A committee supporting Democratic candidates for Bensalem Township Council recently sent out a mailer saying \u201cBENSALEM DESERVES BETTER [capitals in the original]\u201d than a councilwoman who \u201clives in North Carolina.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
But Stacey Champion, the mailer\u2019s subject, doesn\u2019t \u201clive\u201d in the Tar Heel State, except when her family vacations mere weeks out of the year in the Outer Banks, staying at an investment property they bought last year.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Republican councilwoman is seeking reelection on November 4 alongside fellow council member Michelle Benitez and their running mate Will Walker. The three of them face Democrats Joseph Wenzel Jr., Jesse Sloane, and Ed Tokmajian, all running for at-large seats.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Bensalem Community First, the committee representing Champion\u2019s opposition and overseen by Tokmajian according to campaign finance reports, based its assertion on footage from HGTV\u2019s House Hunters.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In the episode, Champion and her husband Al sit side by side to describe their new property buy and he said, \u201cWe\u2019re moving to the Outer Banks, North Carolina.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Democratic candidates reproached his remark with an online video, a mailer, and yard signs suggesting Stacey Champion won\u2019t be around her township to participate in its governance. The councilwoman stressed the context in which her husband said \u201cwe\u2019re moving.\u201d<\/p>\n
House Hunters, she recalled, approached her family\u2019s realtor about featuring the $2.3 million beachfront dwelling, a place she said has welcomed many renters since her husband purchased it. (A property management company oversees the house when the Champions aren\u2019t there for vacation.) Television producers, she explained, wanted those featured on the show to follow a script that emphasized homebuying, not investment or travel. Stacey Champion said the family agreed to appear because her children thought it would be fun.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had specifically said to [Scott Brothers Entertainment production company], \u2018You know, we have no plans at any point in time to move into this house,\u2019\u201d she said. \u201c\u2018This is a strictly investment property.\u2019 And their response was, \u2018Well, we\u2019re not doing an investment show. This is all for fun; it\u2019s part of House Hunters.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Tokmajian wrote in a Facebook post, \u201cIf Stacey is willing to perform in a scripted reality production, pretending and exaggerating for entertainment, can we trust her to make honest responsible, decisions for Bensalem[?]\u201d<\/p>\n
The Champions sold three investment properties before purchasing their new one in North Carolina, completing a 1031 exchange, a tax-deferment measure used by real estate investors. She added that her husband bought the Outer Banks property several months before he appeared on HGTV\u2019s broadcast to discuss it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Despite Champion\u2019s assurance that she\u2019s staying put, the Democrats\u2019 mailer<\/a> featured a note purportedly written by \u201cStacy [sic]\u201d that read, without quotations, \u201cGoodbye, Bensalem! We\u2019re moving to North Carolina! See you never!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt infuriates me,\u201d she said when asked for her reaction to seeing such words put in her mouth.<\/p>\n