Voicemail heats up contentious supervisor race in Edgmont

EDGMONT >> Democrats have characterized a message left on a township resident’s voicemail last week by a Republican committeeman as an intimidating threat, while members of the GOP say it is simply being taken the wrong way.

The political firestorm started last Wednesday night, when longtime township GOP figure Randy Bates called Don Kidder.

“Hey, Don,” Bates said in his voicemail message. “It’s Randy Bates calling, just wanted to touch base with you.

“I wanted to see if you remembered when you accidentally set your house on fire and who showed up to put the fire out,” Bates continued. “And, if I remember correctly, it was the Bates gang and Ron Gravina. So, I’m not sure why you are promoting Linda Yu, but, you remember that.”

A Republican, Gravina is chairman of the three township supervisors and is facing a challenge for the three-year term from Democrat Linda Yu.

The Bates and Kidder properties are adjacent to one another and the two have known each other for years. The Bates are widely known for the Halloween haunted hayrides and Bates Motel attraction they operate on Arasapha Farm.

Kidder has lived in Edgmont for more than 20 years, having moved there from Lansdowne, where he served on the Lansdowne Aldan School District board. He had been a Republican since he registered to vote when he was 21 years old, until earlier this year when he switched to being a Democrat.

“I did not want to be affiliated with the party of Trump, thank you,” Kidder said.

And, he also explained his support for the Democrat supervisor candidate.

“I’m supporting Linda Yu because I think it’s very much a time for a change, enough is enough,” he said, adding that he was thankful for the service all the supervisors had given. “We need a change and I think it’s wonderful that we will have a chance to have a woman on the board of supervisors as a part of where we should be in this day and age in moving forward.”

Kidder also said he liked that Yu, an Asian American, would bring ethnic diversity to the board.

So last Wednesday, when Bates left his message, Kidder was not home at the time. When he returned, he played the message, then called his daughter, Susan, who told him not to erase it.

Susan Kidder said her dad tried to downplay it.

“I just looked at him with my eyes popping out of my head like, ‘What? That is such a threat,’” she said. “The specter of retaliation is real.”

Her father, who said he does not intimidate too easily, said, “I did not appreciate the tenor and tone in which this was said. It was not a very friendly phone call. To me, that seemed he was making public safety transactional.”

He said the last time he saw Bates was about six months ago, passing by each other without incident at the post office.

Kidder said he remembers the fire well. It was an accident 19 years ago involving a structure on his property and the Edgmont Township Fire Company responded.

In a letter to the editor, Susan Kidder said, “What I do not understand is why anyone who has served as an elected official and is active in their party feels that bullying and threatening an elderly township man falls within the realm of appropriate, ethical and legal activity. The insinuation that a private, not-for-profit volunteer fire company may retaliate against anyone who doesn’t vote for one of their own is chilling and quite disturbing.”

Bates himself said it’s being misconstrued.

“It was a friendly call,” Bates said. “It was, ‘Hey, why are you doing this?’”

He described Don Kidder as a lifelong friend and neighbor, acknowledging, “We know each other very well.”

He likewise recalled the fire on the Kidder property, saying he, his sons, his sons-inlaw and Gravina were among those who responded to extinguish the fire.

Bates said he felt strongly that Gravina is the right person for supervisor, having served almost five decades at the fire company, being certified as one of two people in the township who can enter pipeline construction areas and volunteering at spring cleanups. He said he was confused by Kidder’s support for Yu, saying she alleged Gravina is corrupt and criticized the township and staff.

“It’s just not right,” Bates said. “The things that they were saying about Ron hurts, really hurts. I don’t understand. Here’s somebody who’s done so much for the community. I don’t know why he’s supporting Linda. I was strictly saying, ‘What’s going on? (Gravina) has given his whole life to the township.’ He’s about the least corruptible person I ever met.

“This is local,” he added. “This isn’t Republicans against Democrats. This is who’s going to do the best job for the community.”

In addition, Bates said out of gratitude he gives his neighbors a few passes to his attraction each year. This year, he said, Susan Kidder demanded 25 VIP passes at $75 each. “We still gave her tickets,” he said. “I just didn’t give her what she asked for.”

Susan Kidder said the number wasn’t that high.

“I had asked him for 15 and he had given me two,” she said, adding other neighbors got more. “Fifteen is not unreasonable ... given the amount of noise in the month of October.”

And, she’s told her daughter they will no longer take any more Bates passes, adding, “We’ll get no remuneration for the amount of aggravation we have to put up with.”

Colleen Guiney, chairwoman of the Delaware County Democratic Party, said passes or no passes, it didn’t matter.

“I don’t think that’s relevant to the story,” she said, adding, “This is not an isolated incident. This is part of a pattern of intimidation, which is part of what I believe is how the Republican Party has maintained control for generations. The difference with this threat is that it was recorded and documented and the individual whose father was intimidated is no longer afraid.”

Guiney said she was heartened that the victim was willing to come forward.

“Even it it was not intended to be a threat, it is absolutely inappropriate,” she said. “If the individual feels threatened, it was a threat.”

Guiney added, “I do believe that Republicans in this county are immune to thinking their behavior is inappropriate ... There are people who believe that the Republican Party is a benign and lovely and kind organization ... The people I know have been intimidated, have been threatened and felt that they had no choice.”

She said her party is different, telling voters, “You do not have to be afraid of the Democratic Party. You have nothing to fear from the Democratic Party.”

Delaware County Republican Party Chairman Thomas McGarrigle said these claims were grasping.

“I would say that the Republican Party has had control for many, many years because of good policies and good services that they provided for the residents,” he said.

McGarrigle added that his counterparts mistook the message.

“They took it the wrong way,” he said. “That doesn’t sound like a threat to me. They’re trying everything.”

The Kidders, in the meantime, have their own opinion.

“It’s unconscionable what they’re doing,” Kidder said, as her dad shrugged it off as a dumb move.

“In reflection,” Don Kidder said, “it was downright stupid. You don’t leave messages like that.”