News & Issues: Candidate Interviews
Montgomery County Democratic Commissioner Candidates:
Ruth Damsker and Joe Hoeffel
- Why are you running as a candidate for County Commissioner?
Ruth Damsker:
I am serving my second term as minority commissioner, and I see several issues that still need to be addressed. Together, Joe and I are a competitive team. We are philosophically on the same page, have the same goals and are life long residents of the county. I am from Cheltenham and Joe is from Abington. Things are good in Montgomery County, but we both believe there is essential need for change. The county can always do things better. As you can tell from our agenda, we feel strongly about quality of life issues. Development is also important for the economy of a community. We need smart and controlled development that also preserves open space. We are happy to see realtors mentioning quality of life issues like neighborhood trails and we agree that it is important to bring businesses to the area. Revitalizing of all of our communities is also something we feel strongly about. Norristown is the county seat but it has not been a priority like it should be. It has 3.5 miles of riverfront that needs a shot in the arm. Essentially, the county needs better leadership and we are committed to making that a priority.
Joe Hoeffel:
I totally agree with Ruth: we are a team. We want to be viewed as a team. We can’t make the changes we want to make unless we are the majority. It’s the key to why we are both running – it’s the key why Ruth asked me to run with her. We want to make essential governmental changes like cleaning up the courthouse and focusing on economic revitalization in older communities, particularly developing the riverfront in Norristown. We are running to throw our support behind projects like this. Our plan would turn around central Montgomery County, not just Norristown. We feel strongly that the county commissioners need to promote that, and do other revitalization projects.
- What is the most pressing issue facing the county and what are
your plans to address it?
Ruth Damsker:
Change is paramount. Transformational change that includes an open government is essential. There are good things that have yet to happen in this county and we want to have the opportunity to make them occur. What is great about this job is that there are three people, so you only need one other person to agree to get something done. It is not the same in Harrisburg or Washington. Joe and I feel that at the top, there needs to be a new, fresh set of ideas and leadership.
Joe Hoeffel:
The most pressing issues certainly include political reform, economic revitalization, and quality of life issues. The most important elements are a change in political leadership and a fresh approach to economic development. The commissioners don’t provide enough leadership throughout the county. The planning commission provides great proposals – but they can’t be executed unless the County Commissioners provide leadership because the local governments get overwhelmed. Sometimes local governments made decisions that are right for themselves, but not for the township next door. We want a more aggressive level of county leadership, but provide the political leadership that will run some interference for local officials if there is a local issue that needs to be dealt with. We recognize the greater benefits of economic revitalization on a grand scale.
- If approved by the Pennsylvania General Assembly, would you support
the imposition of a countywide real estate transfer tax to pay for
open space preservation?
Ruth Damsker:
We need dedicated taxes to spread the burden across the board without just targeting homeowners. We are comfortable handling open space through bonding. It’s a way for legislators to say they didn’t raise taxes, but I hope that they come to the realization that we understand they are raising taxes. We all have to pay for the debt service. It’s a hidden tax. Anyone who says we are doing everything exactly right is not being reasonable. There is room for improvement. As a former Finance Officer in Cheltenham, I used to hear all the complaints. I am very conservative when it comes to raising taxes because I understand the burden of school taxes on homeowners. The state has never really addressed real tax reform. Act 1 surely wasn’t the answer, either.
Joe Hoeffel :
We support open space preservation and we do not believe we need a transfer tax. We have a program that I started when I was commissioner. We are going to continue the open space program through bonding - through borrowing. We don’t need a new tax to pay for it. We can continue the open space program and reauthorize another 10 years – we will shortly have a press conference to openly pledge to preserve it. I don’t think at the moment we need to raise a new tax for it. We have the revenue. We fully comprehend the property values and business benefits.
- REALTORS® are very knowledgeable about their communities
and the real estate industry. As a County Commissioner how would
you utilize
this expertise? Would you consider appointing individuals recommended
by our organization to real estate related boards and commissions at
the county level?
Ruth Damsker :
This has been one of my frustrations as a minority commissioner. The County is known as a wealthy community. We have vast human wealth with hundreds of professionals volunteering on boards. Unfortunately you now have to be in the right party and the right faction of the right party to serve. I believe we should be open and give everyone who would like to be a part of the process an opportunity because we have a lot of experts to help us look at things differently. It is time for a transformational change in the county. Let’s have some sunshine in the courthouse.
Joe Hoeffel :We’d absolutely reach out to organizations and ask for suggestions. Organizations like yours. We’d go beyond professional globalization and call upon all the talent in the county, not just who we know and supported our campaign.
- Access to accurate real estate records is an important issue
for our REALTOR® members. Would you support funding to the Recorder
of Deeds and Assessment offices to ensure availability and accuracy
of this information?
Ruth Damsker:
I think that one of the best things that the Recorder of Deeds is doing is improving services through enhanced technology. That is extremely important – information should be open and available. Right now, it’s digitizing all the parcels– I feel very strongly that we share this information with the municipalities. The County could better assist the smaller municipalities. Our staff in the planning department is the best in the state and they are non-political.
Talk about partisanship: one of the first things that my Republican colleagues did was to rescind our ethics rule put into the handbook by Joe Hoeffel barring political activity by the eight key cabinet personnel positions (CEO, solicitor, board of assessments, voter services, etc.). All of the heads of departments are employees at will. One of the first things we’d like to do is to reinstate the Ethics Rule removing partisan politics from County government.
- Have you been endorsed by any political party or organization?
Joe Hoeffel:
We have the total unified support of the Montgomery County Democratic Committee, along with the support of every area Democratic Committee and local Municipality Democratic Committees. We have the unified support of all area elected Democratic officials from the Governor to local community officials. We have found strong support from many area Republicans. We have support from almost every area labor organization. We have the endorsement of Democracy for America and expect the endorsement of Progressive Majority shortly. The Professional Business Women of Pennsylvania and Emily’s List have endorsed Ruth. We also expect the endorsement of several environmental groups in the coming weeks.
- Why should a REALTOR® vote for you?
Joe Hoeffel :
We are going to protect and improve the quality of life that will have a direct impact on a Realtors’ business. We will be a better run county government that keeps taxes low and is willing to work with the local governments. We’re going to make Montgomery County a better place to live, work and make money.