According to this Inquirer article, we could end up seeing a race between Bruce Castor and Joe Hoeffel for Montgomery County Commissioner. I don’t live in Montgomery County, but I do work in it, so I’m familiar with both Hoeffel and Castor, and even at this early juncture, I’ll throw my hat in the ring with Castor, if it comes down to those two. For the gun folks reading, Hoeffel was best known, as Congressman, for trying to make all federal gun laws apply to antique firearms, so you would have had to fill out form 4473 if you wanted to buy a black powder, muzzle loading 1863 Springfield. I’m sure you’re all aware of the epidemic of gun crime we’ve experienced with antique black powder firearms. No? Apparently that didn’t matter to Hoeffel.
I think Bruce Castor has been a good District Attorney for the county, and having him make sure that Joe Hoeffel’s political career remains in the dungeon I think is a worthy effort. This is an important race, because the Republicans have traditionally ruled the roost in the Philadelphia suburbs. The Democrats have been desperate to change that, and getting control of one of the suburban counties is a big start.
The 2006 elections were a bloodbath for Republicans in the Philadelphia suburbs, and the Democrats are smelling the blood in the water. Hoeffel is a big name, and Montgomery County elected him to Congress three times. I’m not sure I would agree with Davis’ (GOP County Chairman) assessment that his incumbents could defeat him. Most people don’t know the names of their county commissioners, but they will know Joe Hoeffel, and they know Bruce Castor. If the Democrats have a reasonable chance of gaining control of Montgomery County, Castor might be just what the GOP needs to block it.