Oh Joe Gale. Once I thought he showed promise. But it sadly has become apparent over time that he is nuttier than a fruitcake and so divisive. He seems hell bent on his personal agenda, which also seems as clear as mud some days, doesn’t it? And I find it fascinating that he does all this while living with his mommy, and what happens when he brings a girl home? For those wondering why I write about a Montgomery County Commissioner, it’s because I spent most of my life living in Lower Merion Township, Montgomery County and when he was first running people I know and respect told me how wonderful he was blah, blah, blah and how he would be terrific for Montgomery County.
Wrong.
In Italy they call men like Joe Gale a mammone which literally translates to “mommy’s boy”. There have been a lot of articles written about mammoni (plural of mammone) and I find it all fascinating. Some of the articles ruminate about these guys having Peter Pan complexes. And CBS 60 Minutes even did a piece on mammoni years ago and maybe we should suggest Joe Gale for an updated piece?
Now I am not saying I have a problem with Joe because he’s young. One of our Chester County Commissioners, Josh Maxwell, is not much older than Joe Gale and somehow he manages to live on his own and is married and is an adult (and a heck of a nice guy too.) Josh became Mayor of Downingtown at 26. Sadly, Joe Gale is no Josh Maxwell.
Joe Gale doesn’t have emotional maturity, he seems instead somewhat stunted, and isn’t that sad?
Now I am not saying that the other two Montgomery County Commissioners are prizes, because oh hell to the no they are not. Montgomery County is a political swamp in need of a good draining and cleaning. And Montgomery County has surpassed the dysfunctional prizes once held by Delaware County ( see the chronicles of Delco Tom Paine before they disappear. Peter Porcupine is still a genius.)
Now if Joe Gale actually did anything for Montgomery County residents, well I probably would shut my mouth. But all he does is push his own somewhat clear as mud agenda from the comfort of mommy and daddy’s house. In June he released a very offensive statement concerning rioting, looting, and Black Lives Matter by any standards conservative or liberal in my humble opinion:
If you objected to his words, you were blocked on social media. He blocked me, which I realized on June 2, 2020 but I can’t say definitively it occured in June or before because I don’t follow him THAT closely. He’s not the first politician who has blocked me. I found myself blocked (for example) by our PA Lieutenant Governor, the Lurch-Like John Fetterman in July, 2019. Amusingly enough, I am still blocked. I just took this screenshot:
Now I don’t really care if John Fetterman blocks me. Or Joe Gale for that matter. But it is damn amusing that hater of everything non-Trumpian, Joe Gale would want to be like John Fetterman.
Anyway, constituents and others including my pal Caroline from Savvy Main Line took baby Joe to Federal Court and I applaud them:
It made for some interesting media and the Montgomery County Solicitor declined to defend Joe. Here are some of the articles I have read in the past few months:
Glenside Local: Opinion | Joe Gale finally gets the attention he deserved June 3rd, 2020 | By Kevin Tierney
More Than The Curve: Montgomery County Commissioner Joe Gale accuses fellow commissioner Dr. Val Arkoosh of only social distancing for the camera May 20th, 2020 | By Kevin Tierney
More than the Curve: Opinion | Joe Gale finally gets the attention he deserved June 2nd, 2020 | By Kevin Tierney
North Penn Now: Local Elected Officials Sign Statement Condemning ‘Racist Remarks’ Made By Commissioner Joe Gale Keith Heffintrayer•Tue, Jun 09, 2020, 9:01 AM
WHYY/NPR: Montco commissioner faces federal lawsuit for blocking constituents on social media
By Zachariah Hughes June 30, 2020
Oh one thing from 2019:
This Is Lower Merion And Narberth: Joe Gale Is Given 72 Hours To Retract And Apologize
October 13, 2019 by Gerry
Here is the court order (renamed by moi for brevity and wit):
Yes I got into PACER. First Amendment victories thrill me.
So hey this is what Joe Gale thinks of all of us:
My gosh Joe Gale, isn’t the First Amendment marvelous? I mean I know you think it should be subjective and all that but it gives you the right to literally call a divine Main Line lady, Caroline O’Halloran and the rest of us who simply do not agree with you the “Marxist Mob”. My gosh my golly I have not been referred to as anything so delightful since a white sneaker wearing tea partier spat in my face and called me a Socialist years ago (while I was a card carrying Republican, no less.)
So Joe Gale started out like a true Alex P. Keaton at 20 running for Plymouth Township Council I think it was. He lost. Ran for something again there in 2013 and withdrew. He ran for Montgomery County Commissioner in 2015. He has more political experience if you want to call it that, than actual work and life experience. He worked for about a year at a clerk position at Montgomery County Recorder of Deeds. He then had job for three years at some developer. Briefly in 2018 he ran for Lieutenant Governor. So the job he has held the longest is Montgomery County Commissioner, but what has he actually done?
Back when he first wanted to be a Montgomery County Commissioner I found his Alex P. Keaton-ish self meh but palatable. After all considering the legions of skunks who had been Montgomery County Commissioners how bad he could be?
Well….
Let’s look at how he has approached COVID-19? Is it just me or does he act like it’s not real? And look at all the photos he poses for, including with old people which makes you wonder is he doing contact tracing? Or is anyone doing contact tracing on him?
Joe Gale’s website is a marvel of spin and oh the giggles. However, he marches all over social media angrier than Trump and that is saying something. Do they tweet to each other from the potty? Oh and his Twitter account @VoteJoeGalePA says “Joe Gale’s Personal Twitter Account. This is Not a Public Platform or Official Government Page.” Oh alrighty Joe and I have a bridge you can buy in Brooklyn….but I digress….
A First Amendment victory against petty political tyrants like Montgomery County Commissioner Joe Gale is to be celebrated. However, I have zero sympathy for anyone in Montgomery County if you let this mammone get re-elected.
This post is brought to you by my First Amendment rights. If you live in Montgomery County, do yourself a favor and DON’T vote Joe Gale whenever he’s up again or for whatever he tries to run for next. Mail him some new binkies and call it a day. Or demand he gets recalled. There has to be a process for that somewhere right?
And all you loverly politicians out there who like to block constituents in Chester County? This ruling against Joe Gale is a very much more local not so distant legal precedent.
Peace out.
Right: the principle is clear that elected officials’ social media accounts are public platforms subject to free speech, not personal or partisan possessions. This was borne out locally in the case of former congressman (PA-06) Ryan Costello, who in 2018 blocked some constituents, was threatened with a lawsuit by ACLU, and consequently stopped the blocking… and decided not to run for reelection.