In East Penn, dueling PACs supporting dueling slates
One is backed by venture capitalist, the other by elected Democrats, unions
Two political action committees – one backed by a Bucks County venture capitalist and the other by elected state Democrats and unions – are helping fund the East Penn School Board race where 11 candidates are seeking five seats.
The Your Voice on the Board committee is supporting the eponymously named slate that includes Republicans Paul Barbehenn, Kristofer DePaolo, Lawrence Huyssen, Matt Mull and Angelic Schneider.
The committee raised $22,850 from Jan. 1 to May 1, according to a campaign finance report filed for that period.
Paul Martino of Doylestown, who began what is now a conservative PAC called Back to School USA, gave $5,000 to the Your Voice on the Board committee.
The Valley Values PAC is backing a slate that includes board President Joshua Levinson, a Democrat, board Vice President Jeffrey Jankowski, a Republican, and Democrats Shonta Ford, and Gabrielle Klotz and Republican Timothy Kelly. Democrat Brian Wessner is running on his own.
The Valley Values PAC raised $10,202 in the reporting period, including $1,000 each from the fundraising committees of Democratic State Rep. Peter Schweyer and state Sen. Nick Miller, whose districts include Emmaus.
East Penn covers the boroughs of Emmaus, Macungie, Alburtis, and Upper Milford and Lower Macungie townships. It has about 8,100 students in 10 schools.
Here is a closer look at the money raised and spent in the campaign.
Your Voice on the Board
Martino’s personal donation was the largest among those listed in the campaign finance report filed by the Your Voice on the Board committee.
According to the report, Your Voice on the Board raised $22,850 from Jan. 1 to May 1. The amount included $1,500 each from the five Your Voice candidates. Each, in turn, received a $4,750 donation from the committee, according to campaign finance reports. The five candidates then used their donations to pay Your Voice on the Board committee $2,579 for advertising and marketing, their individual campaign reports showed.
In East Penn, 11 candidates, including two slates, seek 5 seats (substack.com)
Other donors included Andrew and Ann Wright ($2,500); David Jaindl ($2,500); Anthony Salvaggio ($1,000); Ernie and Cathy Stiegler ($1,000); Robert and Kathleen Johnson ($1,000); Catherine Jaindl-Leuthe ($500); Daniel and Oriana Hood ($500); Republican state Rep. Ryan Mackenzie’s committee Citizens for Mackenzie ($500); and Republican state Rep. Milou Mackenzie, who is Ryan Mackenzie’s mother ($500). Both Mackenzies’ districts cover parts of East Penn.
The committee spent $12,899 mostly on website services and campaign paraphernalia and advertising.
Martino’s PAC grew out of his frustration with covid-related school closures in his children’s Central Bucks School District. In 2021, he founded the Back to School PA PAC and spent $500,000 on school board races that year, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Initially, the PAC supported candidates from both parties but that position has shifted and is now called Back to School USA.
The PAC’s website says it “supports conservative candidates by raising the resources needed to counter the onslaught of advertising from deep-pocketed liberal teachers unions determined to let the radical left take charge of our children’s education. … To put it plainly, B2S is taking the fight directly to the liberal teachers’ unions and special interest groups that are responsible for indoctrinating our children.”
Martino’s donation to the Your Voice slate, given on March 28, comes as groups supporting Levinson, Jankowski, Ford, Kelly and Klotz have sought to tie the Your Voice candidates to positions held by Moms for Liberty - Lehigh County and Restoring Excellence in East Penn Education (REEPE).
A group called Defend East Penn pointed to a post by East Penn Pro Education, which said campaign literature for the Your Voice on the Board candidates was available at a February meeting of Moms for Liberty - Lehigh County. Nationally, Moms for Liberty members have challenged books in various school libraries.
A speaker at the meeting, according to people who attended, was Frank Dumbleton, who led a June meeting on critical race theory sponsored by REEPE.
REEPE has filed as a political committee. It had $2,655 funds available, according to the Jan. 1 to May 1 report, including $2,502 carried over from its last report. The group spent $180 on room rentals at Macungie Park and $176 on postage.
A report filed for 2022 showed REEPE raised $3,918 with $250 coming from Citizens for Mackenzie and $250 from Milou Mackenzie. Dumbleton gave $500; other donors included Barbara Tantaros ($500); Andrew Wright ($500) and Keystone Agency Partners of Harrisburg ($1,000).
The Your Voice candidates addressed the allegations about Moms for Liberty and REEPE in an April 28 Facebook post that said:
“While we continue to invest our time in meeting with teachers, parents, students, and interested taxpayers, there continue to be loud voices that seem intent to divide our community with lies. Of particular note is the idea that we are being ‘powered’ by two advocacy groups, REEPE and Moms for Liberty. We have answered this question directly and honestly when asked during candidate forums, meet and greet events, and even in one-on-one conversations.
“For the record, we are NOT part of either group. We have NOT sought an endorsement or funding from either group. Their agenda is NOT our agenda.”
Further, the Your Voice on the Board candidates addressed Dumbleton’s signature, which appears on the slate’s initial filing as a campaign fundraising committee under the section headed “Signature of Person Submitting This Statement.”
On a Facebook post, the Your Voice Slate said, “Further, as we are the only slate of candidates to be endorsed in East Penn. As this is our first time running a campaign. We have relied on the Lehigh County Republican Committee, of which Frank Dumbleton is a member, to help with things such things as PAC filings, petition logistics, and other things associated with the mechanics of running a campaign. This is something we have been transparent about from the beginning. There are no affiliations with other outside parties other than the local GOP. If we were actually hiding something we wouldn't have put it on a public document.”
Valley Values PAC
The Valley Values PAC seeks to elect “common-sense leaders to local office and defeating extremist candidates at the ballot box.” It reported having $10,511 in funds available between Jan. 1 and May 1, including $309 carried over from a prior period. The PAC spent $350.
Besides Schweyer and Miller, Valley Values also received support from other elected Democrats, including $100 from state Rep. Jeanne McNeill’s committee, McNeill for PA; $250 from state Rep. Mike Schlossberg’s committee, Friends of Mike Schlossberg and $250 from Emmaus Council member John Hart.
The PAC also got support from current school board members, including $100 from Democrat Allan Byrd, who is not seeking reelection, $200 from Paul Champagne, a registered independent, and $100 from Democrat William Whitney. Former school board member Kenneth Bacher, a Republican, gave $100.
The PAC received union support from Insulators International PAC ($250); International Union of Operating Engineers Local 542 ($1,000), and the IBEW Local 375 ($1,000). The Lehigh Valley Democratic Coalition gave $600. Other large donors included Jennifer Allen ($500) and Janet Levinson ($750).
The group spent $350, including $24 on Google LLC; $95 on texting fees and $231 on robocalls.