Last week, I told you that Ce-Ce Gerlach, a putative Mayoral candidate, has already been been going door-to-door in Allentown. She's dropping off cards and mail-in ballot applications if no one is at home. One question I failed to consider is whether anyone, in the middle of a pandemic, should be doing this.
This is actually a pretty stupid thing to do. If she is infected with SARS-CoV-2, she could be a super spreader of the virus. This is why most campaigns have stopped canvassing. In electoral politics, the most effective tool is personal contact. But sadly, this is also the best way to transmit a highly infectious respiratory virus. There are way to reach voters without infecting them.
James Whitney makes precisely this point in an email to City Council:
We are in the midst of a pandemic, and an economic shut down. Our businesses are suffering, we're struggling to pay our taxes, the bills are piling up. We're all praying every day for an end to this global tragedy, and for our neighbors who are hurting. Allentown City Council continues to hold meetings behind closed doors, not allowing the public to be in the room as they legislate our futures. So it's incredibly shocking and concerning to learn that Allentown City Council member Ce-Ce Gerlach is going out into the community and knocking on doors and handing out literature. This is a blatant violation of Governor Wolf's COVID-19 guidelines. If members of City Council wish to communicate with the public, there are socially distant options they can utilize to do so. In the meantime, they should stop face to face political activity and outreach until Covid-19 restrictions are lifted. To tell the public that they can't come to City Council meetings, or visit City Hall, they can’t engage in door to door sales, and shouldn't gather to worship their creator, and then go out into the community and start knocking on their doors and potentially exposing them to COVID-19 is absolutely absurd, immoral, and flies in the face of not only the Covid-19 guidelines, but also common sense.Canvassing is core political speech and is protected, but it's still irresponsible in this climate. It does appear to be inconsistent with the latest July 15 mitigation orders issued by both Governor Tom Wolf and Health Sec'y Dr. Rachel Levine.
Teleworking requirements are being enforced, even for life sustaining businesses. If there is any doubt that this door to door activity is a violation of Covid 19 I strongly suggest that you reach out to the Department of Health for clarification.
Speaking of irresponsible, above is a a compilation of Gerlach videos, which she took herself. It clearly shows her shouting "Defund the Police!" and actually leading in "Racist-ass cops have got to go!" Whether she participated in "Fuck the Police!" chants is less clear. It appears to me that she was silent during one chant but participated in another at the end of the video. My uncertainty about this is the sole reason I thought only Siegel deserved censure.
You can censure them both at the ballot box.
22 comments:
Bernie - Why do you choose to single out Ce Ce yet have said nothing about the Scheller campaign's daily door-to-door canvassing? Do you also believe that it is inappropriate for Lisa Scheller to be doing the same? Here is a tweet she posted of her doing exactly that yesterday: https://twitter.com/SchellerforPA/status/1295106832390914049?s=20
I've never voted by mail before, so I have a question. Do I mail all seven ballots I received as one bundle, or, should I mail them one at a time?
If engaged in social distancing door to door is fine, election seasons should go on, Admit it, its not CC you are worried about, but a strong person to person effort by republicans.
While I think Wolf and Levine have been pulling new rules out of each others' asses, Gerlach and her ilk have been all in on Harrisburg's authoritarian reign during the dempanic/pandemic. She should follow her daddy Wolf's rules - whatever they are today. If he's to be believed and worshiped by his party's faithful, she's committing attempted mass murder that kills greater percentages of minorities than non-minorities. Although, that's what Wolf and Levine did when they broke quarantine to joyfully march in deadly, superspreading BLM rallies. Wokeness immunizes, along with sitting while eating vs. standing, and eating while drinking vs. drinking but not eating, and public rallies and shopping at Lowe's vs voting in person.
She is so selfish! She is also a fraud. She pretends to care about the people but in reality she only cares about one thing.....Ce Ce
I can't wait to see Hyman debate her! He will embarrass her and expose her for the imbecile she is.
So how do you fell about the Fuller Brush reps, the Holy Rollers and the Girl Scout cookie kid ?
Of course she is running for Mayor. She in unemployed. She needs the paycheck.
Can you imagine that face and hair as the face of Allentown? I thought Fed Ed was ugly but this is a whole new level.
Mr. Whitney is 100% correct! It is outrageous that an elected City Official would be going door to door spreading Covid to further her political ambitions. If she comes to my house I will slam the door in her face
1:28, I was unaware Scheller was going door-to-door, which is incredibly stupid. This might cost her more votes than it gains her.
It's obvious what she is doing. She knows Hyman will kill her, so she is campaigning in his back yard to try and pull his voters away. Those people in the west End are too smart to vote for an unqualified hack like her.
If she orders food or says fuck the police while canvassing, she's golden, per PA Dept. of Health.
Fuller Brush, Girl Scouts, and Jehovah's Witnesses have all suspended door to door canvassing. But they're assessing the latest state requirements and re-imaging sales campaigns as sales protests. Brownies have been blindsided and are in limbo at the moment, as you can understand. Stay tuned. Our new country is awesome.
Ce-Ce Gerlach bankrupted our School district!
annon 8:42, pure personal; attack. The kind you don't print for the pols you love!
This thing is most likely the one that dropped a stack of mail in ballots in the foyer of the building where I reside. It seemed as if just like they appeared they disappeared to be mailed by one person filling them all out for those undesirables.
I hope Hyman runs that video of Ce Ce screaming "fuck the police" in TV ads. By the time he's done with her, she won't be able to live in Allentown let alone be its Mayor.
Anon 12:17 She bankrupted the school district and don't forget that she then destroyed city council in less than a year. She will destroy this city.
I'm not sure the door-to-door campaigning is a horrible thing.
If people want to talk, they'll talk. If they don't feel comfortable/safe, they'll shut the door or won't even bother to answer. She can leave literature.
I get the mail every day, and I don't handle that any differently than I used to.
I haven't seen any studies showing that masks are even necessary outside when distance can be maintained, and she's likely wearing a mask.
I understand Whitney's point about council meetings being closed to the public, but he draws the wrong conclusion. Instead of stopping Gerlach from going door-to-door, Council should re-open their meetings to the public. Reasonable steps can be taken (like requiring masks, limiting capacity, etc.).
Let's get real, we're all going out - to parks, grocery stores, etc. Hell, even the mall is open.
Our hospitals aren't being overrun. It's time to get back to living.
She has to be stopped. City Council needs to wake the eff up and confront her! Why is the Mayor Silent? Dr. Batts should be speaking out against her running for mayor! How is the city going to invest in community programs after CeCe drives our budget off a cliff?? She doesn’t represent the community, we’re not that crazy!!
"It's obvious what she is doing. She knows Hyman will kill her, so she is campaigning in his back yard to try and pull his voters away. Those people in the west End are too smart to vote for an unqualified hack like her."
Underestimate her at your own risk, many of those "too smart" people in the West End are buying into her message. She carefully crafts her message to tell every voter exactly what they want to hear. Remember, the West End is probably 75% Democrats and she is working that area of the City very hard on her door to door work. I think she is unbeatable in the Democrat primary if and when she runs.
Yet another few from Lisa today:
https://twitter.com/SchellerforPA/status/1298253852676784136?s=20
https://twitter.com/SchellerforPA/status/1297642788151058433?s=20
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