Montgomery County Commissioners To Be Sworn In Tuesday
By Brad Segall
BLUE BELL, Pa. (CBS) - The Montgomery County Commissioners will be sworn in during ceremonies this morning at the county's community college. For the first time in more than a century, the democrats will be in charge of county government.
The face of county government in Montgomery County is changing dramatically with a pair of new Democratic commissioners who have already put a senior management team in place. Josh Shapiro and Leslie Richards easily captured the majority, finishing first and second among the four candidates in the November election.
Shapiro, a seasoned legislator who has served in Harrisburg, expects the butterflies to be there on Tuesday.
"This is a high honor that the people of Montgomery County have bestowed upon me. I am very cognizant of the challenges we face. I'm very cognizant of the historic win we had in November," he said.
Richards, who comes from Whitemarsh where she was a township supervisor, said it has been a long road to get to this point. She said it would not be possible without her family's support.
"We've all been working really hard towards this day, months and months, a lot of campaigning," she said. "They've been so supportive and it's just going to be so nice to share this special day with all of them."
Richards said running for a commissioner seat was not even on her radar screen but she thought her background in planning could be applied at the county level.
Shapiro, a former state representative, said he looks forward to the challenges. He says he and Richards are looking forward to working closely with Republican Bruce Castor who was basically frozen out by the previous commissioners over the last four years.
