Local School Board Member Apparently Not a Huge Kamala Harris Fan

Souderton Area School District director William Formica. He is under fire for a tweet about Vice President Kamala Harris. (Photo via Souderton Area School District/fair use)

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Souderton Area School District Board Member William Formica Not a Big Kamala Harris Fan

The motto for the Souderton Area School District, which serves schools in both Montgomery and Bucks counties, is as follows: “A community where character counts.” And it is the character of one of those board members that some have called into question.

A controversy has been festering in the district ever since board member William Formica made a lewd tweet about Vice President Kamala Harris, shortly after she became Donald Trump’s opponent in the upcoming presidential election.

At an event, Harris said, “I promise you I will proudly put my record against his any day of the week.” Lots and lots of Trump supporters picked up on that and called her record into question.

One of those Trump supporters was a woman in central Pennsylvania who uses the nickname Proud Army Brat on the service formerly known as Twitter. “WHAT RECORD?” she posted in response to the Harris statement. “Name ONE THING this chick has accomplished, politically. ONE!” Formica jumped right into the conversation, replying, “She blew a lot of dudes.” (It appears that he since deleted not just the tweet but also his entire account on the social media platform.)

Now, expressing support for Donald Trump or disdain for Kamala Harris shouldn’t raise any eyebrows. But for an elected official in charge of thousands of students to make a lewd, sexist, and misogynistic remark about the vice president of the United States who also happens to be the first woman to hold that office and who, depending on how things go in the November presidential election, could be the first woman to hold that office? Well, maybe — just maybe — that is a bridge too far. Some Souderton Area School District parents certainly think so.

William Formica during a Souderton Area School District board meeting

“Frankly, I am absolutely disgusted,” once such parent proclaimed to the Bucks County Beacon. “Especially when it comes from the very same people that claim to be working to protect our children from sexual deviance and degeneracy and then make such lewd comments about such a highly elected official who also happens to be a woman.”

Soon after the controversy erupted, the superintendent of the district and the president of the school board issued a joint statement in which they said that Formica “used inappropriate language and poor judgement.” The statement went on to read: “Words matter. Respect matters. Our schools and offices must be spaces where diverse opinions are honored — but where respect is required.”

There have been numerous calls for Formica to resign. Formica, who hasn’t responded to a request for comment, has not resigned. The outrage continued at a school district board meeting last night. Formica wasn’t in attendance. But plenty of parents and activists were. The superintendent told the crowd that the district and the board have no standing to remove Formica from power.

The board originally appointed Formica to the position early last year after a board member resigned. Then, voters elected him in November. Shortly after his appointment, the Bucks County Beacon reported that a “Let’s Go Brandon” sign was on display outside his office, that some of his vehicles displayed a symbol attributed to the Three Percenter movement, and that his truck’s license plate reads “AR15 LVR.” Formica also reportedly wrote “Wish we could still hang people” in reference to the Manhattan judge who presided over the Trump Organization civil trial.

Assuming he serves his full term, parents are stuck with Formica until at least 2027.

Was Larry David at Last Night’s Phillies Game?

If Larry David is looking for a body double anytime soon, he might want to get in touch with this guy:

We could have sworn that was Larry David who popped on the TV during the game, which we, thank God, won. But our sources tell us it was not, in fact, Larry David. So who is this guy? Someone suggested that it could be mega-lawyer Tom Kline, who regularly appears on TV during Phillies games owing to his peerless season tickets. Maybe?

Left: Guy at the Phillies game who looks a whole hell of a lot like Larry David. Right: Tom Kline

But the guy in the photo actually looks more like Larry David than he looks like Tom Kline. I dunno. There are some mysteries in this life that we may never unravel.

About That Wonderland Pier Closing…

The imminent closing of Ocean City’s Wonderland Pier caught many shoobies by surprise. But the announcement came as no surprise to some in the Ocean City community who were well aware of the financial problems faced by the amusement park’s owner, who also happens to be the mayor of Ocean City. The Inquirer has more on this fiasco.

Another School Cell Phone Ban

The Abington School District just joined the growing list of school districts instituting a cell phone ban for the upcoming school year. Elementary school kids won’t be allowed to use cell phones at all during the day. As for middle school and high school students? They’ll be required to turn in their cell phones at the beginning of each class and will be able to retrieve them once class is done — or, presumably, to turn off their obnoxious ringtone going off at full volume during calc class.

By the Numbers

6: Philadelphia politicos reportedly considering a challenge to DA Larry Krasner when he comes up for reelection next year. The names being floated include a judge and former city councilmembers David Oh and Derek Green.

49 percent: Portion of Hispanic Pennsylvanians who definitely plan to vote for Kamala Harris, according to a new poll. When Joe Biden was running, the polling showed that 39 percent of Hispanic Pennsylvanians were going to vote for him. Meanwhile, Harris leads Trump 48 percent to 45 percent among all Pennsylvania voters thanks, in part, to strong support from women.

$10 million: What a Main Line couple who restores comic books just won in their lawsuit against the world’s leading company that evaluates and grades old comic books. The couple’s work was apparently a little too good, leading the company to accuse them of trying to sell fakes. The couple sued the company for defamation.

Local Talent

If you’re a John Oates (as in Hall & Oates) fan, you have not one but two chances to see the Temple alum this week. Tonight, he plays Cape May Convention Hall. And on Saturday, Oates headlines the back-from-the-dead Philadelphia Folk Festival. One thing is or sure: Daryl Hall will not be there.