“The terrifying attack on the home of Eden Town Supervisor Melissa Hartman was outrageous and intolerable. As a mother, I can’t imagine how horrifying it would be to have a pipe bomb thrown through my window at 3 am, shattering glass and terrifying my sleeping children. No public official and no candidate should ever have to tolerate threats like that. This is the United States. We are a democracy. We settle our differences at the ballot box, not through acts of terror and violent intimidation.
“I applaud Supervisor Hartman for her bravery and resilience in deciding to stay in this race. Her courage and commitment to this community and to serving the public is admirable. She is fearless, and I personally consider her bravery to be a role model for me, for my daughter, and for any other woman in this country who is thinking about running for office.
“As horrifying as this event is, we should not be shocked. The political rhetoric in our community and in our country is out of control. Disagreements over mask mandates have resulted in violent confrontations. Differences of opinion about well-intended policies have resulted in death threats against elected officials. On January 6th, we saw a mob of protesters, incited to violence by public officials, assault police officers just trying to defend our nation’s Capitol.
“So, I am calling on every single elected official to tone down the rhetoric and pledge to denounce threats against elected officials and candidates for office. Whether you are Republican, Democrat, Independent, or Conservative, that kind of rhetoric has no place in our democracy. I ask every single elected official in Erie County to stand with Supervisor Hartman against this threat and to applaud her for her bravery in the face of this intimidation.
“I also call on every media outlet to be more responsible and to refuse to broadcast or publish threats of violence. We all have a responsibility here.
“Finally, I encourage the United States Attorney, the FBI, and the District Attorney to use every available resource to investigate this crime and bring the entire weight of your offices to bear on the individual or individuals who committed this crime. If we don’t set an example now, the next pipe bomb might kill someone.”
