Bucks Writs - Spring 2018 - 6

featureā€ƒ
Interview with

Commissioner Robert G. Loughery
By Susan E. Dardes

I

T WAS ONCE AGAIN MY HONOR and

authority, whereby he established the
Enterprise or "EZone" in Bucks, to target
and coordinate areas for economic
development in order to bring jobs to the
County. Economic development through
thoughtful real estate development led
to the start of Rob's real estate consulting
business in 1999, which is in its fifteenth
year. This business background was a
boon to the Board, as the start of his
term saw unprecedented population
growth in the County.

pleasure to sit down with one of
Bucks County's finest - our Commissioners - and talk about promises and
passions for the future.
Just before Easter, I talked to Robert
("Rob") Loughery, the Chairman of
the Board of Bucks County Commissioners. Commissioner Loughery has
served on the Board of Commissioners
since 2011, and has been elected the
Chair by Commissioners Marseglia and
Martin six times since 2012. A resident
of Bedminster Township, he is the first
Commissioner in over thirty-five years
to call Upper Bucks his home.

I asked him what he would do as our
Commissioner, if he had a 1 billion
dollar windfall in his budget, and
no restrictions were placed on the
spending. It's all about the worker,
he said. Bucks County is a wonderful place to live but
affordable housing for young married couples is still a
long way off. Commissioner Loughery would help people
venture to become more productive, provide training and

I inquired how it was that the Chairman came to be a
Commissioner. Loughery succeeded Jim Cawley when he
was tapped to become Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania, completing Cawley's term and running for a full
term in 2011. He has long had an interest in public
administration, so he majored in policy and management
studies, with a concentration in the public sector, while at
Dickinson College, in Carlisle. In between sophomore and
junior years, he interned in his hometown of Warrington,
for the Township Manager.

I asked Loughery what he would
do as our Commissioner, if he had
a 1 billion dollar windfall in his
budget, and no restrictions were
placed on the spending. It's all
about the worker, he said.

He also met fellow Dickinson alumnus Jim Greenwood
that summer, when as part of a school project, he needed
to write a grant for playground funding. At a subsequent
visit, he met again with State Senator Greenwood in
Harrisburg, and interned for him the spring and summer
of senior year. Eventually, Rob became Greenwood's
driver, then campaign manager, when Jim Greenwood ran
for Congress. He likewise ran Charlie Martin's and Mike
Fitzpatrick's local campaigns.

workforce development for skilled laborers in, for instance,
metal fabrication, mechanics and auto repair. He would
strengthen our public transportation system, so that the
blue collar worker could get to a job even if that job was
on the opposite end of the county. And, no doubt that
Bucks has made strides in allocating prison beds as part of
a pilot program, for inmates needing mental health care
and addiction recovery, yet Loughery sees a demand for
additional treatment facilities. An epic crisis facing Bucks

Rob's other work after college was with the Youth Services
of Bucks County. He held leadership roles in the county's
industrial development corporation and its redevelopment

6



Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Bucks Writs - Spring 2018

Bucks Writs - Spring 2018 - 1
Bucks Writs - Spring 2018 - 2
Bucks Writs - Spring 2018 - 3
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