Shapiro-Richards: No New Taxes if Elected

Democratic candidates Josh Shapiro and Leslie Richards said today that they would not increase county taxes if elected to County Commissioner seats in November.

The tax promise was made as part of the candidates' fiscal platform, which they announced to gathered members of the media at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown this morning.

The announcement came two days after the Republican candidates for County Commissioner, Jenny Brown and Bruce Castor,.

The two candidates said they have spent the past few months campaigning throughout Montgomery County by attending 67 community events, 37 house parties, visiting eight senior centers, and making 12,000 phone calls to prospective voters. They describe their four-fold agenda, called “H.E.A.R,” as focusing on holding the line on taxes, the efficiency of county government, the accountability of spending through budget and expense transparency, and adopting a new, "zero-based" budget.

“Castor and Brown didn’t make a commitment on their decision to raise or not raise taxes, and we are making a firm commitment to NOT raise taxes,” Shapiro said.

On the efficiency of county government, Richards cited the example of the public library in Whitemarsh, where she serves on the township's board of supervisors. Richards said the township and the library had created a public-private partnership to find ways of increasing funding for improvements to the library’s technology and book collection. Those funds would not have been available without the partnership, Richards said.

If elected, the pair plans to spend their first 100 days in office reviewing the current fiscal status and implementing reform through the introduction of a "zero-based" budget.

"By beginning the budget at zero, and making each organization come in to make their case as to how they contribute to the county, clearing a whole lot of old inevitable cobwebs, [waste] in the county government will be eliminated,”  Shapiro said.

Shapiro and Richards noted their goal of implementing a public online check and balance register similar to that proposed by Republican candidates Jenny Brown and Bruce Castor on Tuesday. Both campaigns have said that having all records online would hold all county officials accountable for spending. This would allow taxpayers to see directly where their money is being spent, cent for cent.

“Bruce Castor is unaware of the financial situation in the county, [it] is sort of shocking when here you have someone that has been in county government for over a quarter of a century, and a county commissioner for over three years, and to suggest he is unaware to note the challenges in front of him is frankly astonishing,” Shapiro said.

Shapiro declined to answer questions regarding specific steps he would take to address the county's economic troubles.

"We plan to spend the first 100 days in office reviewing everything before presenting a plan of action," Richards said.

In response to the Shapiro-Richards announcement, the Brown-Castor campaign issued the following statement Thursday afternoon:

"Our opponents, who have a record of increasing taxes and spending, claim to 'hear' Montgomery County voters, but what the voters heard today is a campaign without a single substantive proposal to address the county’s now well-documented financial crisis. How can they be trusted to handle the significant challenges that face the next administration? We’re gratified that the Shapiro-Richards campaign agrees with us that the county is in dismal financial shape. That has never been a secret to the Brown-Castor campaign, and we offer specifics. Their campaign is a mile wide and an inch deep."

Josh Shapiro is a former Democratic State Representative for Pennsylvania. In addition to serving as a Whitemarsh Township supervisor, Leslie Richards is a senior project manager at a civil engineering firm.

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