Joe Hoeffel

DENVER-The chairman of the Montgomery County Republican Committee lashed out at County Commissioner Joe Hoeffel today for comments he made during the Democratic convention here this week, calling them a "partisan rant" that necessitated his resignation from the county election board.

In an address to the state delegation Wednesday, reported by PolitickerPa.com, Hoeffel, a former Congressman, celebrated the county's new Democratic majority.

"We know, and the Republicans know, that Republicans will never again have a majority in Montgomery County," Hoeffel said.

County GOP chairman Bob Kerns called those comments "inappropriate for an elected official."

"These are not idle comments from an elected official, these are ominous remarks from the man who oversees elections in Montgomery County," Kerns said in a statement. "Voters of all parties should be leery of such bombast from someone who has an obligation to conduct fair and scandal-free elections. Hoeffel owes Montgomery County voters an apology for such reckless remarks."

In a brief phone interview this afternoon, Hoeffel waved off the criticism.

"I was speaking as an elected Democrat to the Democratic delegation of the convention," he said. "My comments were totally appropriate and not at all connected with my duties as chairman of the Montgomery County election board.

DENVER--Joe Hoeffel had a wide smile on his face this morning as he addressed Pennsylvania delegates during breakfast here. He was, he said, a bearer of good news.

"For the first time in history, Montgomery County has a Democratic majority," Hoeffel, the county commissioner and former Congressman, said to applause.

He credited county party chairman Marcel Groen for the new edge in voter registration, which echoes demographic patterns across the Philadelphia suburbs and the rest of the state.

"We know, and the Republicans know, that Republicans will never again have a majority in Montgomery County," Hoeffel said.

DENVER-Joe Hoeffel knows a thing or two about taking on U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.). Hoeffel, the Montgomery County Commissioner and former Congressman, tried to unseat Specter in 2004, but came up short by about 10 points.

In an interview with PolitickerPa.com this morning, Hoeffel served up some words of wisdom for whatever Democrat eventually takes on the formidable task of challenging Specter in 2010.

He said it was critical for any candidate to "stress the traditional family values and economic values that Pennsylvanians care about," calling an emphasis on so-called pocket-book issues critical to any campaign. But national security acumen, he said, is almost as important.

"The Senator's weakness is he's been too loyal to George Bush," Hoeffel said.

CONSHOHOCKEN -- At a fundraiser here Thursday evening, Democratic state House candidate Matt Bradford got a nice introduction from one of the biggest names in Montgomery County politics.

Joe Hoeffel, a County Commissioner and former Congressman, said that Bradford "brings a kind of rare combination of youthful enthusiasm that you would expect ... but he matches that with an extraordinary amount of experience."

Below is a PolitickerPa.com video of Hoeffel's introduction and Bradford's brief speech to supporters:

Joe Hoeffel, right, Matt Bradford, center, and Rob Zolitor, left, at a Bradford fundraiser Thursday: Hoeffel, the Montgomery County Commissioner and former Congressman, introduced Bradford, the Democratic state House candidate for the 70th District, at a fundraiser in Conshohocken. Zolitor, the campaign manager, collected the checks, almost $10,000 worthCONSHOHOCKEN -- Matt Bradford got a late start in his bid for a state House seat in Montgomery County, replacing Democratic candidate Dwayne Royster on the ballot barely a month ago, after Royster stepped aside for personal reasons.

But if a fundraiser held for Bradford here Thursday evening is any indication, the promising 33-year-old candidate will get plenty of help making up for lost time from his many friends in local governments. About 25 people showed up at Conshohocken Councilman Paul McConnell's house to support Bradford, who is running against state Rep. Jay Moyer (R-Lower Salford) in the 70th Legislative District. Many of those in attendance work in area municipal governments.

There was Montgomery County Commissioner and former Congressman Joe Hoeffel calling Bradford a "bright and energetic young man." There was Conshohocken Councilman Jason Salus, a longtime friend of Bradford's who organized the fundraiser, saying Bradford would be "a great asset to the legislature." There was Plymouth Township Councilman Vincent Gillen, Plymouth Councilwoman Mary Lou Readinger and Whitemarsh Township Supervisor Leslie Richards schmoozing with the candidate.

Conshohocken itself is not in the in the district Bradford hopes to represent-it is in state Rep. Mike Gerber's (D-Whitpain) 148th Legislative District. And many of his supporters at the fundraiser were also from outside the 70th District. But as Bradford acknowledged to PolitickerPa.com as he left to knock on doors, "I'm going to need support from a lot of quarters."

He got off to a good start Thursday night, collecting nearly $10,000, campaign manager Rob Zolitor said.

I received an email from a prominent Montgomery County activist towards the end of last week saying County Commissioner Bruce Castor was at fault for the Jim Matthews/Joe Hoeffel bi-partisan coalition because Castor first went to Hoeffel and offered the same deal.  After talking to Commissioner Hoeffel we can confirm that rumor is just that, a rumor. 

So what was the story behind the deal that was struck to share power when there are two Republicans and one Democratic County Commissioner?

NORRISTOWN - While announcing a voter registration drive he hopes will bring recently departed Republicans back to the GOP, Montgomery County Republican Committee Chairman Robert Kerns took an opportunity to again invite back the party's most high-profile defector: County Commissioner Jim Matthews.

Ever since Matthews, a Republican, formed a power-sharing agreement with fellow commissioner Joe Hoeffel, a Democrat, Republican Commissioner Bruce Castor has been cut out of power, and the GOP has had trouble controlling the county agenda. The political battle has pained county Republicans.

Appearing at the county courthouse here Tuesday afternoon, Kerns said: "What Jim Matthews did is what he decided to do-we're working on bringing him back."

Asked to clarify following the brief news conference, Kerns did not point to specific efforts being made to court Matthews but said it was up to Matthews to "show that he wants to work with Bruce."

"What we're trying to show is the Republican Party is open," he said.

It's been a frustrating six months for Republican Bruce Castor. The former Montgomery County District Attorney was elected to a county commissioner's seat last year, but he had barely taken office when he found himself cut off from political power, the victim of a bipartisan power-sharing agreement between his two colleagues.

Still, even as Republican Joe Hoeffel and Democrat Jim Matthews have left Castor as the odd man out on the three-member county board, Castor has kept talking, and kept pushing his agenda, even if he lacks the power to carry it out.

His latest salvo: an appearance on the Norristown courthouse steps Tuesday where he again lambasted his fellow commissioners while presenting his own policy agenda.

"I am disappointed to say that I don't believe that we can point to any accomplishments whatsoever of any significant nature in those six months," Castor said, according to The Inquirer.

Castor was joined by more than a dozen top county Republicans, but not his fellow commissioner, The Inquirer reports.

Both Matthews and Hoeffel defended themselves against assertions that little progress had been made.

"We've done some very important things in very large areas that Bruce has either not participated in or has opposed," Hoeffel told The Inquirer.