County party leaders blast Hoeffel, Matthews
By JENNY DeHUFF
Times Herald Staff
NORRISTOWN — The chairmen of both of Montgomery County’s political affiliates rarely agree on much, but they found common ground Wednesday in rebuking the so-called “Breakfast Club” meetings recently uncovered by The Times Herald.
Asked to opine on whether the secret meetings of Montgomery County commissioners Joe Hoeffel and Jim Matthews at the Jem Restaurant on Tuesday mornings stood the test of legality, Montgomery County GOP Chairman Bob Kerns said these meetings only reiterated doubts he had years ago.
“From the beginning, I’ve had a problem with Jim Matthews and the way he’s handled the whole situation,” Kerns said.
When Matthews took office in 2008, Kerns publicly censured him, denouncing his behavior in a resolution unanimously approved by 56 Republican county officials.
“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.”
Asked if, in his experience, it was not unusual for elected officials to meet before a regularly scheduled public meeting, Kerns said such engagements are new to him.
“First of all, it’s not commonplace,” he said. “I think there are many boards, councils, township commissioners and township supervisors in Montgomery County, and I think they all understand what the Sunshine Act is about. The Sunshine Act is very clear — when you have two out of three, then the Sunshine Act applies.”
The Sunshine Act was intended to create openness in government. According to Pennsylvania Newspaper Association’s media law council Melissa Melewsky, it guarantees the public’s right to attend and participate in meetings of their government. Whenever a meeting occurs where deliberations determine or result in outcomes of official agency business, it directly violates the Sunshine Act.
“I think you need to be transparent in order to let the voters know what you’re doing and why you’re doing it,” Kerns said. “I think it’s unfortunate they take that track to exclude Bruce Castor from their conversations in the decision-making process.
“To me, when you’re meeting on a routine basis, and it’s two out of three of you, it’s hard to say the only things you’re talking about are social issues. To have breakfast on that regular basis, to invite the solicitor and another county administrator — I understand people have relationships, but it doesn’t make sense to do that in the manner they did it and expect people to believe they’re not violating the Sunshine Act.”
Some would argue the Democrats are effectively in the driver’s seat in the county currently, but what remains unclear is what the public will make of the commissioners, especially those allied closely with members of their opposite party.
Across the aisle, Marcel L. Groen, chairman of the Montgomery County Democratic Committee, said the Matthews-Hoeffel breakfast meetings make 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. Hey, I wouldn’t want to have breakfast with Bruce Castor either. But 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.”
While he did offer credit to Matthews and Hoeffel for reaching across party lines to form an alliance, Groen said there is a time to be political and a time to govern.
“The problem isn’t the cooperation,” he said. “The problem is the lack of cooperation between the three of them. Nobody’s looking for lockstep. I think everybody understands there can be friction between parties or fractions of parties, but at the end of the day, people do not appreciate when the three cannot work together.”
Times Herald Staff
NORRISTOWN — The chairmen of both of Montgomery County’s political affiliates rarely agree on much, but they found common ground Wednesday in rebuking the so-called “Breakfast Club” meetings recently uncovered by The Times Herald.
Asked to opine on whether the secret meetings of Montgomery County commissioners Joe Hoeffel and Jim Matthews at the Jem Restaurant on Tuesday mornings stood the test of legality, Montgomery County GOP Chairman Bob Kerns said these meetings only reiterated doubts he had years ago.
“From the beginning, I’ve had a problem with Jim Matthews and the way he’s handled the whole situation,” Kerns said.
When Matthews took office in 2008, Kerns publicly censured him, denouncing his behavior in a resolution unanimously approved by 56 Republican county officials.
“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.”
Asked if, in his experience, it was not unusual for elected officials to meet before a regularly scheduled public meeting, Kerns said such engagements are new to him.
“First of all, it’s not commonplace,” he said. “I think there are many boards, councils, township commissioners and township supervisors in Montgomery County, and I think they all understand what the Sunshine Act is about. The Sunshine Act is very clear — when you have two out of three, then the Sunshine Act applies.”
The Sunshine Act was intended to create openness in government. According to Pennsylvania Newspaper Association’s media law council Melissa Melewsky, it guarantees the public’s right to attend and participate in meetings of their government. Whenever a meeting occurs where deliberations determine or result in outcomes of official agency business, it directly violates the Sunshine Act.
“I think you need to be transparent in order to let the voters know what you’re doing and why you’re doing it,” Kerns said. “I think it’s unfortunate they take that track to exclude Bruce Castor from their conversations in the decision-making process.
“To me, when you’re meeting on a routine basis, and it’s two out of three of you, it’s hard to say the only things you’re talking about are social issues. To have breakfast on that regular basis, to invite the solicitor and another county administrator — I understand people have relationships, but it doesn’t make sense to do that in the manner they did it and expect people to believe they’re not violating the Sunshine Act.”
Some would argue the Democrats are effectively in the driver’s seat in the county currently, but what remains unclear is what the public will make of the commissioners, especially those allied closely with members of their opposite party.
Across the aisle, Marcel L. Groen, chairman of the Montgomery County Democratic Committee, said the Matthews-Hoeffel breakfast meetings make 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. Hey, I wouldn’t want to have breakfast with Bruce Castor either. But 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.”
While he did offer credit to Matthews and Hoeffel for reaching across party lines to form an alliance, Groen said there is a time to be political and a time to govern.
“The problem isn’t the cooperation,” he said. “The problem is the lack of cooperation between the three of them. Nobody’s looking for lockstep. I think everybody understands there can be friction between parties or fractions of parties, but at the end of the day, people do not appreciate when the three cannot work together.”
