When: Tuesday, January 3, 2012 at 10 AM

Where: Montgomery County Community College, The Physical Education Building, 340 DeKalb Pike, Blue Bell, PA

Please RSVP Rebecca Custer at 215.886.7376 or becky@shapirorichards.com

The organizational structure will be led by a Chief Clerk/Chief Operating Officer, who will be assisted by a Deputy COO for Policy and Planning and a Deputy COO for Operations. The rest of the senior staff includes a county solicitor, chief financial officer and a director of communications.

“We wanted a structure that is commonly used in business with all persons reporting to the chief clerk, who, in turn, reports to the board,” Shapiro said. Those reporting to the chief clerk are the chief financial officer, the two deputy COOs, the communications director and the solicitor. On legal matters, the solicitor will report directly to the commissioners.

“’We are excited and ready to take on the challenges that Montgomery County faces, and we believe the structure and the staff we have put in place will provide us with the operational flexibility, experience and talent that will enable us to give the people of Montgomery County the open, responsive and efficient government they deserve,” Shapiro said. “These are extremely qualified and dedicated individuals who will do great work for the people of Montgomery County,” said Shapiro.

Richards agreed and added, “we have put a great deal of thought into how we want to govern Montgomery County, and we are confident that we have in place a combination of people, processes and policy that will enable us to execute the game plan we have devised.”

Castor, the lone holdover from the previous board of commissioners was equally optimistic about the future of the county under the new administration.

“I’m excited to get about the business of restoring the public’s faith in county government with this new team,” Castor said. “’Optimistic for success’ sums up my feeling. It will be a lot of work, but we will turn things around in time.”

Robert Graf, the current chief clerk/chief operating officer, is expected to stay on for a period of time as “senior advisor” to the new board. “Bob Graf has served Montgomery County well, and we believe his 40 years of experience and his institutional knowledge will be extremely valuable during this transitional period,” Richards said.

Robert D. Fox, chairman of the transition committee, said job descriptions were developed for all of the senior positions and that the executive committee of the transition team interviewed all the candidates.

Here are the members of the new senior staff:

Chief Clerk/Chief Operating Officer – Lauren Lambrugo

Deputy COO for Policy and Planning – Lee A. Soltysiak

Deputy COO for Operations – To be announced at a later date

Solicitor – Raymond McGarry

Chief Financial Officer — Uri Monson

Director of Communications — Frank X. Custer

Senior Staff Bios

Lauren Lambrugo, Chief Clerk/Chief Operating Officer

Lauren Lambrugo has an extensive career in executive positions dating back to the Giuliani Administration in New York City. She served in several capacities in Mayor Rudolph Giuliani’s administration in New York City. She played a key role in Mayor Giuliani’s second inauguration, and also served as executive assistant to the First Deputy Mayor. Finally, she served as executive director of the Mayor’s Advisory Committee on Appointments.

After moving to the Philadelphia area, Lambrugo spent 10 years with Planned Parenthood. The last six years of that period she served as Vice President of External Affairs for Planned Parenthood of Southeast Pennsylvania, where she was responsible for executing the organization’s communications, media, public relations, advocacy and government relations programs.

Lambrugo spent the last three years working in various capacities with Commissioner-elect Josh Shapiro. She first served as political director of Friends of Josh Shapiro, then spent two years as chief of staff of Shapiro’s legislative office. Ultimately, Lambrugo was executive director of the Shapiro Richards campaign for county commissioner where she managed a $2.1 million operation with 18 full-time employees, 40 part-time employees, several consultants and over 700 volunteers. The campaign, which has been recognized as one of the most efficient-run and successful in Montgomery County history, culminated in an historic victory with a record number of votes.

Lambrugo is a graduate of Fordham University in New York City, and attended the Fordham Graduate School of Business. She lives in Elkins Park with her husband, Todd, and their eight-year-old daughter, Alexandra.

Lee A. Soltysiak, Deputy COO for Policy and Planning

Lee Soltysiak is an experienced governmental policy expert and government affairs professional with a significant amount of entrepreneurial experience.

Soltysiak has created and operated two businesses. He was a co-founder of a public relations and government affairs consulting firm and, with his wife, owns an independent insurance agency in Elkins Park.

Most recently, Soltysiak served as Chief of Staff of the Shapiro Richards campaign for county commissioner where he managed the campaign’s field operations, which included seven field staff, 40 canvassers and six field offices. He also coordinated all the outreach efforts to local candidates and interest groups.

Earlier in his career, Soltysiak served in several positions with increasing levels of responsibility in the office of Congressman Joseph M. Hoeffel from 1999 to 2003. He started as the district representative, later became field director, and finally served as district director. Soltysiak left Congressman Hoeffel’s staff to become Director of Government and Community Affairs for Philadelphia University.

Soltysiak is a 1998 graduate of Philadelphia University. He is a board member of the Montgomery County Foundation, Creekside Co-op in Elkins Park and the Holocaust Awareness Museum and Education Center in Philadelphia. He lives in Jenkintown with his wife, Christian, and their five-month-old son, William.

Raymond McGarry, Solicitor

Raymond McGarry is a partner in the Wynn McGarry law firm in King of Prussia and is president of the Abington School Board. He has been practicing law for more than 22 years, and has tried cases in both the state and Federal courts of Pennsylvania and New Jersey. His practice has focused on commercial litigation, with an emphasis on contracts, real estate, construction, employment, environmental and shareholder litigation.

In addition, as President of the Abington School Board, McGarry has had primary responsibility for negotiations of collective bargaining agreements with the district’s five labor groups, and has worked closely with the school board solicitor on all legal matters impacting the school district. He has been a member of the school board since 1997, and president of the board since 2006.

Prior to founding his own law firm, McGarry was with the law firm of Buchanan Ingersoll from 1991 to 2005, and before that was an attorney with Fox Rothschild from 1989 to 1991.

McGarry received his undergraduate degree in criminal justice from the University of Delaware, and his law degree from Widener University School of Law. He was admitted to practice in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the State of New Jersey. He also was admitted to practice before the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, the United States District Courts for the Eastern and Middle Districts of Pennsylvania and the District of New Jersey. He is a member of the Pennsylvania, Philadelphia and Montgomery County Bar Associations.

McGarry lives in Abington with his wife, Hannah. They have three daughters – Elizabeth is a junior at Tufts University; Rebecca is a junior at Abington High School; and, Kate is in sixth grade at McKinley Elementary School.

Uri Zvi Monson, Chief Financial Officer

For the last four years, Uri Monson has served as the Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority (PICA). In this role, he monitored the City of Philadelphia’s revenues, expenditures, programs, management, cash flow, and economy; reviewed the assumptions and projections in the city’s annual $20 billion Five-Year Financial Plan; and, authored reports on the city’s financial and economic outlook.

He also managed the internal operations of PICA and its $1.5 million annual operating budget; managed PICA’s outstanding bond portfolio valued at over $565 million; and, served as an information resource on City finances to the media, public officials and the citizenry. Prior to his appointment, he worked as PICA’s Deputy Executive Director from October 2001, after serving as PICA’s Director of Budgetary Analysis.

Monson previously served as Assistant Budget Director for the City of Philadelphia where his primary responsibilities included analyzing proposed policies and recommending action to the Finance Director and the Mayor’s Cabinet. He also developed portions of the city’s overall spending plan and worked with city departments to improve performance and efficiency.

Prior to returning to Philadelphia, Monson worked for the US Department of Education in Washington, DC as a Congressional Liaison and as a policy analyst for the Office of Postsecondary Education.

Monson is a graduate of the Presidential Management Internship Program, a highly selective Federal internship development program for high-potential graduate-level students. While in the PMI program, he served as a program analyst at the US Department of Education, and worked in the Office of the Vice President of the United States and the NYC Office of the Superintendent for Alternative High School Programs.

Monson has a Masters Degree in Public Policy, with a concentration in education policy, from the Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs. He also has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from Columbia University, as well as a Bachelor’s Degree in Midrash from the Jewish Theological Seminary of America.

Monson has served as a Vice President and Treasurer of Camp Ramah in the Poconos and is the immediate past President of the Philadelphia Committee on City Policy. He was named as a person to watch in Philadelphia Magazine’s 2009 “Best of Philly” Issue, and cited as the top “Wonk” in the City. Inside Magazine named Monson as one of the top ten influential Jewish professionals in Philadelphia.

Monson is an active member of his synagogue Temple Beth Hillel/Beth El. Monson currently resides in Wynnewood with his wife Rebekah, an attorney with Pepper Hamilton, LLP, and children Shoshana, Ariel and Eitan.

Frank X. Custer, Director of Communications

For Frank X. Custer, the director of communications position is somewhat of a déjà vu moment. While his new position will have significantly more responsibilities, he served as director of communications for Montgomery County during a Republican administration in the late-1990s. He also was director of communications in Chester County under another Republican administration in the late-1970s.

In fact, Custer has served in communications roles in the public sector at the county, state and federal levels of government. While he has extensive experience in the public sector, Custer has spent half his career in the private sector.

Most recently, he was a partner in a public relations and government affairs consulting firm based in Montgomery County. His other private sector experience includes several years as a reporter and later an editor at a suburban Philadelphia daily newspaper, and 12 years as a vice president of a Valley Forge-based advertising and public relations firm, where he was an account executive for a variety of business-to-business clients.

Prior to founding his public relations and government affairs consulting firm, Custer served for six years as senior advisor and press secretary to U.S. Rep. Joseph M. Hoeffel (D-PA). During that time, Custer handled all communications and media issues for Congressman Hoeffel, and advised him on issues ranging from the federal budget to national defense and from major social issues to international relations.

At the state level, Custer served in the Florida Department of Commerce, Division of Tourism, as assistant bureau chief of tourism publicity, and later as director of group sales

A graduate of Temple University, Custer has two grown children and lives with his wife, Martha, in Lansdale (Upper Gwynedd Township), PA.

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That process has begun.

On November 15th, Shapiro and Richards announced that Lower Merion attorney Robert Fox of the firm Manko, Gold, Katcher & Fox LLP would head the transition team. Since then, Fox, Shapiro and Richards have assembled a talented and experienced transition team comprised of an executive committee and five additional committees that will look into how various aspects of county government are structured, with an eye towards finding ways to make county government more open, accountable, and efficient.

“I am proud to be heading this talented, bipartisan group of individuals,” Fox said. “I believe county residents will be well-served.”

Members of the transition executive committee are:

• Gail Weilheimer (transition co-counsel) – attorney, Wisler Pearlstine, LLP

• Karl Myers (transition co-counsel) – attorney, Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young, LLP

• Darren Check – attorney, Kessler, Topaz, Meltzer and Check, LLP

• Mary Jo Daly – senior financial officer, University of Pennsylvania Lab Animal Resource; and outgoing president of Narberth Borough Council

• Jim Shacklett – CEO, National Label Company

• Dan Woodall – Business Manager, Laborers Local 135

“These individuals have provided tremendous leadership,” Fox said, “and I would especially like to thank Gail Weilheimer and Karl Myers for doing a great deal of the heavy lifting in the early going.”

The following is a list of the committees that will look into the various aspects of county government and the members of those committees:

Economic Development

• Mimi Desouza, MBA, PhD (co-chair) – Early Development Project Leader, Merck Research Labs; member of Norristown Council

• Dave Schaaf (co-chair) – Business Manager and Financial Secretary, IBEW Local 180

• Dave Gannon – Business Agent, Carpenters Local 1595

• David Newman – Principal, Newman Development

• Ed Mullin – Partner, Hamburg, Rubin, Maxwell, Mullin and Lupin

• John Meyerson – Director of Legislative and Political Action, United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1776

• Sam Goldstein, CFO, The Galman Group

• Linda Rubin – President, Linda’s Loft

• Judith Kratka – Corporate Director for Facilities Planning and Sustainability, Abington Memorial Hospital

Planning/Environment/Transportation

• Kim Sheppard (co-chair) – Executive Director, Whitemarsh Foundation

• Ken Lawrence (co-chair) – Senior VP of Government, Community and Public Affairs, Temple University

• Ron Rosen – Managing Partner, Tabas & Rosen, P.C.

• Melissa Gilbert – Associate Professor of Geography and Urban Studies, Temple University; member of Lower Merion School Board

• Matt McTish – President, McTish, Kunkel & Associates

• David Cohen, AICP – Senior Manager of Program Analysis and Development, Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern Pennsylvania

• Jill Blumhardt – Senior Project Manager, AMEC Earth and Environment, Inc.

• Michael Kolodner—Community Organizer

Social and Human Services

• Valerie Arkoosh (co-chair) – President, National Physicians Alliance

• Renee Amoore (co-chair) – President and CEO, Amoore Group

• Pastor Charles Quann – Pastor, Bethlehem Baptist Church

• Ruth Damsker – former Montgomery County Commissioner

• Maryann Roche – former county MH/MR official

• Dan Litman, J.D., M.F.S. – Litman Law Group

• Peter Cornog – social worker

• Gary Simpson – Member, Norristown Borough Council

Public Safety

• David Nasatir (co-chair) – Partner, Thorp, Reed & Armstrong, LLP

• Ed Wurster (co-chair) — Chief, Roslyn Fire Co.

• Michael Drossner – Principal, Drossner Law

• Will Holt – retired Abington police officer with 42 years experience; former candidate for county sheriff

• Ken Roos – Partner, Wisler Pearlstine

• Jamie Haddon — Executive Director, Second Alarmers

• Leslee Silverman Tabas – Attorney, Law Office of Leslee Silverman Tabas

• Missy Sterling – Attorney, Naulty, Scaricamazza & McDevitt

County Administration

• Brian Regli (co-chair) – CEO, Dakotas, LLC

• Ellen Toplin (co-chair) – strategic business and marketing consultant

• Barry Cohen – Partner, Cohen Partners, LLC

• Dottie Miller – President, Merck Independent Union

• Marc Brownstein – President and CEO, The Brownstein Group

• Joe Kluge – Principal, Wolf Brown

• Sheri Riser, CPA – Professor of Accounting Practice, Temple University

Montgomery County’s commissioners have enjoyed a Republican majority since anyone can remember, and they remember it wrong anyway, thinking the GOP came into power in 1875. But the first two three-official administrations were controlled by Democrats, I learned from the county historical society’s Jeff McGranahan. In 1881, Republicans James Burnett and Hiram Burdan took charge, and there was no turning back.

Until now. Montgomery County, long a bedrock of the state GOP, is going blue. In January, Democrats Leslie Richards and State Rep. Josh Shapiro will assume the majority, the latter becoming chairman. Eminently quotable Republican Bruce Castor, the former swaggering county D.A., will be the lone holdover from the current three-ring circus, which has provided continuous entertainment for four years but less effective governance.Castor has been left out in the cold since GOP chair Jim Matthews and Democrat Joe Hoeffel politically eloped – eventually landing in ethical trouble and failing to secure their party nominations – largely bonded by their antipathy for Castor.

“You’re a sick bastard,” Matthews said to Castor, who responded, “You wouldn’t know the truth if it jumped up and bit you in the bottom.” Castor once told me: “I hoped Jim wasn’t the turd I thought he would be. I think he’s clinically mentally ill.” Matthews said Castor’s ego was so big “it could float the Titanic.”

Exchanges between the three were a county embarrassment though a gift to reporters, helping fill the void of puerile, nasty infighting that long distinguished Philadelphia City Council.

“We’re going to close the book on bickering,” Shapiro says. He told Castor: “Bruce, you want to be a constructive part of the government, we’ll welcome you. If you continue the bickering, we absolutely will have no patience. We won’t engage.”

“Sometimes, I have to say, they were embarrassing,” Richards says. “The language was not appropriate.” I wonder, “Sometimes?”

“I feel optimistic,” Castor says of the new triumvirate. “We may agree on more things than you think,” noting “the last four years have been so bad, so scandal-ridden and scandal-plagued, and besides, the other two commissioners did a bad job.”

Montgomery County, the state’s third-most-populous, is one of the wealthiest in the country but has built up enormous debt, more than $400 million, equal to its annual operating budget.

The Democrats plan to do “aggressive audits of the spending and holdings in the county,” Shapiro says. “Our focus will be education, open-space initiatives, and looking at aging infrastructure.” A new senior staff will be named, and many of the department heads of the 3,200-employee government will be replaced.

Richards, a regional planner, speaks of using the community college for retraining the unemployed and returning veterans, and of revitalizing Norristown. “We have to start our budget process right away and see where we can cut. We have a talented staff on the planning commission that has been completely underutilized,” she says. “And we need to be better advocates for business.”

With the retirement of Matthews and Hoeffel, both in their 60s, the commission will also become notably younger. Castor is the elder statesman at 50. Shapiro is 38 and Richards is 44.

As to the new chair’s style, Shapiro says: “I’m a consensus-builder. I’m an aggressive leader who likes to push the envelope. I think outside the box. I don’t take no for an answer. I push hard, and knock down walls” – which is possibly a speed record for cliches.

“I don’t think Josh and Leslie can be anywhere near as bad as the commissioners we have now,” says Castor, who will remain in the minority, this time officially. Then, because it has become custom, he takes another swipe, though certainly not the last, at fellow Republican Jim Matthews. “I’ve been used to the minority role, which was not my choice, but the result of traitorous conduct made by a despicable man.”

Read the full story here.

“We are ecstatic to have someone of Robb’s caliber leading our preparations to assume the responsibility of governing the third-largest county in Pennsylvania,” Shapiro said. “Robb is universally respected for his knowledge, integrity and ability to relate to people.”

Richards, who has already undergone a governmental transition in Whitemarsh Township, which included a change in political parties, said Fox was “uniquely qualified to lead this transition team. No matter how cooperative the parties may be, there will be at least a few rough spots, and I know Robb will handle those with his usual professional aplomb.”

Both Shapiro and Richards said that the current administration of Jim Matthews, Joe Hoeffel and Bruce Castor have been extremely cooperative since last Tuesday’s election, which produced the first Democratic majority in over 140 years in Montgomery County. “Commissioner Matthews and his colleagues have gone out of their way to be cooperative,” Richards said, “and that is so important since there is a lot of work to be done and preparations to be made.”

Fox is the managing partner of Manko, Gold, Katcher, Fox, a law firm specializing in environmental and energy law.

Fox has over twenty-five years of experience providing compliance counseling for business and industry regarding hazardous and municipal waste regulations, Superfund matters, water regulation, and storage tank issues He also has experience in assisting with the environmental aspects of corporate and real estate transactions and real property development, including brownfield redevelopment and wetlands, storm water, and sewer capacity permitting.

Fox is the chairman of the Lower Merion Zoning Hearing Board, and the former chairman of the Lower Merion Planning Commission.

“I am honored to have been chosen to lead this historic transition,” Fox said. “I have great respect for Josh and Leslie, as well as the incumbent commissioners, and I look forward to making this a smooth, seamless transition and one of which the people of Montgomery County can be proud.”

Fox said additional members of the transition team would be appointed in the coming days and would represent the county’s diverse electorate and would have an equally diverse interest in various segments of county government.

This is the second major environmental organization to endorse Shapiro and Richards in the campaign. Earlier, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Group of the Sierra Club endorsed the pair.

Conservation Voters of Pennsylvania is an organization that works to elect leaders who understand the importance and urgency of protecting our environment.

“The citizens of Montgomery County deserve clean water, safe air and green open spaces that protect their quality of life,” said CVPA Executive Director Josh McNeil. “Josh Shapiro and Leslie Richards have the experience and the commitment to keep Montgomery County and its families healthy.”

In announcing its endorsement, CVPA said, “with the right commissioners in charge, the Montgomery County Commission has the potential to significantly improve the health of the environment for hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvanians. As supervisor of Whitemarsh Township, Leslie Richards has led important efforts to improve stormwater management and to preserve the Erdenheim Farm – one of the great open space successes in recent years. As a state legislator, Josh Shapiro maintained an excellent environmental voting record and championed important conservation legislation like Growing Greener 2.”

“It is an honor to receive the endorsement of the Conservation Voters of Pennsylvania,” said Richards. “The preservation of Erdenheim Farm is the signature accomplishment of my time as a Whitemarsh supervisor, and I look forward to being able to do similar projects as a Montgomery County commissioner.”

“Protection of the environment has been an important part of my work in the legislature and the endorsement by the Conservation Voters of Pennsylvania is a distinct honor,” Shapiro said. “As a Montgomery County commissioner I will work hard to continue the county’s open space program and continue to develop the planned trail program throughout the county.”

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While political trends in much of the country are tilting toward Republican candidates, Democrats in suburban Montgomery County are poised for what they hope is a historic victory on Nov. 8—control of the three-member commission which manages county government.

Montgomery County is the third most populous in Pennsylvania; for decades, it’s been a rich source of Republican votes and fundraising.

“It would be a big win for Democrats if they could capture the commission.” said Republican strategist Jeff Jubelirer.

Montgomery County isn’t the Republican bastion it used to be. Many liberals and moderates have moved in, and Democratic registration now exceeds Republican by 36,000 votes.

While Democrats are running a rising star of the party, state Rep. Josh Shapiro, Republicans have struggled to overcome internal divisions.“There’s been a split for support in the Republicans, and they are not united,” Jubelirer said.

The leading Republican candidate, former district attorney and current county Commissioner Bruce Castor is a strong personality who’s clashed with some party stalwarts, most notably former county chairman and blue-chip fundraiser Bob Asher.

Asher, who declined comment, is sitting the race out. So far, the Democrats have a far better-funded campaign.

Democrats take up GOP theme

Shapiro and his running mate, Whitemarsh Township Supervisor Leslie Richards, have adopted a typically Republican theme in attacking Castor and his running mate, Jenny Brown.

“Leslie Richards and I have been clear from the get-go. We’re not going to raise taxes,” Shapiro said in a recent debate at Lansdale radio station WNPV. “Bruce and Jenny, in their own words, have left the door open to that.”

The county is in a deep budget hole, and Shapiro was asked to explain how he could be so sure he could fill it without raising taxes.

“We need to start fresh. Zero-based budgeting allows us to do that,” Shapiro said. “What it does is it says to every expenditure, every program, let’s begin at zero. Let’s ask the tough questions that need to be asked about whether or not a program works, and whether it ought to be funded.”

Castor smiled at that explanation, and then responded.

“I absolutely love the term zero-based budgeting. I love it,” Castor said. “I looked it up when Josh first said it, and I found out that zero-based budgeting is the major mechanism of the tea party and how it is they say they’re going to keep from raising taxes.”

Castor brought up the tea party in defense of his running mate Brown, whom the Democrats have attacked with a hard-hitting TV ad.

“And tea party Jenny?” an announcer intones in the commercial. “She’s the only candidate to meet with the tea party, and she told them she shared their values.”

That charge is based on a radio interview Brown gave to a group called the Kitchen Table Patriots, in which she affirmed Republican values of fiscal restraint, not affinity with the tea party.

The top three vote-getters among the four candidates will be elected.

Third seat’s the charm

It’s widely expected that Castor and Shapiro will win, and control of the county will be determined by the battle between Brown and Richards.

Both are accomplished, well-spoken professional women with experience in local government. And they’ve joined the battle with gusto.

In the radio debate Brown engaged Richards, who’s proud of not raising property taxes in Whitemarsh.

“I agree that you didn’t increase property taxes,” Brown said. “But you did increase other taxes which has had a significant effect on people who work in Whitemarsh.”

“There was a borrowing to preserve open space, and it was supported in a bipartisan, 5-0 vote because Democrats and Republicans value open space in Whitemarsh Township,” Richards responded. “And a local services tax? Yes, bipartisan support, 5-0 vote, to make sure our emergency services, our police, our fire, our ambulance can do the job that they need to do.”

It’s not a race in which Republicans are trying to tie the Democrats with President Barack Obama. The politics here are local. Both sides hope to turn out supporters and woo independents.

If Democrats prevail, it will be a historic win that gives them control of one of the richest counties in the country.

Read the full story here.