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.

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[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

Matthews was first elected to the Board of Commissioners in 1999 with District Attorney Michael Marino. In the 1999 primary election Matthews defeated Mario Mele[1], whom Republicans had accused of supporting higher taxes in exchange for the county chairmanship.[2]

In 2003, Matthews ran with Thomas Jay Ellis for the county commission. Facing incumbent Ruth Damsker and Frank Custer, the pair won, but with a narrower margin than Republicans were accustomed to, less than 10,000 votes.[3] After the election, Matthews became Chairman of the Board of Commissioners. He surrendered the chairmanship to 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. [4]

In 2006, he declared his candidacy for the position of Lt. Governor. Lynn Swann endorsed him for the position and Matthews was unopposed in winning the nomination in May. His ticket was defeated in the fall election.

In 2007, Matthews made a third, successful bid for the commission. Early in the campaign, Tom Ellis were opposed for the nomination by Montgomery County District Attorney Bruce Castor and former State Rep. Melissa Murphy Weber. The pair charged that Matthews and Ellis could not keep the county government in GOP hands in the upcoming election. Matthews countered that he could indeed win given his experience in county government and his name recognition. Running on his own, Matthews narrowly captured the party endorsement along with Castor. [5]

Matthews and Castor faced off with former Democratic Congressman Joe Hoeffel and incumbent Ruth Damsker in the general election. Matthews was attacked for support from Bob Asher and a lobbying contract awarded to party chairman Ken Davis. Matthews raised a campaign account separate from Castor and counterattacked Hoeffel and Damsker with charges that they would raise property taxes.[6]

On election day, Matthews took third place, enough to remain on the board. He and Castor will serve along with Hoeffel.[7] Matthews is Chairman of the Board of Commissioners following a power sharing agreement with Hoeffel. [8]

[edit] Lawsuit

Matthews will be forced to testify in a lawsuit against the county's contractor, XSPAND, for delinquent tax collections. The lawsuit, brought by a competitive firm, MRS, alleges that Matthews and fellow commissioner Thomas Jay Ellis improperly steered county business to XSPAND and pressured the borough of Norristown to hire it was well. They are also accused of improperly sharing confidential information with former Gov. Mark Schweiker, a lobbyist for the firm. Matthews and Ellis countered that the contract generated significant savings in delinquent tax collection costs.[9][10]

[edit] Elections

1999 - Montgomery County Board of Commissioners (top three elected)

  • Michael Marino - 76,878 (31.79%)
  • Jim Matthews - 74,752 (30.91%)
  • Ruth Damsker - 47,580 (19.68%)
  • Wendell Young - 42,605 - (17.62%)

2003 - Montgomery County Board of Commissioners (top three elected)

  • Jim Matthews - 78,808 (27.43%)
  • Thomas J. Ellis - 76,443 (26.61%)
  • Ruth Damsker - 68,552 (23.86%)
  • Frank Custer - 63,520 - (22.11%)

2006 - Pennsylvania Lieutenant Governor

  • Ed Rendell/Catherine Baker Knoll - 2,470,517 (60.37%)
  • Lynn Swann/Jim Matthews - 1,622,135 (39.64%)

2007 - Montgomery County Board of Commissioners (top three elected)

  • Bruce Castor - 85,340 (26.96%)
  • Joe Hoeffel - 79,276 (25.05%)
  • Jim Matthews - 78,958 (24.95%)
  • Ruth Damsker - 72,889 - (23.03%)

[edit] References

  1. ^ 1999 Primary Election Results, Montgomery County, 6/8/99
  2. ^ Bradley Vasoli, Castor, Matthews Rally Around Lower Taxes, The Evening Bulletin, 5/25/07
  3. ^ 2003 General Election Results, ourcampaigns.com
  4. ^ County Commission Will Hire Smokers, Times Herald
  5. ^ Margaret Gibbons. "Montco Republicans pick Castor, Matthews to head ticket", Pottstown Mercury, 2007-3-17. 
  6. ^ Margaret Gibbons. "Dems want Asher money returned", Pottstown Mercury, 2007-09-24. 
  7. ^ Jacob Fenton. "Montco Republicans are winners", The Intelligencer, 2007-11-7. 
  8. ^ Emilie Lounsberry, Philadelphia Inquirer, GOP and Dems split Montco; Castor on the outs, 12/18/2007
  9. ^ Bradley Vasoli, Lawsuit Allegs Montco Commishes Leaked Info, The Evening Bulletin, 4/24/07
  10. ^ Jeff Shields, Bargain for taxpayers or pay-to-play?, The Philadelphia Inquirer, 4/25/07

[edit] External links