Joe Hoeffel a Strong Possibility For Governor's Race

It looks like Joe Hoeffel will be seeking yet another position that will keep him on the public's payroll, if successful.

In a recent poll, Jo-jo garnered 30% of the support, should he decide to run against likely candidates. Unfortunately, Jim Matthews was not named as a likely running mate for Joe...bummer, considering how well they have worked together over the past year and a half.

Hopefully, as close as he and Jimbo have been, he will be a likely recipient of a huge dose of the "Matthews Effect"...one can only hope.

Read more about it here.

B.




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Random Thoughts About The Past Week

Last week, I had the opportunity to sit in on and then comment on the ethics debate at the Montco Commissioners meeting.

One thing I noticed throughout the meeting...whenever Republican Commissioner, Bruce L. Castor, Jr. agreed to vote yes on the Hoeffel ethics package of 1998, they other two commissioners backpedaled and hesitated to vote on it.

Jimbo then laid out about 19-20 changes that he'd like to see, exempting many people from the ethics statute, and Hoeffel, who was the one who touted the need for this reform to begin with, also laid out a list of those who he wanted exempted.

Only Commissioner Castor was for a total ban of politicking in the courthouse.

For Hoeffel and Jimturd, this amounted to a "have your cake and eat it, too" proposition.

You may say, why does Castor want a total ban on politicking? Simple. Jimbo and Joe will never agree to a total ban, because it's not in their best interests to agree to it.

A total ban would exempt Jim Maza from working on the judicial races for the democrats. A total ban would keep Jim's (former) assistant from her political appointment as County Human Resources Director (a change in the job requirements paved the way for this glorified secretary to become Jim's tool for hiring and firing in the courthouse), and would never have allowed a democrat political leader from gaining the First Deputy Controller's job.

This "I was for it before I was against it" policy making stinks of John Kerry and his 2004 run for the White House. Electioneering 101, so to speak. Flip-flops, pure and simple, when the situation requires it, period.

I had the opportunity to ask Jimmy-Matt about his ban on District Attorney's employees being banned from running for office. I posed the following scenario: How could they be for banning what may be some of the best and brightest minds from running for office, simply because of where they work?

The example I gave was Sandra Schultz-Newman...a former ADA who subsequently became the first woman to be elected to Pennsylvania's Supreme Court.

Jim's answer to me? He argued my position that these people are the "best and brightest" was false (I guess on the job training would never produce such a stellar District Attorney, vis a vis Bruce Castor and his successor, Risa Vetri Ferman), and he made it a point to let me know that Schultz-Newman was not a DA when she became a judge (BTW, I knew that, the situation I posed was hypothetical...and, Jimbo knew this).

Jim yammerred on for a few more minutes, then called for a vote to table the ethics reform that his lackey, solicitor Barry Miller (along with Hoeffel's lackey, asst. solicitor, Jeff Albert), wrote. Mind you, this is the same Barry Miller who, as a county employee, threw his hat in the ring to fun for DA, now writing an ethics policy that could, essentially, stipulate that he could run for anything, but could also stipulate who could not...a severe conflict of interests? I'd say so.

Anyway, here is the gist of the debate, in Castor's words:

"This (ethics reform statute) would have passed with Matthews' wholehearted approval had I not raised the obvious defects on Thursday. That the other commissioners feel they have POWER over the independently elected row officers on non-budget matters is stunning. No place in Pennsylvania is this so, but the other commissioners are drunk on power and believe their two votes can overrule the thousands of county citizens who put our row officers in their jobs.

Already, several of the row officers are threatening legal action against their own county government. Madness. (So) I offered a series of amendments to impose campaign finance reform (something both my colleagues have said they are not interested in) and true ethical restrictions from practicing politics by our county employees at the highest levels. 

I suggested that we step back and rewrite the proposal taking the care the authoring of a "law" warrants.

Even Commissioner Matthews who was avidly seeking to ratify Hoeffel's dangerous and illegal proposal, saw the wisdom in taking a step back to reconsider. Are you ready for this? Hoeffel OPPOSED being careful and still wanted to bull ahead even in the face of the patent defects in the proposal."

Who said politics wasn't fun? Kudos to Commissioner Castor for keeping his word and putting the interests of the taxpayers of Montgomery County first.

One of the more interesting aspects of the meeting was when Jim, speaking about hiring done by row officers, said this:

"If you want to hire somebody as a row officer, and it is within budget, it cannot be stopped..."

I submit one name...Marcy Toeppel. Jim voted against approving her salary when the Recorder of Deeds, Nancy Becker, wanted to hire her. It took the threat of a lawsuit to reverse his vote at the next meeting. I'll be posting a recording I made at the meeting later this week to corroborate the quote above.

Oh, and finally, the county hiring freeze? I guess it only pertains to those not recommended by Hoeffel or Matthews...figures.

B.


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Montgomery County Controller: S.N.A.F.U.

And I mean A.F.U.!

Here's the thing-Montco Controller, Diane Morgan, has really let her office go to hell in just over a year.

The 1099 forms sent out by the controller's office for over 1620 individuals are wrong. Yes, wrong.

Here's what happened...the new software (such as "we dems know better than you what works") used to generate the 1099 forms has a major snag in it:

For example, a county assistant district attorney might receive a fee as an independent contractor when she or he sits on a three-member arbitration panel to handle a civil case. That assistant district attorney may be reimbursed for expenses to travel to a preliminary hearing as part of his or her job as a prosecutor.

The accounts payable software used by the county lumps all of those fees and reimbursements together and that sum is reflected on the 1099 forms, according to Morgan.

Also, a 1099 form, filed with the IRS, lists taxable income from which no deductions have been made.

My questions for Ms. Morgan are: How much is going to cost the Montgomery County taxpayers? And, isn't the boss ultimately to blame when a trusted second screws up? Lastly, What about those employees who already filed their taxes...if they paid someone to do their taxes, is the controller's office responsible for paying to have them re-done? I'll bet the answer to all of these questions is "no comment".

Since last year, Morgan has been going all out to try to screw with Republicans in the courthouse and in One Montgomery, and all the while, "Rome" was burning. Maybe Diane Morgan needs to get her own house in order before she starts sticking her nose under other people's tents.



Even Eric Kretschman never screwed up this bad, IMHO!

Read the entire Intelligencer article here.

H/T to SPR for the heads-up

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My Thoughts on the Matthews Censure

I posted the news of Jim Matthews' censure on Monday without any commentary. I let the words of Bob Kerns speak for themselve. Today, I'd like to give my opinion of the resolution (and as I have observed the happenings of the past year).

The 2008 election was not a good one for Republicans. Neither was the election of 2004, 2006, and 2007, as we lost both the house and the senate, and the PA house of representatives. Why? We all know the answer.

We have moved, as a party, too far to the left. the general consensus has been "if we act more like them (democrats) we will get elected. This "experiment" hasn't worked.

The problem is, when we do that, we lose our base. Just look at the results of the last election as proof. In Montgomery County, only 31% of all registered Republicans bothered to vote in what was probably the most important election of their lifetime. Not that the democratic base did much better, but their 40% turnout won the election here for Obama and anybody else who rode in on his historic coattails.

In last years election, Republicans won the County Commissioner positions. Jim Matthews then went to say that we needed to form a "more bi-partisan" government"...one that governs more to the center than to the right or left. Unfortunately, the current governing body does, indeed, govern more to the left, as we have passed most of the liberal Hoeffel/Damsker platform since January 8th than we have passed any conservative platform. Jim has essentially turned his back on the Republican party. As a result, we are probably going to have a budget deficit, taxes will probably have to go up and we will probably lose our AAA bond rating that Former Commissioner Tom Ellis worked so hard to obtain and preserve.

Our new county Republican Chairman, Bob Kerns, has worked, since taking office, to try to convince Matthews that he needs to start working with Republicans for good, sound fiscally responsible Republican style governance, as he was elected to do. Jim argues that the people spoke when they elected him and that they asked for a more bi-partisan (liberal) governance. Jim is wrong. The numbers don't lie. Besides, if the people had wanted a more leftist style of government, they would have elected Ruth Damsker and Jim would now be a private citizen of Montgomery County.

Also, most of the rank and file, as I have witnessed, disagrees with Matthews.

I have attended enough fundraisers and events over the past eleven months to have heard, ad nauseum, "what are we going to do about Jim" and "why isn't Bob (Kerns) doing anything about Jim"?

On Monday night, after months of getting nowhere with Jim Matthews, Bob Kerns did something.

Bob drafted a resolution censuring Jim Matthews for basically betraying the will of the voters of Montgomery County. Jim's move to the left has not only hurt the taxpayers of Montgomery County, it has hurt the Republican party as a whole. It has hurt our credibility. It has hurt our "branding" if you will.

It has forced our top Republicans to take a stand that they would have rather not taken (remember, it took months to make this decision).

Bob Kerns did something courageous on Monday night. He started pulling our party back to the right, where it belongs. Bob took a stand against the very thing that has destroyed our party nationwide and caused us to lose elections.

Bob chose to be a real Republican. So did the leadership that unanimously voted to censure Jim Matthews for his transgressions against the party.

I will be eternally grateful to Bob for recognizing that we needed to go back to what made our party what it was, and for taking the proper steps to start returning our party to it's conservative roots.

Today, as I sit here writing this post, I can say, without equivocation, that I am the most proud I have ever been to be a Republican in Montgomery County.

Thanks, Bob, for restoring my faith in the party that I chose to be part of back in 1996.


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Re: The County Republican Candidate's Rally

Rumors abounded at the Westover Country Club this evening. I'll get to them later.

First and foremost, the rally was fun. There was an Irish band that played (go figure) Irish music and a Johnny Cash song. The hors douv...er, appetizers were the typical fare, nothing to get excited over, but filled the void. The open bar meant that your humble blogger was kept in mucho Coca Cola all night long (I never drink alcohol when I have the bike out).

The highlights of the evening? MCRC Chairman, Bob Kerns was fantastic. He spoke about the campaign, spoke of the need for us to pull together and make this a banner year for Montgomery County. Then, the candidates got up and spoke, and to my surprise, I wasn't bored to tears. They all spoke of the elections, the hard work that they were doing to get elected, and the need for volunteers and money.

The highlight of my evening? Politics notwithstanding, I'd have to say that the highlight of my evening was finally meeting (face to face) fellow blogger and Times Herald columnist, Lisa Mossie (Bluftoonie, and PAWaterCooler.com). (To read Lisa's 9/18/08 column, click here)

Rumor time

Jim Matthews. He wasn't there, but the rumor mill was doing a rather brisk business on his behalf.

Rumor #1: J-Turd has been asked, and has accepted the role of treasurer in his brothers non-committed run against Arlen Specter for U.S. senator in 2010.

Rumor #2: James Rex "ai-ai-ai" has been asked by certain powers that be in PA politics to start his own version of the "Chairman's Club", to try and siphon money away from MCRC fundraising efforts, but will hold off until after the election in November to do so. (Keep your eyes especially on this one folks, and please, don't give in. Our county chairman is doing a fantastic job and needs your support in order to bring Montgomery County back to it's former glory as a Republican county.)

Neither rumor has been corroborated, but they're out there.

Also noticably absent was the contingent from Abington. It seems that a certain Muni-Chair decided that his meeting was more important than MCRC business, instead of changing location to the Country Club, chose not to attend.

Quorum was not met and the bylaws were not voted on. Pity, because the old bylaws are seriously outdated and the new ones are quite good.

There's always January.

B.


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If the Bus Fits...

I was on my way to the William Jeanes Memorial Library (in Whitemarsh Township, Montgomery County) to pick up a couple of books that my son, Scraps, had reserved.

As is the norm, I took the bike, as I love to ride when...well, I just love to ride!

As I sat waiting for a light to change, I heard (faintly, but growing louder) some young teens chanting, "O-Ba_Muh!, O-Ba-Muh!", over and over. For the record, I have a McCain/Palin sign on the luggage rack (see photo below).

I turned around to see where the the "noise" was coming from...first thing that went through my mind (and I'm going to hell for thinking it) was "figures". You see, the chanting was coming from a "short bus"...

My apologies to any of you out there who have ever ridden on the "short bus", but, if the bus fits...

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Re: Montco Daily Dose

Alex Charyna from the 'cooler posted a "daily dose" tonight about the new traveling minstrel show called the County Commissioners Meeting. As I observed, there were several dynamics going on at once. From left to right sat Prince Kartoffelkopf, King James the Turd, Court Jester, Barry Miller and Republican Commissioner Bruce L. Castor, Jr.

Hoeffel seems to think he's some kind of comedian, as he was wisecracking here and there while we, the taxpayers paid him to do so. Bad decision, Joey...you had your junior high years to get that out of your system...at least have some decorum and act the part you are playing this time 'round.

Matthews sat there looking like "Corky" from "Life Goes On" half the time, the other half, he was acting like some "Rainman" type of savant...I kept waiting for "ten minutes to Wapner" to come from his lips. He had that vacuous, brooding look, like he was waiting on the short bus and it was (shudder) 10 seconds late. I understand he was arguing with constituents after the meeting was adjourned. What A Boob!

Barry Miller must have some demons working in his head...I saw him stare around the room looking kind of vacant...the same kind of vacant look you see in Charles Manson's eyes. His deal with the devil must have been a doozy.

Bruce, as always was eloquent, poised and had some very good input as to the disposition of the Barnes Foundation. KJ3 and the tuberdome just kind of brushed him off...I finally saw it with my own eyes. The other two kept skirting the issue, never once assuring the public that they'd fight, tooth and nail (as we would want them to) to keep the "Barnes" here in Montgomery County.

Anyway, I digress...Alex mentioned that I left before the meeting was over, but, that I was taping the event-both accurate statements. I would have stayed, though, if only my battery had lasted just a bit longer. I've wanted to get a spare, but, I do tend to procrastinate. I'll order one next week.

Here's a link to the 'cooler and Alex's take on the meeting, as well as his report about Kenneth...you know, the guy who effed up the party for 4 years and lost over 75000 republicans to the d's? He's getting an award for "lifetime achievement" or something. Maybe for most fashionable "popped collar" with a manbag? Read it all here:

pawatercooler.com: Montco Daily Dose

Happy Friday...Have a pleasant day.

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