December 29, 2011

Dear Friends:

This is the age of hyper-partisanship. The political parties refuse to cooperate with each other in Washington and Harrisburg. They enthusiastically oppose, obstruct, demonize and jockey for political advantage.

Each party seeks total victory over the other. Neither party is strong enough to win or is willing to surrender. So the bickering continues and government is gridlocked.

Except in Montgomery County. For the last four years, the bipartisan coalition formed by Jim Matthews and me has governed the county well, passing balanced budgets on time, reducing departmental spending and the number of county employees while investing in economic development, transportation projects and open space preservation.

Yes, we had more than our share of personal bickering on the Board of Commissioners, but we did not have governmental gridlock. County government has functioned well under the joint direction of a Republican and a Democrat.

Frankly, the bickering that brought us such discredit primarily occurred between the two Republican commissioners early in our term. I regret I didn't do much at the time to try to bring my colleagues together.

The Montgomery County Republican Committee could not abide that Jim Matthews formed a governing coalition with a Democrat, and they actually voted to censure him for working across party lines. Meanwhile, the Democratic Party leadership was none too happy with me, since I wouldn't always do what they wanted.

The fact is the public loves the notion of bipartisan and independent government, but party leaders hate it. The party chairs are far more interested in controlling patronage, appointments and solicitorships than in delivering good government. County commissioners should never let the party chairs call the shots.

The workings of the commissioners changed when Jim Matthews resigned the chairmanship following his indictment and Bruce Castor nominated me to serve as chair. All commissioners were treated respectfully and equally by staff and each other. We were all in harness, pulling together, for the first time.

The result was the unanimous approval of the county budget for 2012 - the first major action we three agreed on in four years. The 2012 budget keeps the faith with the people of the county and is fair to the taxpayers, the employees and the citizens who depend upon county services and enjoy county amenities.

As Josh Shapiro and Leslie Richards join Bruce Castor on the Board of Commissioners, I have three pieces of advice for my three friends.

First, don't listen to the political party chairs regarding county business. Maintain your independence.

Second, treat each other with respect. The government will work better that way.

Third, seek bipartisan agreement. This prevents government gridlock and best serves the public interest.

And good luck to all three of you.