Bucks’s leading Democrats lose in court (again); transparency wins
Bucks County Democratic Commissioner Diane Ellis-Marseglia came to national fame during the 2024 presidential election for saying, “We all know that precedent by a court doesn’t matter anymore in this country, and people violate laws any time they want. So for me, if I violate a law, it’s because I want a court to pay attention.” She was trying to overthrow Donald Trump’s win in Bucks County and Dave McCormick’s Senate win in Pennsylvania by counting invalid mail-in ballots. She lost that battle and embarrassed herself by waging it so flagrantly. But as for getting a court’s attention by disrespecting the law, she got her wish last week in the Bucks County Court of Common Pleas whose Judge Stephen Corr ruled against her in my open records case. Corr ordered Ellis-Marseglia to turn over messages from her unpublished secondary government email account after years of trying to hide them.
Transparency should not be optional when you are an elected official. Yet in Bucks County, Ellis-Marseglia and her Democratic colleague Bob Harvie are determined to treat transparency as a burden rather than a responsibility. From silencing Health Director (and medical doctor) David Damsker during Covid, to intentionally timing out right-to-know requests, to using legal maneuvers to hide public information, to trying to count invalid ballots, their actions raise serious concerns about what’s happening in Doylestown.
My legal battle with Bucks County government is the latest glaring example of the Democratic commissioners trying to fight transparency. In an effort to determine why Damsker’s guidance on Covid was overridden by a stricter guidance, I simply asked for communications from Ellis-Marseglia’s nonpublished government email account. These records should be accessible under Pennsylvania’s Right-to-Know Law. Instead of heeding that law, the county chose to sue two of its own residents, dragging them to court rather than just releasing the documents. Imagine your own local government using your own tax dollars to silence your attempts to access information from that very government.
To make matters worse, the commissioners asked a judge to ignore state law and set a legal precedent affecting every single person in Pennsylvania, making the state less transparent for all of us. Fortunately, the judge upheld the law and ruled in my favor. This is not about politics. This is about principle and the law.
Transparency should not depend on which party holds the majority. Yet too often in Bucks County, Democratic officials treat open records laws as optional, hoping residents either grow tired and intimidated enough to stop asking questions or simply can’t afford the legal bills anymore. It’s a disturbing yet familiar pattern.
The main question everyone should be asking themselves is: What are the commissioners trying to hide? Why not provide the emails if there’s nothing to conceal? Also, why is Ellis-Marseglia even using a highly guarded secondary email account to conduct county business? Public officials are entrusted to serve, not to shield themselves from accountability. When leaders hide their decisions and sue the very people they represent, how does anyone gain trust back?
Instead of facing any consequences to their actions, they are rewarded by party leaders with encouragement to run for higher office. The Bucks County Democratic Party, chaired by State Senator Steve Santarsiero, decided to endorse Harvie for Congressman in the First Congressional District and Joe Kahn for Bucks County District Attorney. Khan was the solicitor who advised Ellis-Marseglia to sue parents to hide emails using taxpayer money. Imagine what these two men would do with any more power than they currently hold. It’s scary to think about.
Democrats like to campaign on accountability and openness. But in Bucks County, they seem to abandon those values once in office. Whether it’s hiding Covid-related decisions, or pushing back against basic record requests, or counting invalid ballots to sway elections, their actions paint a picture of a government that answers only to itself. If Bucks County Democrats truly believe in the democratic values they claim to uphold, they should stop fighting transparency and start practicing it.
Politicians who don’t cannot be trusted to hold higher office.
Jamie Walker is a former teacher and a Central Bucks School District mom of three.
