Times Chronicle & Public Spirit
County leaders differ on ‘State of the County’
NORRISTOWN >> Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Montgomery County leaders had differing opinions when addressing constituents during a virtual “State of the County” presentation by county commissioners.
“Today, I am happy to report that the State of Montgomery County is strong,” said Montgomery County Commissioners’ Chairwoman Valerie Arkoosh. “Even while battling a pandemic, we have never taken our eye off the future and continue to implement programs to ensure that our county will grow and thrive, be a welcoming place to anyone who wants to live or work here, and be able to provide the high-quality services that our residents expect and deserve.”
In contrast, Commissioner Joe Gale said, “It may be easier ... to cherry-pick facts and try to spin the State of the County into a positive light, however, for many residents in Montgomery County who have been suffering for over a year now, there’s no denying that the county is in a sad state of affairs.”
Gale, the lone Republican on the three-member board of commissioners, blasted Gov. Tom Wolf’s handling of the global public health crisis in its early days when a stay-at-home order mandated the closure of non-essential businesses.
“These lockdowns and restrictions have caused great strain on many Montgomery County businesses and have even forced many small businesses to close their doors permanently, and as a result, many people have lost their jobs and livelihoods,” he said.
The pandemic and related mitigation measures were discussed by commissioners in a look back at 2020. Since the pandemic officially arrived in Montgomery County on March 7, 2020, there’ve been 49,134 COVID-19 cases and 1,244 deaths reported.
In addition to organizing testing centers and distributing millions of federal and state funds for programs to assist residents and businesses, officials facilitated a presidential election season.
“2020 not only brought
us a pandemic but a historic general election,” said Montgomery County Commissioners’ Vice Chairman Ken Lawrence Jr.
Lawrence, who also serves as chairman of the county’s election board, noted several upgrades to meet the demands of anticipated voter turnout rates and a high volume of mailin ballots.
To do so, there were “secure drop boxes for mail-in ballots,” according to Lawrence who added that the county’s voter services office “invested more than $1.5 million in ballot processing equipment” and tripled the “staff to handle ballot processing and resident inquiries.”
He thanked those who participated in conducting the “secure and safe election” that was “certified with fidelity.” There was an 84.27 percent voter turnout
rate, according to county election results, which Lawrence called a “record turnout.”
Gale disagreed with Lawrence’s assessment as he objected to the certification of both the 2020 primary and general elections.
“Furthermore, the 2020 elections in Montgomery County were botched,” Gale said. “In the primary election, tens of thousands of ballots were sent out with wrong instructions. At least 2,000 wrong ballots were sent to voters.
“Many people never received their ballots and the return envelope was not secure and private due to the fact that the envelopes were transparent so anybody could see the voters ballot and how they voted,” he continued.
Looking ahead, Lawrence said the voter services department is “gearing
up for this year’s election cycle,” and reminded voters that anyone interested can vote by mail, but must request a ballot by May 3.
During their remarks, officials touched on a number of ongoing county programs and projects.
Arkoosh praised the ongoing efforts of the roughly $415 million Montgomery County Justice Center Project, which is expected to break ground this spring. Arkoosh emphasized how the new vision is set to include “a modern county justice center” with a consolidated space for courtrooms, a “completely renovate the current courthouse facility” and reinventing “Hancock Square Park as an active and inviting, welcoming public park accessible to the entire community.”