Candidates in Montgomery County agree, for a change

Ah, civility, thy name is Upper Merion - candidates forum, that is.

They may have pointed fingers at one another in other times and places, but this morning in front of 60 seniors in King of Prussia the 17 candidates were, well - well-behaved.

They agreed about the need to focus on fiscal issues in tight economic times, the need for better communication in government, and the need to hold the line on taxes.

Each assured the seniors who hand-wrote questions on index cards that he or she had the professional acumen to transact the government's business - better than the opponent.

"This is what I do," said Leslie Richards, a Democrat who is running with State Rep. Josh Shapiro, (D-153), for a seat on the Montgomery County board of commissioners. She voiced her familiarity with road, bridge and park projects."

"I specialize in getting things done without placing undue burden on our residents," Richards said. No controversy there.

Everyone knows that in order to get the public's business done, public funds must be spent, but Richards presented the issue so deftly that the public seemed off the hook for it. No one disagreed.

In a time of Internet rants and YouTube raves, the forum was cordial. Those who live to rant would have found it boring, but the seniors listened raptly from their lined-up folding chairs at the center on Henderson Road.

There were candidates for county sheriff who mostly agreed on how they would handle that office; Upper Township supervisors who agreed that the township must continue to find ways to be austere; and school board director candidates who agree that firm action must be taken to make up for a budget shortfall.

Seniors Doris Freudenberg and her husband, Ed, said they always attend the forum. They know their value of their own demographic as regular ballot casters.

"We have the time. We read newspapers. We vote," she said.

Tall and courtly, moderator Ed Kohler set the tone for the exchange of ideas with his reservation-clerk bell and radio-announcer voice.

He set aside two minutes for an opening statement by each speaker and one minute for a closing. Ding, you have 15 seconds to finish. Ding, ding, you are done. Between the opening and closing came questions for each.

The county commissioner candidates said that fiscal issues were of paramount importance. They hated the idea of tolling Rte. 422. They opposed a countywide reassessment of property as a money maker.

"It was a disaster when we did it in 1990, and it will be a disaster if we do it again," said Republican Castor of the reassessment idea.

In her closing statement, Brown, who is Castor's Republican running mate, summed up the odd confluence of similar opinions at the session.

"It is sort of a silly season," she said. "It's not a matter of good guys and bad guys. It's a matter of who has the good plan or the bad plan," she said.