resolution<\/a> says the, \u201cExecutive Branch of the United States has aggressively pursued an unprecedented and unconstitutional expansion of executive authority\u201d but does not name President Donald Trump or the Republican Party.<\/p>\nIn a forceful rejection of the resolution, Hartzell said its target is clear, saying, \u201cThis is not an anti-fascist resolution; it\u2019s an anti-Trump resolution.\u201d<\/p>\n
Noting that the county draws the majority of its budget from the federal government, Hartzell expressed concern that the resolution could spark retaliation.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we do this, who knows whether some flunky in the White House sees that little Lehigh County in Allentown is doing this,\u201d Hartzell said. \u201cThat could cause repercussion, and we could lose even more money than we think we are now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brace said federal government actions have already jeopardized county services, leaving local authorities \u201cleft with the responsibility of figuring out what to do when something has gone awry.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brace also pushed back on arguments that discussion of the resolution fell outside the commissioners\u2019 duty to focus on county services, saying, \u201cWe can walk, chew bubble gum, and do a whole host of things at the same time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brace and Riddick did express doubts that the resolution was ready, with both supporting efforts to table it in an attempt to gain time to bridge divisions on the board.<\/p>\n
Fevig said evidence of constituents\u2019 divided opinions extended beyond those who showed up to speak, noting the\u00a0commissioners had jointly received 53 emails in support of the resolution and 26 emails in opposition.<\/p>\n
While Fevig praised Irons for showing \u201ccare, courage and inclusion\u201d in building a coalition to support the resolution, she asked to be removed as co-sponsor.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s tearing us apart in a way that I don\u2019t like to see in the county,\u201d Fevig said.<\/p>\n
Supporters of the resolution said taking a stand against a federal government that has made their neighbors afraid to leave their house is how they are working to keep their community together.<\/p>\n
\u201cFighting fascism is a way to be united,\u201d said Lori Ramsey, an Emmaus resident who works to deliver food to vulnerable community members.<\/p>\n
Bethlehem resident Bernardo Torres said his fellow immigrants are currently the ones under attack but that the nature of fascism is that threats to liberty grow.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe moral and the human value of your decision, I think, is very important to protect everybody,\u201d Torres said.<\/p>\n
Opponents of the resolution said it mischaracterizes the government and insults Republicans.<\/p>\n
Jeff Barber of North Whitehall Township said fascism does not exist in the United States today. He said he\u2019s proud of his\u00a0Syrian and German heritage and noted that there are many proud Republicans among the Syrian community in the Lehigh Valley.<\/p>\n
\u201cNothing tangible will change\u201d as a result of the resolution, Barber said, arguing that commissioners should focus on county services and avoid making national political statements in order to serve their constituents.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is exactly why people lose trust,\u201d Barber said.<\/p>\n
South Whitehall Township resident and former Parkland School Board candidate George Rivera also said national politics does not belong in municipal government and questioned why county residents feel under attack.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re confusing your depression of who your president is with oppression,\u201d Rivera said.<\/p>\n
Forks Township resident Elianis Gautier said it would be a great mistake to ignore or minimize the danger community members face.<\/p>\n
\u201cSilence has the same weight as words,\u201d Gautier said.<\/p>\n
After the meeting, Irons told The Morning Call that he hopes the resolution will put pressure on other people in positions of power to stand together and be prepared to confront the kind of aggressive federal actions that other cities have seen.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s how we\u2019re going to stay strong as a region and as a county,\u201d Irons said.<\/p>\n
The resolution includes a clause calling for a copy to be sent to U.S. Sens. John Fetterman and David McCormick and U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, whose spokesperson criticized the measure.<\/p>\n
\u201cInstead of using their positions to address important local issues, which is what they were elected to do, some local elected officials are choosing to politicize their positions and increase polarization in all levels of government,\u201d Mackenzie\u2019s spokesperson Arnaud Armstrong said via email prior to the meeting. \u201cCongressman Mackenzie remains laser-focused on working with his colleagues to find bipartisan solutions to the actual problems facing the people of the Lehigh Valley and the Poconos.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Lehigh County Commissioners passed an anti-fascism resolution by a narrow vote after hours of tense debate about whether…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":111963,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[119,121,120,433,182,139,28,432],"class_list":["post-111962","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-allentown","tag-allentown","tag-allentown-headlines","tag-allentown-news","tag-lehigh-county","tag-local-news","tag-news","tag-pennsylvania","tag-top-stories-tmc"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111962","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=111962"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111962\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/111963"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=111962"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=111962"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=111962"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}