Election Primer: Montgomery County Seats up for Grabs

With elections coming up next Tuesday (Nov. 8), here's a rundown of which positions are up for grabs, and what the function of each role is, from a county perspective.

Court of Common Pleas Judge: Judges in the Court of Common Pleas serve the 38th judicial district, which includes all of Montgomerty County. Overall, the Court of Common Pleas is broken into divisions, including judges, civil, criminal, family, juvenile and orphans cases. The judges are led by the Hon. Richard J. Hodgson, called “The President Judge.”

Judges’ jobs seem more straightforward, but the judges are tasked with implementing policies, managing juries and hearing cases in the courts.

The candidates for this position are:

• Richard Haaz (D) of Springfield

• Cheryl Austin (D) of Abington

• Dan Clifford (R) of Springfield

• Maureen C. Coggins (R) of Upper Hanover

The Montgomery County Board of Commissioners: Elected official in this position are in charge of managing county government.

According to the Commissioners' website, the position includes overseeing a government with annual revenues and expenditures in excess of $500 million. The commissioners are in charge of overseeing many services used by municipalities, including parks and historical sites, recreational trails, criminal justice system and judiciary systems and the county's college.

There are three commissioners on the board. Voters select two candidates from four nominees, and the top three vote recipients are seated.

The candidates for this position are:

• Bruce Castor (R) of Lower Salford Township

• Jenny Brown (R) of Lower Merion

• Josh Shapiro (D) of Abington

• Leslie Richards (D) of Whitemarsh

The Clerk of Courts: The role of the clerk is to manage custody of all original court case records. This position also has to collect bail money in criminal cases and return it to the “surety” (for example, a bail bondsman) upon completion of court action.

The Clerk of Courts maintains records relating to the division of election districts as well as the appointment of election officials, constables and private detectives, according to the department's website.

The candidates for this position are:

• Ann Thornburg Weiss (D) of Ambler

• Moon Ahn (R) of Landsdale

County Controller: The controller is charged with ensuring that the county's money is “spent properly and efficiently,” according to the office’s site.

“The Controller’s Office is mainly the guardian of the public trust and our job is to preserve the basic faith in our county government,” current Controller Diane B. Morgan said.

In more technical terms, the department has general supervision over all fiscal affairs in the county, including general accounting, accounts payable, internal audit, payroll and retirement funds.

The candidates for this position are:

• Diane Morgan (D) of Ambler

• Stewart Greenleaf Jr. (R) of Willow Grove

Coroner: By law, the coroner is tasked to investigate and certify deaths, including those of natural causes.

“The coroner can utilize any and all medicolegal investigative techniques, including an autopsy, to establish both the medical cause of death, and mode or manner of death (natural, accident, homicide, suicide or undetermined),” according to the position’s website.

Additional duties include notifying next of kin, granting cremation permits, caring for the deceased’s possessions, maintaining records for the public, identifying deceased persons, and also interment of unclaimed bodies.

The candidates for this postions are:

• Dr. Walter I. Hofman (D) of Lower Merion

• Dr. Gordon Clement (R) of Norristown