Five apply to replace Josh Shapiro as Montco commissioner

Five people have submitted resumes to be considered for the vacant Montgomery County commissioner position that involves overseeing one of the state's largest and wealthiest counties as part of a three-member board.

They include a Temple University vice president, who has the backing of the county party; a former school superintendent; a former Norristown borough councilman; a lawyer; and a former candidate for state representative.

The 22 Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas judges will appoint a new commissioner following interviews Monday with the five candidates. The appointee will replace Democrat Josh Shapiro, who resigned before taking office this week as Pennsylvania attorney general.

The four other candidates nominated themselves to the commission: Steven Burda of Audubon, who ran unsuccessfully last year in the Democratic primary for state representative; William A. Lessa, former superintendent of Hatboro-Horsham High School; John McGuigan, a former Norristown borough councilman; and L. Elizabeth Hanbidge, a lawyer who practices family law and has a background in child psychology.

The new commissioner will take office alongside Arkoosh and Republican Joe Gale before the next scheduled meeting, March 2.