Armstrong County Democratic Committee rents billboard with ‘positive, inclusive’ message
UPDATE: The Armstrong County Democratic Committee said Monday morning that the billboard has been removed.
The Armstrong County Democratic Committee has leased a billboard with a “positive and inclusive” message it says is to counter the messages on a billboard on the other side of Route 422 in Worthington.
Committee chairman Chuck Pascal said the message was placed on the billboard last weekend, but since then he has heard that the company who rented the billboard to the committee might take the message down.
If that happens, he said the committee will look for billboards in other locations in Armstrong County, even if those locations are not as effective as being across the street from a billboard posted by business owner John Placek.
“Obviously we will continue to spread a positive and inclusive message about our county,” Pascal said.
The committee’s static billboard says: “No matter what you look like, who you love, what your religion, where you’re from, you’ve got a friend in Armstrong County.”
The committee raised money from the community and the region to rent the billboard, Pascal said.
The billboard is meant to send a different message than Placek’s electronic billboard along Route 422 in Summit Township in Butler County that displays a variety of messages including, “Whites are under attack stop it now!!” with “Stop teaching critical racist theory to our kids”; “God’s law ‘marriage’ one man-one woman”; and “God prohibits same sex marriage.”
Pascal, a criminal defense attorney, said the committee’s billboard is not politically partisan. He said he has talked to many Republicans who do not like Placek’s billboard.
“It makes people who are Jewish, LGBT or African Americans feel unwelcome in the county,” Pascal said.
Placek told the Eagle on Sunday that anyone, including the Democratic Committee, has the right to put up any messages they want.
“This is America; we have free speech. You can do whatever you want to do as long as it doesn't offend or hurt anybody,” Placek said. “I applaud the Democratic Committee for what they're doing. They can even advertise on my billboards for a fee.”
Placek also said he plans to put up four more billboards in locations in Freeport and Indiana, Pa.
Pascal issued a statement on behalf of the committee.
The statement says: “For the past few years, motorists along Route 422 in Worthington, Armstrong County, have been met with messages on electronic billboards many consider to be racist, homophobic, antisemitic, and hateful. The owner of those billboards has recently attracted media attention by placing new billboards in nearby Butler County.”
Pascal is quoted in the statement saying: "The constant barrage of messages on the other billboards have given our entire county a bad name. We have heard from many people who have said the messages made them feel fearful and unwelcome here, just because of who they are." Pascal said this has included African Americans, Hispanics, LGBTQ persons, immigrants, as well as people who are Jewish and of other non-Christian religions.
Pascal said the messages have had the effect of harming economic development efforts in the county and efforts to attract new residents. "No company is going to move to an area that is perceived to be so closed-minded and unwelcoming to new people and new ideas," he said in the statement.
The committee felt the need to respond to "make it clear that those other messages don't speak for the majority of people in our county," Pascal said. "Most people here are welcoming to everyone,“ the statement said.
When a new billboard became available across Route 422 from ones the group considers controversial, committee members wanted to put up its own message, and asked for donations through social media to gauge interest in the idea.
"The response was strong and immediate," Pascal said, with enough donations being received to rent the billboard and keep it up for several months. "There's obviously a real desire to reject hateful extremism, and to express support for an inclusive and welcoming message,“ according to the statement.
While most of the donations were from local residents, Pascal said, some donations come from around the region and other states, according to the statement.
He said that donations received would be used to continue spreading a positive message that is "inclusive and welcoming to people of all races, religions, genders, sexual orientations, and political philosophies," supporting anti-discrimination and anti-bullying efforts, as well as supporting candidates who share those values. People may donate at secure.actblue.com/donate/standupagainsthate, according to the statement.
Armstrong Democrats "are speaking up for the good people of Armstrong County — of all parties — who have been appalled at the constant hate being spewed across the road," Pascal said. "Those messages are not who we are,“ according to the statement.
Eagle staff writer Eddie Trizzino contributed to this report.
