Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf lashed out Wednesday after it was reported that his administration’s health secretary was teased at a weekend fair.
The fair in Bloomsburg, Columbia County included a dip tank attraction aimed at someone posing as Dr. Rachel Levine, who leads the state’s coronavirus response, among other health initiatives.
Levine, 63, is among a small group of openly transgender government officials in the U.S.
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“Hate has no place in Pennsylvania,” Wolf wrote in response to reports of the fair incident.
Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf, left, lashed out this week after Health Secretary Rachel Levine was teased at a weekend fair in Columbia County.
In a Twitter message Wednesday, Wolf described the dump tank situation as “transphobic” behavior and defended Levine, alleging that she has been the target of “unrelenting” attacks despite her job qualifications.
“I want to talk about the transphobic incident related to the Bloomsburg Fair,” wrote Wolf, starting a Twitter thread. “This is the latest in a relentless series of vile insults directed at Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine, a highly qualified and accomplished member of my administration.”
After the fair, its operator, the Bloomsburg Fair Association, posted a message on social media, alleging that the Levine impersonator was “a success and raised a lot of money for local fire companies,” according to KDKA-TV of Pittsburgh.
The person working inside the dip tank was later identified as the main township fire chief, David Broadt, who told the Press Enterprise in Bloomsburg that he simply put on a blonde wig, “looking for a Marilyn Monroe look,” but he followed the example of the members of the crowd. he began to say that he looked like Levine.
Others who spoke out against the incident included US Senator Bob Casey, D-Pa., And State Representative Brian Sims of Philadelphia, an LGBTQ activist.
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“Members of the Pennsylvania transgender community are our neighbors and friends. Treat them that way, ”Casey wrote on Twitter Monday.
“I can’t begin to say how upset I am with the transphobia that occurred at @BloomsburgFair today and was subsequently promoted by her,” wrote Sims.
Levine addressed the matter herself during a press conference Tuesday, KDKA-TV from Pittsburgh reported.
“My only reaction is that I’m going to stay, come what may, focused on protecting public health in Pennsylvania,” he said.
