News

Gov. Corbett Nominates Eileen Behr for MontCo Sheriff

Governor Tom Corbett has nominated Eileen Whalon Behr, retired Whitemarsh Police Chief, to fill the Montgomery County Sheriff vacancy.

If confirmed by the Pennsylvania Senate, Behr will fill the seat of Sheriff John P. Durante, who passed away in February of 2010. She will fill the remainder of the late Sheriff Durante's term, through November of 2011.  Behr, who has been endorsed by the Montgomery County Republican Committee (MCRC), will appear on the May 17th Primary ballot as a candidate in the general election.

"Chief Behr has dedicated her life to public service.  During her tenure as Chief of Police in the Whitemarsh Police Department, she has made it one of the premiere departments in the County," said MCRC Chairman Bob Kerns, "she has distinguished herself in the field of law enforcement, as well as in the community."

Behr began her career as a police dispatcher with the Whitemarsh Police Department at the age of 19, and has held several positions within the department over the past 35 years – patrol, traffic safety and accident investigation, juvenile detective, detective sergeant, and chief of police, the first female chief in Montgomery County.

As chief of police, Behr managed a 48-member police department, with a budget of more than $6 million.  During her tenure as chief, she led the department to achieve Pennsylvania Law Endorsement Accreditation, started the first "K-9 Unit" and motorcycle division in the department, and has initiated a variety of outreach programs into the Whitemarsh community including the "Citizen's Police Academy" and a Victim's Assistance Program.

In addition to her position within the police department, Behr served the Tactical Team Command Coordinator for the Colonial Special Operations Team before the team joined the multi-jurisdictional Central Montgomery  County Swat Team, and served as the Assistant Emergency Management Director for Whitemarsh Township.

Behr completed training with Penn State's Police Supervisory In-Service Training, Mainline Paralegal Institute and FBI National Academy.  She has her Associate Degree in Police Science from Montgomery County Community College, and will receive her Bachelor Degree in Criminal Justice from LaSalle University this May. 

For more almost 20 years, Behr has been an E.V.O.C. instructor with the Montgomery County Chief of Police, and an instructor with the Municipal Police Officer Training Program.  She is also a member of the Montgomery County F.O.P Lodge #14, International Chiefs of Police Association and Montgomery County Community College Criminal Justice Board.  She is a founding member of "Mission Kids", the Montgomery County child advocacy center and presently on the management board.

The Rundown

The Philadelphia Inquirer, Thomas Fitzgerald: Poll: Obama in Trouble in PA

President Obama heads into his reelection campaign with a precarious standing in the must-win state of Pennsylvania, a new poll shows. 
Fifty-two percent of the state’s voters disapprove of the job Obama is doing, while 42 percent approve, according to the survey by Public Policy Polling, a Democratic-leaning firm based in Raleigh, N.C.
Interestingly, the poll finds Obama in a statistical dead heat with three potential Republican opponents among Pennsylvania voters. Most recent surveys have shown Obama lagging against a generic “Republican candidate” in 2012, but more comfortably ahead of actual named GOP opponents in ballot tests.
Obama trails Mitt Romney 42 percent to 43 percent, leads Mike Huckabee 45 percent to 44 percent, and leads Rick Santorum 45 percent to 43 percent in Pennsylvania, the poll finds. All of those spreads are within the poll’s 4-percentage-point margin of error.
In 2008, Obama cruised past Republican John McCain in Pennsylvania by 10 percentage points.

The poll shows that Obama’s problem in the state is coming from independent voters and white Democrats. A majority of independents disapprove of the president’s job performance – 54 percent give him bad marks to 39 percent who think he's doing a good job. More significantly, Pennsylvania Democrats give Obama an overall approval rating of 68 percent, well below the national average PPP has found of 81 percent.

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