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Out of the shadows: Briggs seeking limelight with bid for state representative
COURTHOUSE - He has worked behind the scenes on the campaigns of many successful Montgomery County Democrats.
Now, he is the candidate.
Upper Merion Democrat Tim Briggs Monday announced that he is seeking election to the 149th state House seat.
That seat is now held by Democratic state Rep. Daylin Leach, who is making his own bid for the 17th District state Senate seat of Democrat Connie Williams, who announced she is stepping down at the end of the year.
Why has Briggs, a lawyer by profession, chosen now to step out in front of the curtain?
"I have two young children, Emily and Jack, ages seven and five, and they change your perspective on things," said Briggs, who is an associate with the Lansdale law firm of Hamburg, Rubin, Mullin, Maxwell & Lupin.
His campaign platform reflects that perspective.
"I want to work for better and safer schools, to make sure that higher education is available to all those who want it and for a clean environment," said the 38-year-old Briggs, a graduate of West Chester University who earned his law degree from the Temple University Law School.
Briggs got his start as a public servant while working in congressional offices, including the congressional office of Democrat Marjorie Margolies Mezvinsky.
He then moved over to working on the political campaigns of Democrats who have included Joseph M. Hoeffel III, Lois Murphy, Connie Williams and Leach. His duties on those campaigns have included serving as campaign manager and campaign treasurer.
Hoeffel, a new county commissioner who served as a congressman before his unsuccessful bid to topple Republican incumbent U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter, is Briggs' campaign chairman.
"In all of my years in public life, I haven't seen anyone that has been more committed to the Democratic Party and supporting progressive issues and bi-partisan solutions than Tim," said Hoeffel.
Tapped to serve as the honorary co-chairmen of his campaign are Williams, Leach and U.S. Congressman Joe Sestak.
Active in school and township recreational activities, Briggs recently was appointed to a township committee exploring the feasibility of building a recreation and/or cultural center in the township.
He also sits on the board of directors of the James A. Finnegan Fellowship Foundation, a statewide organization that provides scholarships, stipends and internships to state students interested in state government.
The 149th state House district includes Upper Merion, Bridgeport, West Conshohocken and a portion of Lower Merion.
No Republican candidate has publicly announced for the seat nor is any GOP candidate for that seat listed on the Pennsylvania Department of State's candidates' web site.
Today is the last day for candidates of the two major parties to file their nominating petitions with the state or county election boards.