New era in Montco politics: Bipartisan cooperation

This week marks the end of an era in Montgomery County.

Sure, the two new Democratic commissioners set to be sworn in Tuesday will close the book on more than a century of Republican control.

But for anyone who has paid the slightest attention to county politics during the last four years, the more immediately noticeable change will come with the end of one of the most vicious, volatile, and vindictive political marriages the suburbs of Philadelphia have ever seen.

Since 2007, fellow Republicans James R. Matthews and Bruce L. Castor Jr. have quarreled and caterwauled in public and behind closed doors - often dragging their third colleague, Joseph M. Hoeffel 3d, a Democrat, into the fray.

The trio's not even thinly veiled animosity at public meetings became so loud at times it overshadowed any actual governing.

Now, that is all over, said Josh Shapiro, the Abington Democrat expected to be named chairman of the county's newly constituted Board of Commissioners.

"We're hoping our county meetings are a lot more boring," he said. "But a lot more efficient and better run for the taxpayers."

Move over "Bickersons" - the name Shapiro gave Castor and his cohort in campaign ads last fall. Make way for the "Backersons," as in "these new guys have one another's."

In the days after the November election, Shapiro and running mate Leslie Richards reached out to Castor - the lone commissioner among the current administration to win a seat alongside the Democrats. They hoped to forge a relationship and avoid the reputation for rumbling that has come to define Montgomery County government during the last four years.

"We've developed a really nice rapport," Shapiro said last week. "We've had tremendous conversation with Bruce."

And what does Castor make of this newfound congeniality? He is practically glowing with optimism.

"It's been great," he said. "The new team seems very anxious to try to restore the faith in government that was lost by the previous administration. I'm excited to be a part of it."

This from the man who four years ago hung his certificate honoring his election over a toilet to express how he thought his first term was shaping up.

At the time, he contends, he had good reason to be upset.

His relationship with Matthews was troubled from the start. Shoved together by two competing factions within the local Republican committee, they led the party's 2007 ticket despite never entirely trusting each other.

Then, days before their swearing in, Matthews gave his running mate real reason for mistrust, announcing he had formed a bipartisan deal with Democrat Hoeffel to govern together. Castor saw it as a move to edge him out of control.

Things only got worse from there as Castor played the consistent "no" vote on the board and often disagreed vocally with his colleagues' positions. In a particularly charged exchange, Matthews once referred to Castor as a "sick bastard" during a public meeting.

Castor shot back: "You wouldn't know the truth if it jumped up and bit you in the bottom."

But with Hoeffel and Matthews out of the picture, Castor appears not to have resigned himself to a second term as a minority commissioner but is eager to explore bipartisan cooperation.

(After losing party support for his deal with Hoeffel, Matthews opted not to seek reelection last year. He was arrested and pleaded not guilty to perjury charges in December. Hoeffel also bowed out of the race before last year's primary.)

"I've certainly had more discussion with Josh and Leslie in the past month than I did with Joe and Jim in the entire four years of our administration," Castor said.

And there is a lot to talk over. Shapiro and Richards plan to launch an ambitious agenda, including a top-to-bottom review of county staffing, finances, and the state of government infrastructure.

Castor has been intimately involved in those discussions so far, they said. When the duo announced their picks for several senior staff-level positions last week, Castor chimed in, endorsing the Democrats' selections.

Whether they are all still holding hands and singing "Kumbaya" after they take office may be a taller order.

Shapiro, Richards, and Castor agree on the problems the county faces - including enacting a tight budget and scraping together money for needed repairs to crumbling public buildings. But coming up with solutions to those problems is the hard part.

"We said in the beginning, it would be up to Bruce whether we could all work together," Richards said. "From everything we've seen so far, he's willing to back that up."