Mark Poloncarz (D-New York) the Executive of Erie County, was caught on video playing hockey with over a dozen others at local rink after his Health Department had shut down another rink nearby for hosting scrimmages.
Stefan Mychajliw, the Republican Erie County Comptroller, posted a video showing Poloncarz (seen in all black) with as many as fourteen other people on the ice.
Here's full video. Northtown Center. Dec. 27th. Downloaded from video service Live Barn. Poloncarz: "I skated on the ice BEFORE others skated." Stated all he did was "shoot by myself and then left." False. If he can play, so too should kids/youth leagues. https://t.co/bsyODqRiYn
— Stefan Mychajliw (@StefanMychajliw) December 29, 2020
Poloncarz was previously been accused of hypocrisy by Mychajliw for skating at the rink, but Poloncarz claimed “no rules were broken” and that he had “skated alone before others had arrived.”
The truth: no rules were broken. I skated alone before others arrived. pic.twitter.com/YOAREiHpsm
— Mark Poloncarz (@markpoloncarz) December 28, 2020
“I’m thrilled we can begin the discussion on letting kids play hockey, the same way Erie County Executive Mark C. Poloncarz and his ‘mates’ do,” Mychajliw said in a statement. “I think it’s wonderful Mark Poloncarz plays hockey, shoots the puck around, while his friends engage in scrimmages. Kids and youth leagues should be able to do the same. My issue: political hypocrisy. Rules for thee, but not for me.”
Mychajliw added, “Holiday Twin Rinks gets shut down by the Erie County Executive’s Health Department for hosting scrimmages, but other rinks are not penalized for doing the same. All rinks should be open. All kids should be allowed to play.”
Poloncarz joins a growing list of Democrat officials who have violated COVID-19 restrictions. Bill de Blasio, amongst other things, banned public gatherings before participating in a BLM protest, and closed down public gyms yet ordered his own to let him in. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was seen getting a blow out at a San Francisco salon after salons had been shut down because of COVID-19. California Governor Gavin Newsom, who had urged California residents not to get together for Thanksgiving, was seen at a fancy gala in Napa where no social distancing was practiced.
The list goes on and on. Why is it that so many Democrats can’t seem to adhere to the very rules they expect the rest of us to follow?
And Mychajliw isn’t letting Poloncarz off the hook.
“Mark Poloncarz did not tell the truth,” Mychajliw said. “Video downloaded by Live Barn video service from the Northtown Center at Amherst from the morning of December 27th, 2020 shows he’s on the ice with at least four and as many as 14 other hockey players. Mark Poloncarz did not skate and shoot by himself as he stated on Twitter.”
Mychajliw says that “rules should be consistent for all businesses and hockey rinks.” New York State’s “Reopening New York Sports and Recreation Guidelines,” which has been in effect since July 6th, 2020, list Ice Hockey as a “Higher Risk Sport” and bans competitive team practices, games, meets, matches, and scrimmages.
“The Erie County Department of Health was quick to shut down Holiday Twin Rinks. Yet friends of Mark Poloncarz are allowed to skate and scrimmage. Erie County and New York State should open up ice rinks and let kids play hockey. The discussion is far bigger than Mark Poloncarz denying being on the ice and a scrimmage taking place. Let kids play. Now. Open up hockey leagues again. If the County Executive and his friends are allowed to play, so too should kids across Erie County and New York State.”
And Democrats wonder why so many protest these useless restrictions.
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Matt Margolis is the author of Airborne: How The Liberal Media Weaponized The Coronavirus Against Donald Trump, and the bestselling book The Worst President in History: The Legacy of Barack Obama. You can follow Matt on Twitter @MattMargolis
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