Ferguson supervisors vote against supporting Rep. Conklin’s ‘reactive’ domestic violence bill
After discussing the resolution for three meetings, the Ferguson Township board of supervisors unanimously voted against supporting a state lawmaker’s bill that would prohibit people convicted of domestic violence crimes from holding public office in Pennsylvania.
Rep. Scott Conklin, D-Rush Township, is seeking support for the bill — which would be a constitutional amendment put to voters if approved by the General Assembly — from boards in municipalities across Centre County.
Ferguson Township’s board stressed that their vote against the resolution doesn’t mean they’re not against domestic violence or abusive relationships.
“Domestic violence and abuse of any kind is beyond abhorrent and destructive to individuals, to relationships and to families on the whole. Any tangible assistance that can be provided to not only aid survivors and victims of domestic violence, but also proactively try to prevent abusive environments should be promoted and enacted,” Supervisor Hilary Caldwell said.
Conklin could not immediately be reached for comment Wednesday. In a tweet referencing criticism of the bill, he wrote that he will “stand with and prioritize the needs of the victims, not their abusers. These offenders should not be permitted to hold such positions of power, allowing them to influence public policy on the very same laws they themselves have violated.”
During their meeting Tuesday, the board heard from three members of the public who all were against the resolution.
“To hear all of us … speak here, coming from different lived experiences, and therefore looking at this legislation through different lenses, and for many of us to have intense questions about the efficacy and intention of this bill tells me that in its foundation, it lacks structural integrity on its own,” Caldwell said.
Each supervisor also explained their concerns. Supervisor Patti Stephens felt the bill is a “reactive piece of legislation as opposed to proactive.” She worried it would prevent people from getting the benefit of the doubt, seeking help and changing. Chair Laura Dininni said she previously thought the bill would prevent domestic violence offenders from becoming police officers. Had the bill done that, she said she would have been more supportive.
Supervisor Tierra Williams said she’s not interested in “shortcut politics.” She said there are many things surrounding domestic violence that need to be fixed, but the bill tries to take a shortcut.
“This bill here is trying to make a shortcut to try and not fix all the stuff that we actually need to fix, and I’m not interested in doing that. I’m interested in doing things that move us forward, but this isn’t it,” Williams said. “This particular resolution does not help people who’ve been afflicted by domestic violence.”
People who have been convicted of crimes already have a lot of obstacles facing them, Williams said. She questioned why they should add another one, when the likelihood of someone with a conviction running for office is low.
And if they do, voters have a choice.
“If you don’t want that person, just don’t vote for them. And what if they get enough votes? Then maybe some people saw something that you or I or somebody didn’t see, but if this person is saying like, ‘I’m trying to give back to the community,’ I just don’t understand why we need to put another barrier in place.”
Members of the public speak against the bill
Ferguson resident Geoff Landers-Nolan is a mental health professional and previously worked in domestic and sexual violence fields. In a letter to the board, which was read during the meeting, he said though he appreciated the intent of the bill, he was hesitant to support it.
In an previous interview with the Centre Daily Times, Conklin said that many domestic violence cases are dropped by the survivor and only a small portion of cases go through the court system, which he said are the worst cases.
“When you understand that the majority of all domestic violence cases are dropped, that the only most severe cases are even taken to trial, then once … they’re starting to be prosecuted, out of that small percentage, a great number of those are pled to a lesser crime. Now you’re looking at a really small amount of individuals. And these are the individuals, to get to the point of going to trial and being convicted, are the worst of the worst abusers,” Conklin said.
Landers-Nolan said this assumption is dangerous. He feared that people who are already marginalized and targeted by the legal system would be disproportionately targeted by the bill.
“People of color, LGBTQ+ communities and poor people will be disproportionately targeted by this bill. Ease of conviction does not correlate with the likelihood of guilt in our criminal justice system, as it is constructed on the foundation of oppression,” he wrote. “I greatly support (the bill’s) intent, but I feel it must not rest on the validity of the criminal justice system that is fundamentally biased against specific populations and a poor tool in stopping intimate partner violence.”
State College council member Divine Lipscomb is the first Black and formerly incarcerated council member for the borough. He also wasn’t in support of the bill.
“When we’re talking about enacting policies, we have to remember ... the long term impacts, right? I have been home from incarceration for 19 years. I have not committed an act of violence in well over 10 years,” he said. “And when we talk about those differences, right, we’re saying is someone who sold drugs can still hold office but someone who was violent in their past can’t. And essentially what you’re saying is that one person has redeemable qualities and the other person does not. And that in itself is, whether we believe it or not, is a form of discrimination.”
He said it’s important to have this conversation and look at all the aspects that can ensure everyone receives justice and that everyone is able to move forward with their lives.
Shannon Holliday, a Ferguson Township Planning Commission member, spoke against the bill, noting that she has experienced domestic violence. She believes people can change and they shouldn’t be held guilty by the actions of their past, in terms of this bill.
“I feel that if something like that was to go into legislation or was to be enacted, it will prohibit people who have committed domestic violence in the past, served their time in incarceration and became reformed from that behavior, from being able to live their life to exemplify that reformulation, if you will,” Holliday said.
The bill has been supported locally by the Centre County Commissioners and Centre Safe. A resolution supporting the bill is under consideration by the Patton Township board of supervisors.
This story was originally published July 6, 2022 at 2:24 PM.
