“Since Susan Wild came to Congress, she has been an independent voice for Pennsylvanians in the 7th District, delivering on their priorities like access to health care and expanding economic opportunities. That couldn’t stand in sharper contrast to Lisa Scheller, who has looked out for herself at every turn, from voting to give herself a tax break while serving in local government to cutting American jobs at her manufacturing company.” – DCCC Chairwoman Cheri Bustos
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To: Interested Parties
From: Courtney Rice, DCCC Regional Press Secretary
Date: June 3, 2020
Subject: The Case Against Lisa Scheller
The contentiousness of the Republican primary in the last few weeks has left Lisa Scheller politically damaged heading into the general election. In order to win her primary, Scheller was forced to tack to the far-right and tie herself to President Trump – a recipe for disaster in this Democratic-leaning district. That’s particularly toxic because Pennsylvanians know that Lisa Scheller has made her career on the backs of hardworking Pennsylvanians at her manufacturing company, prioritizing profits over workers’ safety and jobs. That is a betrayal they won’t stand for in November.
While Scheller has wholeheartedly attached herself to the Republican Party and its agenda that prioritizes special interests, Representative Susan Wild has spent the past year and a half fighting on behalf of her constituents. She’s willing to work with anyone if it means her community will benefit. That’s why she’s been able to get multiple bills signed into law by President Trump, including legislation that boosts funding for Meals on Wheels and other older adult services. She’s a fierce advocate for Pennsylvanians’ right to access high quality, affordable health care and has led the charge on calling for an emergency health insurance enrollment period during the current pandemic.
On top of that, Representative Wild has advocated for workers and expanding job opportunities in the district, including expanding trade and technical school opportunities.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
HEADLINE: Tax Cuts For Commissioners; Eight Members of Lehigh County Board, Which Insisted on Reassessment, Will Save $366-$3,442. [Allentown Morning Call, 3/1/12]
HEADLINE: Man injured during industrial accident at Silberline [Times News, 11/22/17]
“The competitive primary in the 7th has morphed into a race to embrace Trump the tightest [even though] Wild’s district broke for Hillary Clinton by just more than one percentage point. Former Lehigh County Commissioners Lisa Scheller (R) and Dean Browning (R) used the visit as an opportunity to burnish their ties to the president and secure some hotly sought-after attention from Trump. Scheller was not shy about her enthusiasm for Trump’s visit.” [National Journal, 05/15/20]
HEADLINE: President Donald Trump signs bill from Lehigh Valley Rep. Susan Wild boosting funding for Meals on Wheels, other older adult services. [Morning Call, 03/26/20]
HEADLINE: Susan Wild, Bob Casey call for emergency health insurance enrollment period because of coronavirus outbreak. [Morning Call, 03/24/20]
HEADLINE: Bill by U.S. Rep. Susan Wild would streamline student loans. [Pennsylvania Capital-Star, 10/18/19]
Lisa Scheller: A Swampy Republican Who Prioritizes Corporations, Special Interests, and Herself – Not Working Pennsylvanians
SCHELLER’S UNSAFE, JOB-KILLING RECORD
Lisa Scheller claims to be a job creator for Pennsylvania, but since she became President and CEO of Silberline Manufacturing in 1997, the company has cut at least 100 American jobs. In 2003, the company “cut more than one-seventh of its work force” with at least 55-66 jobs cut from its Pennsylvania facilities and additional jobs from its Indiana facility. As recently as 2019, Silberline closed its plant in Indiana, laying off 50 workers and transferring their work to other locations off of American soil.
When Scheller isn’t cutting American jobs, her company is putting its workers at risk. During her tenure, Silberline Manufacturing has experienced multiple accidents and incidents, including a fire in Hometown, PA from a piece of faulty processing equipment – in which four firefighters suffered heat stroke while putting it out – and an explosion in which four employees were injured, one of them critically. In the last ten years alone, under Scheller’s leadership, the company has also been inspected four times by OSHA for safety and health violations.
In sharp contrast with Lisa Scheller’s company that has cut jobs and put the remaining workers in harms way, Rep. Wild has always prioritized workers and has fought in Congress to improve safety standards in the workplace, including calling out the Department of Labor’s policy changes that undermine worker safety.
SELF-SERVING SCHELLER
As a member of the Lehigh Valley Board of Commissioners, Lisa Scheller used her position to benefit herself financially at the expense of others. In 2012, Scheller voted in favor of a countywide property reassessment that greatly increased her property value, while also cutting her tax burden. According the Morning Call, Scheller’s house, “in a desirable section of Allentown within the Parkland School District, increased in value from $927,500 to $1.26 million, with a $3,441.85 tax reduction” – the largest decrease among eight of the nine Commissioners who benefited. While Scheller benefited from her vote, 45 percent of property owners in the county saw their taxes increase.
At the same time Scheller was manipulating the political system to benefit herself as a County Commissioner, she supported county efforts to cut jobs, punish union workers, and slash employee benefits. She called a 2012 county budget that proposed eliminating 21 jobs and favored nonunion workers, “a good starting point.” During this time, Scheller also supported an amendment that would have created “major future deficits” in the county that the Lehigh County Executive said “would result in widespread layoffs or furloughs” and, in 2015, supported measures that slashed employee benefits.
Given Scheller’s record of looking out for herself at the expense of her constituents, it’s no wonder she supports the GOP tax scam that benefited the wealthy and big corporations at the expense of the middle class – calling the legislation “a big step in the right direction.”
ENDORSED BY THE SWAMP
Lisa Scheller epitomizes the Washington swamp and will be a rubber stamp for Washington Republicans’ agenda in Congress. She was named one of the largest donors in local Republican politics and, since 2002, has donated over $131,000 to Pennsylvania Republicans. Two days after she launched her campaign, Scheller was endorsed by Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and was given a nod by the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC). And if she were elected to Congress, she’d work to enact McCarthy and the Washington Republicans’ agenda: less health care coverage for higher costs and prioritizing special interests and big corporations above working- and middle-class families.
PATH TO VICTORY
Rep. Susan Wild is in a strong position to win reelection in November in this majority suburban district located in the Lehigh Valley. In 2018, Rep. Wild won the 7th District by 10 points, beating Republican Marty Nothstein, 53.5% to 43.5%. During the last presidential election, Secretary Hillary Clinton carried the district with 50.6% of the majority party vote, and Democrats currently hold a 13-point partisan advantage. To win in November, Representative Susan Wild will need to match her 2018 performance in Lehigh County and carry Hispanic and Latino residents concentrated in Allentown and Monroe County.
Rep. Wild has positioned herself as an independent voice for her neighbors and constituents on issues like affordable health care, a vibrant economy, and a strong education system. She has been a strong voice for her constituents when it comes to reopening the Affordable Care Act exchanges during the current pandemic and advocating for frontline health care workers battling this disease.
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