Farry, Kiley Race Turns Ugly

The race to represent the 142nd State Legislative District turned ugly late in the campaign.

The campaign for Democrat Gina Kiley sent a press release to the media last week calling out incumbent Republican Frank Farry for handing out firearms shooting targets at Old Langhorne Harvest Day last month.

Kiley said in a statement that she was “shocked” Farry would hand out targets at the family-friendly event.

“The use of tax dollars to distribute a document of this nature during a family event shows a lack of judgment that contradicts his campaign slogan about putting community first,” she said.

Farry said in response to the allegations that he has given out the targets, among other items, at events for his entire time in office.

Also last week, it came to light that political action committee Middletown United, which previously financially backed the Kiley campaign, was late in filing paperwork with the Pennsylvania Department of State. A spokesman from the state said last week that the group had missed its filing deadline.

The race between Kiley and Farry, who are both attorneys, got even nastier over the weekend when the Kiley campaign posted on Facebook that Farry accepted illegal campaign contributions from corporations.

On Monday, Farry called the allegations “100 percent false” and asked the Kiley campaign for proof.

As of press time, the post on Kiley’s campaign Facebook page has been removed and she did not respond to requests for comment.

“She’s basically stated I’ve broken the law,” Farry said. “They’ve defamed me.”

A quick review of Farry’s latest campaign finance reports do not appear to show any illegal campaign contributions. However, there are at least two contributions from political action committees that represent employees of Verizon and Comcast.

Farry also said he was contacting Middletown Township police after several signs have gone missing and one was badly damaged in Levittown.

“It shows what kind of race they are running,” he said.

Political insiders on both sides of the ticket have told LevittownNow.com Republican campaigns have noted signs in Lower Bucks County have gone missing or have been discovered damaged in recent weeks.

The race for the 142 District has been one of the most competitive in Lower Bucks County. The race started off with Ritchie Webb and Kiley facing off in the Democratic primary. Farry was unopposed on the Republican ticket.