Sep 16, 2020 4 min read

In what was billed as a live-streamed press conference in York advocating for changes in Pennsylvania election law, Gov. Tom Wolf Tuesday addressed another topic: his handling of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

The day before, federal Judge William S. Stickman IV, an appointee of President Donald Trump, declared as unconstitutional emergency actions Wolf and Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine took in ordering the shuttering of some businesses and restricting gatherings that kept candidates from holding rallies, fundraisers and politicking door to door.

“Our early and decisive action saved lives,” said Wolf, a Democrat. “While the federal government dithered, Pennsylvania took action. Our hospitals were never overwhelmed, and research tells us thousands of lives were saved.

“So would we, in hindsight, do some things differently? Of course.

“Would I follow the irresponsible demands of the president or the Republican Legislature? Absolutely not.

“The vast majority don’t buy into conspiracy theories or fear mongering from the president or Harrisburg Republicans about this virus. They wear masks. They keep distance. They are smart about how they interact with others. They are responsible.”

As the death toll in the United States reached 195,000, Wolf called Pennsylvania both “reopened” and “a leader in the region in how we’ve kept deaths and sickness low.”

Since March, the state has witnessed 7,875 deaths and 146,214 cases of COVID-19.

“Containing the virus is the only way to protect our health and keep our economy going,” he continued.

The Wolf administration is both appealing “as far as necessary” Stickman’s declaratory judgment, and, in the short-term, asking for a stay until a higher court can weigh in.

The president re-tweeted several messages about the court case, for which the governor took him to task, and asked Republicans to “stop playing politics with this disease and stop fighting me.”

Washington County Commissioners Diana Irey Vaughan and Nick Sherman, both of whom voted to join in the litigation, on Monday hailed Stickman’s ruling.

She called it “a victory for businesses in Washington County” while he saw it as precedent-setting for how governors would respond in future pandemics.

Stickman, however, dismissed Washington, Greene, Fayette and Butler counties, all of whom have majority-Republican boards, as plaintiffs in the suit.

Irey Vaughan on Tuesday reiterated that Washington County incurred no legal bill for its participation.

As the case moves on to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, “We will remain a resource and supporter for the challenges,” Irey Vaughan messaged in response to an inquiry.

Greene County Commission Chairman Mike Belding said the counties’ interest lay in a “stable economy and the ability of our businesses to survive during a strenuous time when people are not out and about because of the forced closure and stay-at-home orders from the governor.”

Instead of “crushing these businesses,” the Greene commissioners “hoped to offer them the best opportunity of survival and aid entrepreneurs who were interested in starting businesses while protecting our constitutional and individual rights to make choices for ourselves.”

Belding said he saw a difference in making choices in a healthy way, adopting all federal Centers for Disease Control standards such as wearing masks, but that state government put in place more restrictions than the federal health mandates.

He also saw disparities in mandatory closures for non-life sustaining businesses and those that were permitted to remain open, giving the example of the Skyview Drive-in theater in Carmichaels, which includes a pizzeria that had to close while a nearby eatery was permitted to remain open. A Waynesburg hair salon, Classy Cuts, also found itself on the winning side of the federal suit after its owner testified applying for a waiver from the state was an exercise in futility.

“Going forward, we knew the counties would prevent egregious overstepping of constitutional law in the future,” Belding said.