Candidate for election in Beaver Falls finds postcard in mailbox with unsettling message

BEAVER FALLS — It’s election season, but one candidate in Beaver Falls found a postcard in her mailbox and the message is not sitting well with the community.

“The postcard that went out, it’s trying to make it look like I’m being racist I want to defund the police, I’m in Black Lives Matter all of that,” said Vanessa Taylor who’s a city council member-elect.

Taylor is upset — in fact, she said her mind is blown by what she found in her mailbox. A postcard with a picture of her with two other Black women who all won the primary election. The question underneath was “Is this the change you want?”

“Did I walk in a march? Yes. Do I have a right to do that, yes. But do I stand up totally for Black Lives Matter and forget about Caucasians, no,” Taylor said.

She said she ran for city council for change in her city, but now feels she’s being attacked. A letter also went out to State Representative Aaron Bernstine with similar messaging.

“There is nothing wrong with us running. It’s our time, you see women stepping up everywhere women of color,” Taylor said.

The postcard did not name any candidates to vote for, but the letter did.

Bernstine encouraged voters to write in to current Beaver Falls Mayor George Quay, who lost to one of the women pictured in the primary this past May.

“Less than 600 people turned out to vote and I think everybody was like ‘wow, how did that happen,’” Quay said.

Quay told Channel 11 he’s not ready to be done and is campaigning as a write-in. He believes his work speaks for itself but said he’s not behind the postcards although he doesn’t see the issue.

“Is that bad that the people know that’s the agenda they are looking forward to? I don’t know if that’s a bad thing,” Quay said.

Taylor told Channel 11 that that’s not her agenda and we do not know who sent the postcard.

We did ask Bernstine about his letter. He said he regularly endorses candidates through letters with campaign messaging and supports the current leaders as write-ins on Tuesday.

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