Jim Matthews
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James R. "Jim" Matthews is an elected public official in Pennsylvania. Matthews is a member of the Republican Party. He currently serves on the Board of Commissioners of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.
Matthews was the unsuccessful 2006 Republican candidate for Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania as Lynn Swann's running mate.
[edit] Personal info
Matthews graduated from La Salle College High School and attended College of the Holy Cross on a scholarship from the United States Navy. After serving in the Navy, Matthews entered the mortgage business and later earned an appointment as a mortgage lending officer with the Veterans Administration (VA) in Philadelphia. After leaving the VA, he returned to the private sector and later started his own mortgage business in 1990.
Matthews' brother is MSNBC talk-show host, Chris Matthews.
[edit] Political career
He was first elected to the Board of Commissioners in 1999 with District Attorney Michael Marino and was re-elected in 2003 becoming Chairman of the County Commission. He surrendered the chairmanship to Thomas Jay Ellis in 2006 after earning the GOP nomination for Lt. Governor.
Matthews courted some controversy in 2005 when he led an effort to ban cigarette smokers from working for the County. He and the commissioners reasoned that by outlawing smoking by County employees, they would be able to reduce health benefit costs. Later that year, the Commission retreated from that position, citing potential legal concerns. Montgomery County now offers anti-smoking aids to its employees as well as cash bonuses for those who stop smoking. Times Herald, County Commission Will Hire Smokers
In 2006, he declared his candidacy for the position of Lt. Governor. Lynn Swann endorsed him for the position and Matthews won the nomination that May. His ticket was defeated in the fall election.
Matthews is a party-endorsed candidate for county commissioner in 2007. The other party-endorsed candidate is District Attorney Bruce Castor. The two winners of the Republican primary will face former Democratic Congressman Joe Hoeffel and incumbent Ruth Damsker in the general election.
