New Hope council president accused of gay harassment
Adapted from reporting by Harry Langhorne
Hundreds called for the resignation of New Hope Borough Council President D. Joseph Balderston after rumors surfaced that he was part of a group that harassed several gay men on the Delaware Canal towpath in the borough.
Balderston did not step down at a July 26, 1976, meeting that was held at the Playhouse Inn to accommodate the large crowd of 300 people. He did, however, agree to provide a video recording of the meeting to the Bucks County district attorney’s office for further investigation. The American Civil Liberties Union also said it would investigate the incident.
Resident Barbara Rouse said at the meeting that, before the alleged harassment, she had heard Balderston say, “Me and my boys are going to clean up the towpath.”
Balderston said he was on the towpath around the time of the incidents to look for a dog that had previously bitten him. Some speakers defended his character and noted he risked his life as a municipal firefighter.
Residents said they wanted park police to patrol the towpath more frequently than twice a night and asked for lights to be installed. There was some discussion of using a new business-privilege tax, expected to generate $27,000, to pay for the lights. The Bucks County Playhouse was also instituting a new amusement tax that was expected to generate $10,000.
Council was expected to continue the discussion at its Aug. 9, 1976, meeting.
New gay rights bill to be introduced in Philly
Adapted from reporting by PGN staff
Philadelphia City Councilman Lucien Blackwell planned in summer 1976 to reintroduce a gay-rights bill that had been stalled in committee since the previous year.
Councilmen Joseph Coleman and Cecil Moore agreed to co-sponsor the proposed law, known as Bill 1275, and Councilwoman Ethel Allen was considered likely to join them.
Bill 1275 aimed to forbid discrimination based on “sexual or affectional orientation” or marital status, a class that was added for the bill’s reintroduction.
The bill’s passage hinged on George Schwartz, council president. He was considering a run for mayor if Frank Rizzo was recalled. Bill 1275 stalled in 1975 largely because Schwartz did not back it.
— compiled by Paige Cooperstein