he was not interested in any kind of reconciliation. I continued to pursue the matter through intermediaries throughout the fall," Kerns said in the release.

“At some point, we have to decide to move on and accept that, based on his actions, he is not a Republican anymore. No matter how often Jim insists he is a Republican, you are ultimately judged by how you govern and your record, not your words," Kerns said.

Kerns said on Election Day many committee members reported incidents where voters stopped to express their disgust with Matthews on their way into the polls.

"In the end, Jim's actions are the actions of an individual, not the Party. That is the message I hope people take away from this resolution. The party is standing up and making its position clear. We don't agree with Jim, we don't condone what he's doing as a Commissioner and he's not representative of our Party as long as he's engaging in this behavior. Don't blame the Party for the actions of one man," Kerns concluded.

A total of 56 Republican municipal leaders, area leaders and executive committee members attended Monday's Leadership Conference, where the censure vote against Matthews was taken.

The Montgomery County Commissioners are taking their show on the road starting tonight.

The "show" is their weekly board meeting, which some have likened to a circus thanks to the antics of Democrat Joe Hoeffel and Democrat-wannabe Jim Matthews.

The first road trip begins tonight at 7:30 in the Upper Dublin Municipal Building, 801 Loch Alsh Avenue, Fort Washington.

This gives Montgomery County taxpayers who work during the day to pay their taxes or those who can't get to Norristown for the morning meetings an opportunity to see how their tax dollars are spent.

One other road trip is planned: a Sept. 18 meeting at 7:30 p.m. at the recently refurbished Old Mill House in the county's Central Perkiomen Valley Park in Perkiomen.

The commissioners traditionally hold their bi-weekly meetings in the commissioners boardroom at 9:30 a.m. in the county-owned One Montgomery Plaza high-rise office building in Norristown, according to reporter Margaret Gibbons.

The scheduling of the two out-of-Norristown meetings came about through the persistence of Republican Commissioner Bruce L. Castor Jr., who repeatedly said that these evening meetings will give more citizens an opportunity to see the commissioners at work, Gibbons said.

Robert J. Kerns, the new chairman of the Montgomery County Republican Committee, is accusing Democrats of bringing "Philadelphia-style pay-to-play" to Montgomery County government, according to reporter Margaret Gibbons.

"The Democrats have put a 'For Sale' sign on our county courthouse," Kerns says. "It's reprehensible."

Montgomery County voters elected what they believed was a Republican majority last November, but Jim Matthews turned his back on the voters and made a deal with Democrat Joe Hoeffel to share power on the three-member commissioners' board.

That left Republican Bruce Castor out of the loop and turned Hoeffel loose to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxpayer money to hire political pals and award contracts to politically-connected firms.

"(Montgomery County Commissioner) Joe Hoeffel and his Democratic cronies have put their integrity up for sale to the highest bidder," Kerns is quoted as saying in Gibbons' article.

Read "Kerns claims pay-to-play" in today's edition of The Times Herald of Norristown.