Mark Moffa, the Democratic candidate for the 142nd Pennsylvania House District seat, issued a statement Tuesday after a conservative political news website ran a story citing a 1999 quote from the then-college student that appeared to call the Holocaust a “supposedly accepted historical fact.”
The Washington Free Beacon first published an article on the issue Monday afternoon. By Tuesday morning, it had made its way around local Democratic and Republican circles. Moffa, a Penndel Borough resident, issued a statement via social media and in an email to this news organization by afternoon.
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The quote which was pointed out by the Washington Free Beacon came in an editorial by Moffa that was published in a spring 1999 edition of the Franklin and Marshall College’s student newspaper, The College Reporter. Moffa was listed on the masthead as editor in chief of the publication.
The editorial defended the publication of a controversial ad for the Committee for Open Debate on the Holocaust that was published by the newspaper in March 1999. The founder of the group, Bradley Smith, offered $250,000 in the ad to the person who could set up a debate between him and the Anti-Defamation League that would air on national television. The holocaust denier, who died in 2016 at age 86, questioned whether the Nazi’s used gas chambers and committed genocide when killing millions of people who were Jewish and of other discriminated groups.
The publication of the ad came after racist, homophobic, sexist, and antisemitic epitaphs were found on the college campus, which sits in Lancaster City, and outraged the student body.
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Smith had spent years sending Committee for Open Debate on the Holocaust ads to college newspapers, drumming up controversy. Some newspapers did not print them, while others did.
“I decided to print the ad because the material in the ad is covered under free speech laws,” Moffa wrote in 1999.
“Asking us not to print an ad because it expresses an opinion that happens to be in the minority or challenges a supposedly accepted historical fact is wrong,” he added.
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A group of Moffa’s peers wrote the newspaper to disagree with his decision.
“There is a difference between the freedom to report, and the discretion of an editor in accepting advertisements that distort the truth,” they wrote in the letter that was published.
In his statement Tuesday, Moffa said “allegations have surfaced that I denied the Holocaust as a college student. This is a lie.” He added he affirmed the Holocaust happened.
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The candidate said he was a college newspaper editor who was facing a tough decision on whether to run an ad that was allowed under free speech laws, but made false statements.
“The decision I made then to run the ad in question was a mistake that I would not make today. As a young college student, I naively believed that free speech trumped all other considerations. I was wrong,” he said.
Moffa, who is running against Middletown Township Republican Joe Hogan in the November election, said he plans to meet with members of the Jewish faith to talk about how he can support efforts to confront antisemitism and hate.
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Hogan issued a statement on the issue: “I am deeply saddened to learn that my opponent expressed doubt about the Holocaust and offered a platform and comfort to antisemitic thought during his time as a newspaper editor. That is beyond the pale and leaves me deeply troubled by his value system and sense of judgement. Bucks County is a diverse place, and our way of life requires representatives that will represent all people equally and without bias. At a minimum, our community deserves better than someone who questions the Holocaust.”
State Rep. Frank Farry, the Republican who currently represents the 142nd House District and is running for the Sixth Senate District seat, said he was “appalled” by Moffa’s actions and words in 1999.
“The fact that Mark Moffa platformed antisemites as editor of a newspaper is unacceptable. The fact that he followed this up by referring to the Holocaust as a ‘supposed historical fact’ is inexcusable,” Farry said.
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After reading Moffa’s statement, Farry said the candidate should be “disqualified” from serving.
Moffa, the associate publisher for a small magazine company, was formerly a Penndel Borough Council member and lost a race for mayor. He has championed himself as a defender of abortion rights, supporter of public education, and a candidate focused on growing jobs and the economy.
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Moffa has received significant support from state Democrats and Bucks County Democrats, which have led to a district-wide door knocking campaign and TV ads for the candidate.
State Sen. Steve Santarsiero, the head of the Bucks County Democratic Committee, was not available for comment Tuesday, as he was observing Yom Kippur with his family.
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The redistricted 142nd Legislative District covers all of Langhorne Borough, Langhorne Manor Borough, Lower Southampton Township, and Penndel Borough and part of Middletown and Northampton townships.
Below is Moffa’s full statement:
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