Who is Frank X. Custer

I would like to thank the Times Herald for setting up these candidate blogs and giving us another opportunity and outlet to communicate with the voters.
Since this is my first blog entry, I thought I would introduce myself to you by giving you information on my background, so you get a sense of who I am and how I came to be seeking to represent the residents of the 61st legislative district, which includes all of Upper Gwynedd Township and the Borough of North Wales, and portios of Plymouth, Whitpain, Lower Gwynedd, Towamencin and Montgomery Townships.
I am a public relations consultant who has spent half my professional career in the private sector and the other half in the public sector. In the private sector, I have been a newspaper editor and reporter, vice president of an advertising and public relations agency and currently co-owner of a public relations and government affairs consulting firm. Having served in Democratic and Republican Administrations at the county, state and federal levels of government, I understand how government should work, and what it takes to be an honest and effective elected official.
My grandfather and father were steelworkers, and I know what it means to come from a working class family. A native of Plymouth Township and a graduate of St. Matthew High School (later Archbishop Kennedy), I served my country for four years in the U.S. Navy from 1965-69. After the service, I went to college on the G.I. Bill and graduated from Temple University with a degree in Journalism. After several years as a newspaper editor and reporter, my career evolved into public relations. I have been public information director for both Chester and Montgomery Counties; spent 12 years as a vice president and account executive with a Valley Forge-based advertising and public relations agency; spent five years with the Florida Department of Commerce heading up the largest tourism publicity office in the world; served as Congressman Joe Hoeffel’s senior advisor and press secretary for six years; and, as mentioned, now operate my own PR consulting firm.
My first wife, Nancy, and I married during my college years and we raised two children, Rebecca and Jonathan, both of whom graduated from public schools. Tragically, Nancy died from cancer in 1996, just days after we celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary. At the time, Rebecca was a sophomore in college and Jonathan a sophomore in high school. My sole goal at this difficult time was to dedicate myself to being the best single parent I could be. Both Rebecca and Jonathan are now college graduates and leading successful lives. Fortune smiled on me a second time a few years later when I married Martha Simelaro of Upper Gwynedd. We have been happily married for eight years.
Community involvement has always been important to me. I was active in youth sports when our family lived in Lower Salford Township. I coached youth basketball, baseball and softball teams, and was the co-founder and first commissioner of the Souderton-Harleysville Youth Basketball Association and was a board member of the Harleysville Girls Softball League for many years. I was also a PIAA basketball referee from 1992 to 1999.

I have served as a volunteer with ActionAIDS in Philadelphia, and am 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 point of sharing all of that is to explain that these life experiences allow me to understand many of the everyday challenges that face Americans, Pennsylvanians and the people of the 61st district. Coming from a working class background, I understand the financial pressures of today’s economy and the need for good, well-paying jobs. Having been in the military and benefitted from the G.I. Bill, I understand the importance of supporting our troops and taking care of them when they come home.

Having dealt with serious illness, I understand the critical need for affordable health care and health insurance for everyone. Having faced putting two children through college on a single salary, I understand how important it is to make higher education accessible to everyone who wants a college education.

And, having served at the county, state and federal levels of government and witnessed the good, the bad and ugly of our governmental system and its elected officials, I understand the necessity of reforming the way we do business in Harrisburg.

That’s what I am about, and I look forward to sharing more thoughts in the coming weeks leading up to the election.



Frank X. Custer

Democratic Candidate

61st Legislative District