Political Weather Alert

The National Windbag Service has issued a Flash Mud Warning for the greater Quaker Valley area, including Leet Township and surrounding locales.

Spotters report that increased mudslinging from certain candidates for office has extended unchallenged into the local online/print media and other platforms of note.

Examples of this all-too-frequent phenomenon appear below –

Disparaging your opponents (current and former) in the media is apparently one of the “most pressing issues” for Leet Township Commissioner Carolyn Verszyla. – Sewickley Herald

These occurrences include outbursts of intensity on the open-ended Silliness Scale that are unprecedented across the local political landscape.

The political weather in Florida is also unsettled, and thanks to QV Taxpayers for Strong Schools we have a whole bunch of information whose relevance to local issues is questionable, as is the attempt to paint Mr. Jasper with the tired “tax-and-spend” label – from a campaign mailer received on October 14. Click to enlarge.

Some of this activity can be sourced to QV Taxpayers for Strong Schools, an organization that has no apparent listing with the Commonwealth as a business, charity, or campaign finance committee. Aside from a recently active YouTube channel, the group has no online presence that can be found.

Additional information from enlightened sources indicates that this group may have splintered off from the established advocacy group QV Strong, possibly desiring to engage in more politically charged advocacy than the parent organization may have been willing to. A mailer received on October 26 provided a physical mailing address for the organization.

Of the four videos posted by the group to date via YouTube, social media, and text messages, the below example makes mention of all candidates in Region 1 and Region 3. The other two target specific individual candidates, and one is a positive ad featuring Jessica Webster, which is well worth 22 seconds of your time.

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While the short-term forecast shows an increased chance of similar activity over the next week, caution should also be exercised with pockets of mud that may actually display some of the properties of bull excrement.

These may look like familiar arguments, but are actually attempts to leverage popular sentiment not otherwise associated with the campaign in order to gain political advantage.

Ad from the October 12 Herald. This coincided with demonstrations outside of several school buildings, to which QV Administration responded – “Recent demonstrations outside our schools were not endorsed by the Quaker Valley School District nor the Quaker Valley Education Association“…Aside from that, when was the last time a Republican candidate openly expressed concern about the plight of organized labor? Answer – When they want to benefit from doing so. Click to enlarge.

The slogan at the top, long associated with QV Strong, is instead co-opted by the QVGOP in this ad from the October 26 Herald. The ad attempts to conflate the goals of QV Strong with the alternative high school plan agenda foisted by the listed Republican candidates. This creates more confusion than clarity – a recurring trend in political ads from this side of the debate. Click to enlarge.

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Just as there are static meteorological phenomena that persist in specific locations, such as the Bermuda High or El Niño, political weather also has patterns that last in the same position for much longer than could normally be expected, with varying effects.

In the immediate area there is a political weather system that most observers would have expected to dissipate many months ago, but remains relevant to the current climate, and may have sufficient strength to impact the upcoming election.

Let’s call it El Molinaro.

Leet Commissioner Martin McDaniel also chose to weigh in against former Board members, barely answering the Herald’s question for their October 17 election preview story. He also perpetuates the debate concerning the Molinaro issue by attempting to weaponize it against an opponent in the upcoming election. Former Chief Molinaro’s appeal to the township’s Civil Service Commission will be decided November 1. – Sewickley Herald

While El Molinaro is forecast to drastically reduce in visibility after November 1, it still has a lot of potential to wreak havoc on the race for Township Commissioner.

Reports have been received that a member of the Civil Service Commission publicly accused a Township Commissioner at an October 23 public meeting of attempting to influence Commission members in their decision regarding the appeal.

Mr. Molinaro filed a Right to Know Law request with the Township on October 24. According to documents obtained from the state Office of Open Records (OOR), “the Township timely invoked a thirty-day extension of time to respond on October 25, 2023…As a result, the Township has until November 30, 2023 to respond to the Request”. An appeal filed by Molinaro the same day was dismissed by the OOR as premature.

Depending upon the Civil Service Commission’s decision and acceptance of the findings, the continued instability generated by El Molinaro could develop into a Category 5 you-know-what-storm.

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Citizens who may recall a period where the climate was lively but less volatile may benefit from the collection of advertising from just 6 months ago. A lot of disagreement to be sure, but a lot less mud as well.

Climate change in the literal, physical sense may be so gradual as to be less than believable for some, but this deterioration of political climate feels like a harbinger of more difficult times ahead, unless the parties involved commit to mitigate those factors that contribute to this instability, which if unabated will only exacerbate the already demonstrated incivility.

There will be more to say. Until then, Citizens should be prepared for increased mud and froth as the silly season continues until November 7.

Critical thinking strategies are strongly encouraged until this activity subsides. Above all, please remember to vote.