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Castor drops bid for state Senate

Bruce Castor’s decision not to run for Senator Rob Wonderling’s seat came in an emailed statement early this week, leaving Bob Mensch as the only Republican now running for the seat. No Democrats have announced that they will run for the seat.

Wonderling is leaving the Senate to head the Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce and a special election will be held to replace him.

Castor’s dropout is part of a long story of tension between himself and Montgomery County Commissioners Jim Matthews and Joe Hoeffel Castor and Matthews were elected by voters in 2007, but Matthews shunned Castor and angered the Republican Party when he formed a power-sharing agreement between Hoeffel.

Now Castor blames Matthews and Hoeffel for an apparently imminent budget crisis in Montgomery County. In the statement announcing his departure from the race, Castor said, “This year we face a mounting deficit that my fellow commissioners will attempt to blame on the economy, Harrisburg, Washington, and just about anyone and anything else they can. But the fault lies in their reckless pursuit of cronyism, patronage and borrow and spend governance using tax dollars to fuel their appetite.”

Castor makes it clear in his letter that he thinks he serves a vital role as a vocal critic of the policy that is crafted by Matthews and Hoeffel, and argues that he would be doing Montgomery County a disservice by vacating his seat as commissioner.

Hoeffel and Castor both told The Inquirer that Castor’s comments about the Montgomery County budget crisis were an attempt to cover up his inability to gain regional support for the special election. “Now that he realizes he’s not going anywhere,” Matthews said, “if he wants to work as a team, I think that’s great. If he wants to remain negative and obstructionist, that’s his choice.”

Added Matthews: “I will not be roadkill for his ambitions. He can say whatever he wants, but he doesn’t understand county government, and I certainly understand why our neighboring counties chose not to go with him for state Senate.”

Mensch told The Inquirer that he had “firm commitment” from Republican leaders in Bucks, Lehigh and Northampton Counties, which indicates that Castor most likely could not get the support he needed to run for Wonderling’s seat.

July 29, 2009 at 1:54 pm

--Kenneth Elder

Tags: Bob Mensch, Bruce Castor, Jim Matthews, Joe Hoeffel, Rob Wonderling

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