MEDIA – Dozens of small business owners, a few waving American flags and others carrying signs, staged a protest in front of the Delaware County Courthouse on Thursday calling on state and local officials allow them to reopen their businesses.
Roughly 75-100 people gathered for a little more than an hour to voice their displeasure with Gov. Tom Wolf’s three-phased plan to reopen the state in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
“I think I speak for all small business owners,” said Sandi Driscoll, owner of Scissor Works Hair Studio in Boothwyn. “We will not go down without a fight and let our government officials infringe on our 14th Amendment rights and the rights of my guests, who’ve been patiently waiting for me to open my doors. Maybe they all need a refresher course in what the Constitution really means. I want to thank all of you for allowing me to speak today and I hope that by me standing here gives us a fighting chance the ability to open our businesses safely.
The rally, organized on Facebook by Bethel Township Councilwoman Leah Hoopes, was not without incident. One man was taken into custody by Delaware County Park Police following a brief altercation with a counter protester. No charges had been filed by the time the rally ended, according to Scott Mahoney, the superintendent of the Park Police.
Another counter protestor, Kevin Corrigan of Marple, traded verbal barbs with several rally attendees including state Rep. Stephen Barrar R-160 of Upper Chichester, who was one of several people invited to speak at the event.
“I’m here because I love this country and I hate what’s being done to it,” Corrigan said. “I’m 63 and I want to live to 64.”
Barrar said he regretted the incident afterward.
“He came here to break ’em for me,” Barrar said. “You heard it. He got very personal in a lot of ways with me and maybe I lost my temper with him, which I shouldn’t have. I do have a bit of a temper but I just thought the people came here to peaceably assemble and he came to disrupt it and it kind of bothered me but it happens all the time. I wish that I had refrained from even talking to him because he really had nothing to say.”
The business owners had a lot to say and their frustration was palpable. Many were upset with what they saw as the governor’s arbitrary decision on what is an essential business and what is not.
The Wolf administration set three levels of restrictions on residents and non-essential businesses in its March shutdown order, enacted to mitigate the statewide spread of the deadly coronavirus: Red, the highest level, which Delaware County is currently under; yellow, a less restrictive but still cautiously protective, status; and green, a return to full open status, with some social-distancing recommendations in place.
Driscoll said that it has been 66 days since she closed her shop, which employs five stylists and one receptionist.
“Everyone is essential in our community,” Driscoll said. “What exactly is the criteria? How is Rita’s Water Ice or a cigar shop or even a curbside slushie more essential that a salon or a barber shop? “
Driscoll came to the rally to let her frustrations be known publicly and that safety is an integral part of her industry.
“My business has to be one of the cleanest out there,” Driscoll said. “If you don’t have a clean shop you get shut down by the state board.”
Kevin Farrell, owner of Stinger’s Restaurant & Bar in Secane and Stinger’s Waterfront in Ridley Park, came for the same reason.
“We have to make our voices heard,” Farrell said. “We’re not asking to open today or tomorrow, just an idea of when that will be and what will it involve? If we have to dial it back a bit, limit the number of people in our dining room, we’d be fine with that, but we have to have a plan in place ready to go. Waiting for a vaccine to open is not realistic.”
Farrell spoke to the crowd, as did Tina Hamilton from Recovery without Barriers in Upper Darby, a community based group that is dedicated to assisting people with drug addiction and their families. Other speakers included Rob Jordan and Ralph Shicatano. Jordan is one of two Republicans running for his party’s nomination to oppose U.S. Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, R-5 of Swarthmore. Shicatano is running for state House in the 161st District.
Another rally is set for May 28 in the parking lot at Marty Magee’s in Prospect Park.
“I think it went well” Hoopes said. “I wish the heckling would stop, but he has the right to be here. I wish people like that would listen and have some independent thought and realize we’re not the enemy. Tensions are high right now and it’s unfortunate because we’re all Americans. We want the right to speak our minds and be heard. That was our goal today.
“It’s not just business owners. It’s obviously the healthcare workers. It’s the senior citizens. It’s the abuse project that talks to me about being stuck at home and not being able to escape. You think about child abuse victims. They can’t go to mandated reporters because they’re not in schools Talk about teenagers, single parents, it’s not just a one-sided things. It’s collateral damage. It’s out of control and it doesn’t need to be this way.”
