Pants on Fire
When I write an article, I try my absolute best to inform the reader where I’m getting my information from, and include hyperlinks to that source. You cannot count on the Parkside GOP to do the same. After Johanna Budnik was spotted near the home of Councilwoman Shirley Purcival, I was sure a rebuttal to my most recent article, Back to Normal: A Culture of Cronyism, was forthcoming. Sure enough, Johanna’s typical verbal diarrhea complete with questionable assertions appeared on the fake Parkside Borough Facebook page run by GOP candidate Nick Capobianco.
Normally I wouldn’t respond to her rambling dumpster fire of a statement, but I do want to point out the ease in which they will outright LIE and not even blink an eye. They don’t feel the need to provide you with links to their source documents or prove the statements they make - they expect you to blindly follow. If you don’t? If you ask questions or criticize literally anything they do? They sic Johanna Budnik on you, regardless of your party affiliation, regardless of whether you’re even a politician - they have no problem sitting back while she drags residents left and right. After all, insulting residents (even ones that don’t live here anymore) who criticize you is straight out of Shirley Purcival’s playbook.
Of course, I’m not going to accuse them of outright lying if I didn’t have proof.
What they said:
“They never properly advertised this position for the borough secretary, before asking Kyle’s friend to apply, thru [sic] word of mouth.”
The reality:
The job opening was posted (on April 25) on the borough’s social media and website for over a week before I sent it to my friend (on May 4) and asked if she’d be interested.
Johanna goes on to further disparage my friend, a person she doesn’t know, including things she’d have no way of knowing, like what my friend’s child care or transportation situation might look like. The reality is that she spent her two days on the job being disrespected by Shirley Purcival, watching angry emails fly about the change in office hours to accommodate her (she didn’t require an accommodation, she was asked by Council President Anna Guy to work evening hours at the office), and Shirley Purcival asking when they could start interviewing for the permanent secretary before she strolled into the office with her fake smiles acting like she wasn’t just sending immensely disrespectful emails.
Ask yourself, why is Shirley Purcival talking about the private details of a former employee with Johanna Budnik? What happens if you get on Shirley’s bad side (it’s not hard)? Will everyone know about a code violation you got once, or a time police responded to your home? She’s already shown you she has no problem parading the private, consensual sex life of her opponents through a council meeting.
What they said:
“They have only hired Dems for borough employees. This is because they refuse to just not work with republicans, but to make sure everything is kept from the republicans on council.”
The reality:
With the exception of my friend as the temporary borough secretary, I’m pretty sure all of the employees that have been hired under the Democratic majority are actually Republicans. I say “pretty sure” because I have not checked the voting registrations of the new police officers. I am also not including Rudolphe Clarke or Brinker Simpson in that statement, as a business cannot register to vote.
The Democratic majority has repeatedly tried to work with the Republicans - appointing Doug Bull as the Council Vice President and making bipartisan committee appointments. It is clear from watching the council meetings that everything is not kept from Republicans on council, but in fact, Shirley Purcival is such a busybody that she is constantly interrupting the meetings to complain that she hasn’t been copied on every email, or informed about every decision made by every committee.
What they said:
“Anna, during her first year as president, tried to label everything in the newsletter as Dem this and Dem that, till she was told no politics. Now they just leave out the word, but it’s still all about them. Anyone see the Summer Splash in this newsletter?”
The reality:
This one is easy to fact check. All you have to do is browse the issues of The Parksider newsletter. What Johanna and Shirley are really saying here is, they don’t want to see any Democrats in the newsletter. The newsletter does not recap or advertise any partisan events, which is why you didn’t see any mention of the Parkside Dems 2022 Summer BBQ, our annual scholarship, or our 2023 Pride Party. There’s no advertisement for our upcoming BBQ on 8/27, the Superhero Walk on 9/30, or the Halloween Walk on 10/28. This is also why there’s no mention of the Summer Splash that the Parkside GOP held at the firehouse.
While the Communications Committee is composed solely of registered Democrats, it is not because Republicans aren’t allowed, they just haven’t joined. At Shirley’s request, several Republicans attended the first committee meeting, volunteered to write articles for the newsletter, never produced them and never came back. Shirley quit the Communications Committee before they even met at the first disagreement. Perhaps that’s an indication they aren’t willing to work with us.
What they said:
“Some don’t understand that appointments can be made at even years under the reorganization of council, as this is an at-will state.”
The reality:
Appointments can be made any time, not just at a reorganization meeting every two years. It only requires a majority vote. Otherwise, boroughs would be left unable to fill positions vacated mid-term by borough employees.
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I know what you’re thinking. Johanna is always full of crap. That doesn’t mean the Parkside GOP lies outright. She doesn’t even live here after all. I would argue that most of the Parkside GOP committee isn’t a bunch of liars, but they are complicit in it. GOP council candidate Capobianco did share Johanna’s nonsense to his fake borough Facebook page after all. GOP Candidate Sarah Haynes made her friend Johanna an admin on her Parkside Community FB group for months, where she spouted her hateful rhetoric and disparaged Parkside residents, until, after months of pleading by residents, she was booted from the group. She has moved on to another private Parkside FB group where she still spews her bullshit.
It is also not just Johanna and Shirley. Just the other day, Candidate Sarah Haynes stated on Facebook that the Parkside Democrats did not know former councilman Jason Stamis is the husband of former borough secretary Timika Stamis until after she quit. You might be thinking, how does she know what we know? The answer is that she doesn’t, but she has no problem just making it up.
Jason Stamis was appointed to Parkside Borough council in 2009 to fill a vacancy; A year where all 4 of the Parkside Democratic council members lived in Parkside. He served on council through 2015. If that’s not enough to convince you, consider that an article appeared on page 2 of the March 2022 issue of The Parksider highlighting the newly appointed secretary, included a reference to her husband Jason.
This isn’t the first time either. Sarah Haynes seemingly made it her personal mission to convince Parkside residents that Council President Anna Guy bullied and harassed Timika into quitting her job. She went so far as to send direct messages to residents spreading this garbage. She admits to making the accusation before having any actual evidence. Accuse now, prove later. Her proof? This email, showing Anna Guy very professionally reprimanding Ms. Stamis for sending an email to all of council asking them to hire none other than Sarah Haynes to cover her medical absence as borough secretary, after Ms. Guy had already explained to her that it is not appropriate.
Timika goes on to accuse Anna of treating her poorly because she is a Black Republican, stating specifically that Anna’s treatment of her changed once she learned of her political affiliation, in which Shirley Purcival gleefully piles on. As a friend of Anna Guy, I can tell you that she was actually very much delighted in Timika’s company, and did her best to make her feel appreciated and welcome. You can see evidence of this in Shirley Purcival’s RTK request from November 2022 here, here, here, here, and here.
You should know that the Parkside Dems have always been aware that Timika is a Republican - they voted to hire her anyway. Despite what they claim, we don’t care if you’re a Republican. It’s why we have offered no criticisms of Councilman Doug Bull. While we may not always agree with his position, or the way he votes, he doesn’t use his position to denigrate and talk down to others, and there’s no indication he’s using his position to put money into his own pockets.
So where is this evidence of Anna Guy making racially charged statements toward Timika, or her nitpicking and tedious corrections, or literally any sort of harassment of any kind? I’m not sure. Sarah Haynes says her RTK (that is not publicly available yet) shows many, many more examples, but plays the victim when asked where they are. Interesting to note that she believes we’re investigating every Parkside resident to find their defects (dramatic, much?), but somehow don’t know who Jason Stamis is. I imagine this is an allusion to us calling her out for inviting residents to the home of a pedophile.
Not beholden to just outright lying, Sarah Haynes doesn’t mind stretching the truth. While she absolutely was appointed as the deputy tax collector for a short period of time in 2022 (despite their assertion that Democrats don’t hire Republicans), bonding of the tax collector does not require extensive background checks, as she asserts. For context, my PA Social Work license requires a FBI background check, complete with fingerprinting. In the August 2023 council meeting, borough secretary Bob Platt informs council he is fully bonded, no fingerprints required, just some basic information. PA law (see Section 4) only requires a surety bond, which in plain terms, is basically an insurance policy. Is stating she underwent “extensive” background checks meant to imply she has no criminal history? That is patently FALSE. Her charges are 10+ years old, for disorderly conduct and stealing from Walmart, but a criminal history nonetheless. I have no interest in passing judgment, as I know it can be incredibly difficult to turn your life around in the face of addiction, and she deserves kudos for that.
Lastly, it would appear Sarah Haynes also opts for good old fashioned deceit. While running a write-in campaign asking Democrats to nominate her on their Democratic primary ballot, Sarah Haynes also created this Facebook group for Parkside Democrats. I’m not sure why. There is no disclaimer stating it is not run by the actual Parkside Democratic Committee. Is it some failed attempt to trick Democratic voters? If you’re looking for the actual Facebook group for Parkside Democrats, registered Democrats in Parkside can join here.
