Bucks County Commissioners Bob Harvie and Gene DiGirolamo addressed the recent assassination of conservative activist and commentator Charlie Kirk and the rising tide of political violence.
Both commissioners on Wednesday condemned the assassination of political figures and called for an end to violence. Commissioner Diane Ellis-Marseglia, a Democrat, left the meeting early.
“This violence needs to stop,” said DiGirolamo, a Republican. “We’re not going to have people who are going to want to run for office.”
DiGirolamo reflected on the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy, recalling his experience as a 14-year-old at St. Charles Elementary School in Bensalem Township. He said the event brought people together regardless of their political affiliation.
“It was like we all came together, all of us, no matter what political party we were,” DiGirolamo said. “I mean, it was just kind of, even at the age of 14, I realized that everybody was thinking the same thing, that that was wrong and it was sad.”
DiGirolamo noted Kirk had appeared at the Christian Life Center in Bensalem Township last year.
The commissioner, a former state representative for Bensalem Township, cited other recent acts of political violence, including an attack on Gov. Josh Shapiro’s residence, assassination attempts on President Donald Trump and the shootings of Democratic state senators in Minnesota.
“I really think there’s danger out there right now for everybody,” DiGirolamo said, asking residents to keep Kirk’s family and elected officials in their prayers.
Harvie, the commissioners’ chairperson and a Democrat, said political violence stems from inflammatory rhetoric from both sides of the political spectrum.
“That violence doesn’t just come from a vacuum,” Harvie said. “That violence comes from words and actions that people on both sides over the years and decades have taken to demonize people who were of a different party or who may have felt a different way about an issue.”
Harvie described the atmosphere of the meeting as an example of why qualified candidates avoid public service. He said commissioners are often subjected to personal attacks and hostile rhetoric during public comment.
Harvie cited the bipartisan nature of the current commission and noted that more than 90 percent of votes since 2020 have been unanimous, despite the commissioners representing different political parties.
“We know that,” Harvie said. “We hear just from other county commissioners and county council people around the commonwealth, sort of how unusual that is to have three commissioners, two different parties who get along, because we do focus on overwhelmingly the job we have to serve the people of this county.”
During public comment, several residents referenced Kirk’s death. Robert McClain, of Milford Township, connected the assassination to broader societal issues, calling it a “national dilemma” and advocating for religious solutions.
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“The assassination of Charlie Kirk and the murder of a young Ukrainian woman in North Carolina leaves one shocked and questioning what is wrong with our nation,” McClain said.
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