A Montgomery County resident listed Governor Josh Shapiro of Abington as a “Decision Maker” in a recent petition regarding inflammatory statements made by Jennifer Stomsky, Ambler’s elected tax collector, municipal leader for Ambler’s Democratic Committee, and former Area Vice-Chair of Area 14 of the Montgomery County Democratic Committee.
On Wednesday, September 10, Stomsky posted the following on her personal Facebook page:
In the comment section of her post, she wrote, “let’s make some more martyrs.”
Amy Hughes Kelly, Ambler Borough councilperson and chair of the public safety committee, responded that she could not argue with Stomsky’s statement:
On Sunday, AroundAmbler.com sought comment from Stomsky, Ambler Borough Council President Glynnis Siskind, Montgomery County Recorder of Deeds and Ambler’s mayor Jeanne Sorg, and Board Chair of the Montgomery County Democratic Committee Jason Salus, among others. Initially, only Salus addressed her comments:
I personally, and all Democrats, should follow the lead of Governor Shapiro.
We don’t cherry-pick condemning anyone advocating for, or engaging in, political violence, ever, period, full stop.
Political violence is an assault on our democracy whether it’s the firebombing of the family residence of our Jewish Governor on Passover or the cold-blooded killing of a social media influencer on a college campus.
No matter the alleged provocation, ideology or political party—no matter how strenuously we may disagree—political violence is always reprehensible and should be universally condemned without hesitation or qualification.
The same day, Around Ambler published an opinion piece calling for numerous resignations. On Monday, Stomsky announced her resignation from her position as vice-chair of Area 14 of the Democratic Party. She also posted an apology on her personal Facebook page for the comments.
A follow-up article notes that the mayors of 13 boroughs in Montgomery County, including Sorg of Ambler, issued a joint statement condemning Laura Smith, an elected official in Towamencin Township, after she made a Nazi salute on a video in January. According to the story, Stomsky did not accept Smith’s explanation memo, and chastised Montgomery County Commissioner Tom Dibello for leaving a laughing emoji on Smith’s post.
Later on Monday, Sorg indirectly addressed Stomsky’s statement:
Political violence and those who advocate it are an anathema to our nation’s values and to the rule of law. Any public official who irresponsibly makes comments advocating violence and those who support it should resign their offices immediately.
Every elected official in Ambler has a duty to serve all residents with fairness, dignity, and respect. No one who encourages violence against political opponents can credibly continue in office.
Free speech does not extend to the use of public authority to promote or encourage criminal behavior. We must be crystal clear: this is never acceptable.
To the residents of Ambler, I want to be equally clear: as your Mayor I stand against any suggestion of political violence. The safety of our community is, and will always remain, my top priority. I have spoken with our Chief of Police to ensure officers remain vigilant and alert in protecting our residents.
I deeply regret that our town borough must confront this situation. But I cannot reconcile such comments with my sense of justice, nor with the trust our residents place in their public officials.
Salus later called for Stomsky’s resignation:
The inscription on the Finance Building in Harrisburg reads: “All public service is a trust given in faith and accepted in honor.”
Every party leader and elected official has a unique responsibility to turn down the rhetoric, not raise the temperature.
Political violence and incitement have no place in our public square and no home in the Montgomery County Democratic Committee. We don’t cherry-pick condemning anyone advocating for, or engaging in, political violence, ever, period, full stop. Calls for violence are a breach of the public’s trust and must be met with unequivocal denouncement.
Today I am calling on Jennifer Stomsky to resign all of her positions in the Democratic Party and her elected position as Ambler’s Tax Collector.
On the September 15 agenda for Whitpain Township’s board of supervisors is the appointment of a new deputy tax collector for the township. According to Resolution 1610, Whitpain Township Tax Collector Melissa Wanczyk has removed Stomsky from the office and appointed Natalie Cormier to the position.
During a speech to the Eradicate Hate Global Summit in Pittsburgh today, Shapiro condemned the recent uptick of politically-motivated violence.
“As I have made clear each and every time, this type of violence has no place in our society, regardless of what motivates it or who pulls the trigger, who throws the Molotov cocktail or who wields the weapon,” Shapiro said. “It doesn’t matter if it’s coming from one side or from the other, directed at one party or another, one person or another, it is all wrong, and it makes us all less safe.”
Shapiro, whose Governor’s Residence was attacked earlier this year, also criticized President Trump’s response after the Kirk shooting, as quoted by NBC News.
“He claimed, in the wake of the killing of Charlie Kirk, that he wanted to heal this nation,” Shapiro said. “You don’t heal this nation by attacking your fellow Americans, by calling some of your fellow Americans ‘scum’ — his word choice, not mine. … The president using this as a pretext to go and undermine people’s constitutional rights, that is dangerous. It is wrong, and it needs to stop.”
The full comments from his speech are here.
From the petition, titled “Jennifer Stomsky Must Resign“:
Following the assassination of political activist Charlie Kirk, Ambler’s elected Tax Collector, Jennifer Stomsky, posted on Facebook “Let’s make some more martyrs” and told Democrats to “GET A F*****G SPINE” and that she was tired of being told that “violence is not the answer,” stating that “history is filled with blood.”
Her disgusting comments are immoral and undermine our values. There is no place in our local government for elected officials who promote violence, as she has. She needs to step down as Ambler Tax Collector. Jennifer Stomsky should NOT be trusted to work for the citizens of Ambler.
The petition has 637 signees at the time of this writing. 6ABC’s video coverage is below:
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