Custer Announces For 61st House District Seat

I know Frank Custer and I heartedly endorse him for this seat.

CUSTER ANNOUNCES BID FOR 61ST LEGISLATIVE SEAT

Upper Gwynedd, PA (February 19, 2008) – Democrat Frank X. Custer of Upper Gwynedd today announced his candidacy for the 61st legislative district seat now held by Republican Kate Harper.  Custer is seeking the Democratic endorsement for the seat, which will be decided Thursday night.

           Custer, 60, is a public relations consultant, and over the course of his professional career has spent 20 years working in the private sector and 15 working in government at the county, state and federal level.  Before forming his consulting firm, he served as press secretary and senior advisor to Joseph M. Hoeffel for the three terms Hoeffel served in the U.S. House of Representatives.

          “I know how government should work and the way it should serve the people, and I want to take the good characteristics of the hundreds of elected officials I’ve worked with and observed over the years and try to make a difference in Harrisburg,” Custer said.

            “I am not so naïve to believe that one member of a large body like the General Assembly can single-handedly change the way it operates, but I am idealistic enough to want to roll up my sleeves, work with Republicans and Democrats and try to do more than simply protect power and turf.”

            Custer said the biggest problem in Harrisburg today is what someone called a “poverty of imagination.”

           “I’ve been around too many people who waste more energy trying to explain why something can’t be done than it would take to find a way to get it done,” Custer said.  “Making sure everyone has health insurance; making sure everyone can afford a college education; making sure the people have confidence in the integrity of their government; making sure we do all we can to find alternatives sources of energy; making sure we do that without bankrupting our government or our taxpayers is tough work, but we need to find a way to do it – together.”
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Custer – add one

          This is not Custer’s first try for public office.  He ran for county commissioner in 2003 with Ruth Damsker.  While the pair did not win the majority in that election, they did come closer to winning a majority in the courthouse than any other Democrats up to that time.

           Custer, who was raised in Plymouth Township, now lives in Upper Gwynedd with his wife, Martha.  His first wife, Nancy, to whom he was married for 25 years, died in 1996.  He has two grown children, Rebecca, 30, and Jonathan, 27.

            A Navy veteran, Custer has always been active in community pursuits.  He was a mainstay in youth sports in the Harleysville area when his family lived there. He coached youth basketball, baseball and softball.  In addition, he was the founder and first commissioner of the Souderton-Harleysville Youth Basketball Association (SHYBA) and was a board member of the Harleysville Girls Softball League for many years.  He also was a PIAA basketball referee from 1992 to 2000.

            He has served as a volunteer with ActionAIDS in Philadelphia, and is now a member of the North Penn Symphony Orchestra board of directors, the Nor-Gwyn Pool Commission and the board of directors of the Gwynedale Homeowners Association.

            The 61st district includes all of Upper Gwynedd and North Wales, and parts of Plymouth, Whitpain, Lower Gwynedd and Towamencin Townships and one voting precinct in Montgomery Township.