Scott Township Commissioner Paul Abel, who came under fire for comments he made about Pennsylvania Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine, has resigned.
At the end of a nearly three-hour meeting June 9, Mr. Abel said he was “tired of listening to a guy dressed up like a woman,” referring to Dr. Levine, a transgender woman.
A group of residents called Building Equity, Diversity + Inclusion in Scott this week demanded his resignation.
In a letter to the board of commissioners, dated June 16, Mr. Abel officially resigned.
“At the end of the long and stressful meeting on June 9, 2020, I made a sarcastic remark and it clearly backfired. I sincerely regret the comment I made. It was insensitive, but it was not an attack on gender identity and there was no hatred or malice behind it,” Mr. Abel said in the letter.
“Residents took to social media to voice their opinions and vent their anger. That is their right, but others chose to knock on my door and call my house day and night,” Mr. Abel stated in the letter. “If I was the only one affected by this, I would hang in there and get on with township business, but I cannot stand by and have my family subjected to that type of anger and harassment.”
Commission President Dave Calabria said Mr. Abel came to his house late on Tuesday with his resignation letter.
Deana Carpenter, freelance writer: suburbanliving@post-gazette.com.
First Published: June 17, 2020, 5:41 p.m.
