Sunshine law accusations have tainted commissioners' reputations
Editor’s note: This is the fourth installment of a daily, 10-part series on 2010’s most memorable stories
By JENNY DeHUFF
Times Herald Staff
NORRISTOWN — In the wake of the leak surrounding Montgomery County commissioners and alleged Sunshine law violations, as a year-end wrap-up, The Times Herald looks back at the outcomes such news has had on the public persona, and of the men in question.
It all started from a tip, and the reporter from The Times Herald, who followed that tip, knew it would lead her right to Joe Hoeffel and Jim Matthews, the media’s now-dubbed “Breakfast Club.”
A Times Herald reporter was at the Jem on Oct. 19 and again on Nov. 9, where she spotted Matthews and Hoeffel having their Tuesday breakfast rendezvous with two other mover-shakers in the county, Solicitor Barry Miller and Deputy Chief Operating Officer Jim Maza.
When The Times Herald source approached Montgomery County Commissioner Bruce Castor with the findings of the Breakfast Club engagements, Castor said the material was exactly what was marked for the subsequent commissioner’s meeting agenda.
Thanks to the newspaper’s web editor, the stories launched from the website moments after they were composed, giving The Times Herald the privilege of being the first to learn and share this news.
Reader feedback has suggested a majority of Matthews’ and Hoeffel’s constituents are dissatisfied with the way their government is being run. Many speculated the news only added to Hoeffel and Matthews’ already besmirched reputations.
It draws into question whether or not these breakfast meetings staged a sort of off-the-record deliberation of county business. They were, according to Castor.
According to Pennsylvania Newspaper Association’s media law attorney Melissa Melewsky, if elected officials discuss county business outside of the public eye, Sunshine laws apply.
“In its most basic terms, the Sunshine Act is Pennsylvania’s public meetings law,” said Melewsky.
“It guarantees the public’s right to attend and participate in meetings of their government. What elected officials need to be careful of, is any time a quorum is discussing agency business, the Sunshine Act applies. Whether at a restaurant, someone’s home, or whether they’re at the public meeting hall, the Sunshine Act applies.”
Having some exemptions, the Sunshine Act provides that every portion of every meeting of an agency be open to public observation and critique. It imposes procedural requirements to ensure advanced notice is given to the public before meetings take place.
“There are public notice requirements that go along with those (exemptions),” said Melewsky.
“There are also notices that apply to the other elected board members.”
Castor, the arguable, “other elected board member,” told the Times Herald he was not aware of, nor has ever been invited to the Jem Restaurant prior to the commissioners’ regular Tuesday meetings.
“I often wondered why I was the only one on time at the courthouse, and commissioners Matthews and Hoeffel, Maza and Miller were never there or always late,” said Castor.
“Now I guess I know what they were doing.”
Even the chairmen of both of Montgomery County’s political affiliates, who rarely agree on much, found common ground in calling the Breakfast Club meetings “unwise” and “irresponsible.”
Montgomery County GOP Chairman Bob Kerns said the meetings merely reiterated doubts he had years ago about Matthews and Hoeffel. In fact, when Matthews took office in 2008, Kerns publicly censured him, denouncing his behavior in a resolution. At the time, 56 Republican county officials approved the resolution.
“I’ve had a problem continuously with someone who gets elected as member of a party, a Republican, in this case, and forges an arrangement with the Democrats. You owe it to the voters and the people who supported you to do what you said you were going to do.”
Across the aisle, Marcel L. Groen, chairman of the Montgomery County Democratic Committee, said the Matthews-Hoeffel breakfast meetings made his party look bad.
“I think that the meetings, no matter what they’re called, the way they’re held, are, at best, unwise, and certainly not something I agree with,” Groen said.
“It gives an appearance that decisions are being made and policy is being discussed. I can only assume they weren’t talking about sports. There’s a fine line between talking about county business and making decisions. It’s just not a wise way to run things.”
As the days went on, the Times Herald interviewed more officials, including former Montgomery County Commissioner Tom Ellis.
“From the four years I was commissioner, there may have been inadvertent violations of the Sunshine law, but we certainly never met with the solicitor there, if we did violate it, to let us know we were doing so,” said Ellis.
He harkened back to the days of occasional meetings between himself and Matthews at North Hills Country Club, where two of the three commissioners would get together without then-commissioner Ruth Damsker.
“If two make up a quorum, it can be difficult to avoid all discussion (of county business),” said Ellis. “We never had regular meetings to disenfranchise the other commissioner.”
Castor said it reminded him of the same thing during the 2007 county commissioner campaign. He said, the day the three commissioners were sworn in, the subject came up at the reorganization meeting, and Hoeffel and Matthews swore they would never partake in meetings like those at North Hills Country Club, ever again.
“One of the reasons I was so shocked that these conversations took place is because during the campaign, commissioner Hoeffel and commissioner Damsker complained vigorously that former commissioner Ellis and Matthews were engaged in the same secret meetings, discussing county business without inviting Damsker,” said Castor.
“They made it a big point about it in their campaign. I remembered the controversy in 2004, and I remember at the time, when I was district attorney, I was surprised that Damsker didn’t complain to me about Sunshine Act violations, because they clearly were, and I would have prosecuted, had it been brought to my attention.”
There are criminal and civil penalties prescribed by the Sunshine Act. At best, offenders could face a citation and fine. Sunshine Act cases, which Melewsky said are very rare, have once resulted in criminal sanctions imposed, but they are usually treated as a summary offense.
“Agencies often ignore the Sunshine Act and don’t suffer the consequences,” said Melewsky.
“On the civil side, a judge could order invalidating any action taken in violating the act. (A judge) could impose an injunction on the agency, or it could fashion with other appropriate remedies.”
Weeks ago, Hoeffel vehemently denied the allegations.
“These are social meetings where we talk about a number of things,” he said.
“We tell stories, gossip, tell jokes. They’ve been helpful to build a relationship between Jim Matthews and me. We are frequently joined by Barry Miller and Jim Maza – two of our staff – and when we talk about county matters, its general political matters. I certainly know the requirements for the Sunshine law and we don’t deliberate on issues and we don’t decide issues. Sometimes Barry Miller or Jim Maza will fill us in on something they are working on, give us a report. But that doesn’t violate the law. The one thing we have to be careful about is sitting there and deliberating on matters leading to a decision. I’m confident we have not broken that law.”
As for what will become of the commissioners and their agendas remains to be seen. District Attorney Risa Ferman has opened an investigation into the pair. Subpoenas have been issued and calendars court ordered.
But one thing is certain, “Breakfastgate” has certainly gotten people talking.
By JENNY DeHUFF
Times Herald Staff
NORRISTOWN — In the wake of the leak surrounding Montgomery County commissioners and alleged Sunshine law violations, as a year-end wrap-up, The Times Herald looks back at the outcomes such news has had on the public persona, and of the men in question.
It all started from a tip, and the reporter from The Times Herald, who followed that tip, knew it would lead her right to Joe Hoeffel and Jim Matthews, the media’s now-dubbed “Breakfast Club.”
A Times Herald reporter was at the Jem on Oct. 19 and again on Nov. 9, where she spotted Matthews and Hoeffel having their Tuesday breakfast rendezvous with two other mover-shakers in the county, Solicitor Barry Miller and Deputy Chief Operating Officer Jim Maza.
When The Times Herald source approached Montgomery County Commissioner Bruce Castor with the findings of the Breakfast Club engagements, Castor said the material was exactly what was marked for the subsequent commissioner’s meeting agenda.
Thanks to the newspaper’s web editor, the stories launched from the website moments after they were composed, giving The Times Herald the privilege of being the first to learn and share this news.
Reader feedback has suggested a majority of Matthews’ and Hoeffel’s constituents are dissatisfied with the way their government is being run. Many speculated the news only added to Hoeffel and Matthews’ already besmirched reputations.
It draws into question whether or not these breakfast meetings staged a sort of off-the-record deliberation of county business. They were, according to Castor.
According to Pennsylvania Newspaper Association’s media law attorney Melissa Melewsky, if elected officials discuss county business outside of the public eye, Sunshine laws apply.
“In its most basic terms, the Sunshine Act is Pennsylvania’s public meetings law,” said Melewsky.
“It guarantees the public’s right to attend and participate in meetings of their government. What elected officials need to be careful of, is any time a quorum is discussing agency business, the Sunshine Act applies. Whether at a restaurant, someone’s home, or whether they’re at the public meeting hall, the Sunshine Act applies.”
Having some exemptions, the Sunshine Act provides that every portion of every meeting of an agency be open to public observation and critique. It imposes procedural requirements to ensure advanced notice is given to the public before meetings take place.
“There are public notice requirements that go along with those (exemptions),” said Melewsky.
“There are also notices that apply to the other elected board members.”
Castor, the arguable, “other elected board member,” told the Times Herald he was not aware of, nor has ever been invited to the Jem Restaurant prior to the commissioners’ regular Tuesday meetings.
“I often wondered why I was the only one on time at the courthouse, and commissioners Matthews and Hoeffel, Maza and Miller were never there or always late,” said Castor.
“Now I guess I know what they were doing.”
Even the chairmen of both of Montgomery County’s political affiliates, who rarely agree on much, found common ground in calling the Breakfast Club meetings “unwise” and “irresponsible.”
Montgomery County GOP Chairman Bob Kerns said the meetings merely reiterated doubts he had years ago about Matthews and Hoeffel. In fact, when Matthews took office in 2008, Kerns publicly censured him, denouncing his behavior in a resolution. At the time, 56 Republican county officials approved the resolution.
“I’ve had a problem continuously with someone who gets elected as member of a party, a Republican, in this case, and forges an arrangement with the Democrats. You owe it to the voters and the people who supported you to do what you said you were going to do.”
Across the aisle, Marcel L. Groen, chairman of the Montgomery County Democratic Committee, said the Matthews-Hoeffel breakfast meetings made his party look bad.
“I think that the meetings, no matter what they’re called, the way they’re held, are, at best, unwise, and certainly not something I agree with,” Groen said.
“It gives an appearance that decisions are being made and policy is being discussed. I can only assume they weren’t talking about sports. There’s a fine line between talking about county business and making decisions. It’s just not a wise way to run things.”
As the days went on, the Times Herald interviewed more officials, including former Montgomery County Commissioner Tom Ellis.
“From the four years I was commissioner, there may have been inadvertent violations of the Sunshine law, but we certainly never met with the solicitor there, if we did violate it, to let us know we were doing so,” said Ellis.
He harkened back to the days of occasional meetings between himself and Matthews at North Hills Country Club, where two of the three commissioners would get together without then-commissioner Ruth Damsker.
“If two make up a quorum, it can be difficult to avoid all discussion (of county business),” said Ellis. “We never had regular meetings to disenfranchise the other commissioner.”
Castor said it reminded him of the same thing during the 2007 county commissioner campaign. He said, the day the three commissioners were sworn in, the subject came up at the reorganization meeting, and Hoeffel and Matthews swore they would never partake in meetings like those at North Hills Country Club, ever again.
“One of the reasons I was so shocked that these conversations took place is because during the campaign, commissioner Hoeffel and commissioner Damsker complained vigorously that former commissioner Ellis and Matthews were engaged in the same secret meetings, discussing county business without inviting Damsker,” said Castor.
“They made it a big point about it in their campaign. I remembered the controversy in 2004, and I remember at the time, when I was district attorney, I was surprised that Damsker didn’t complain to me about Sunshine Act violations, because they clearly were, and I would have prosecuted, had it been brought to my attention.”
There are criminal and civil penalties prescribed by the Sunshine Act. At best, offenders could face a citation and fine. Sunshine Act cases, which Melewsky said are very rare, have once resulted in criminal sanctions imposed, but they are usually treated as a summary offense.
“Agencies often ignore the Sunshine Act and don’t suffer the consequences,” said Melewsky.
“On the civil side, a judge could order invalidating any action taken in violating the act. (A judge) could impose an injunction on the agency, or it could fashion with other appropriate remedies.”
Weeks ago, Hoeffel vehemently denied the allegations.
“These are social meetings where we talk about a number of things,” he said.
“We tell stories, gossip, tell jokes. They’ve been helpful to build a relationship between Jim Matthews and me. We are frequently joined by Barry Miller and Jim Maza – two of our staff – and when we talk about county matters, its general political matters. I certainly know the requirements for the Sunshine law and we don’t deliberate on issues and we don’t decide issues. Sometimes Barry Miller or Jim Maza will fill us in on something they are working on, give us a report. But that doesn’t violate the law. The one thing we have to be careful about is sitting there and deliberating on matters leading to a decision. I’m confident we have not broken that law.”
As for what will become of the commissioners and their agendas remains to be seen. District Attorney Risa Ferman has opened an investigation into the pair. Subpoenas have been issued and calendars court ordered.
But one thing is certain, “Breakfastgate” has certainly gotten people talking.
