CLEARFIELD, Pa. — An emotional month for Clearfield Borough culminated with the resignations of two key officials following Wednesday’s borough council meeting.
Council member Dennis Biancuzzo and Mayor Mason Strouse tendered their resignations after weeks of tension.
The regular council meeting, originally scheduled for May 21, was canceled after a council member received a threatening message. The message also prompted officials to close the borough administration building for two days.
District Attorney Ryan Sayers issued a statement regarding the message, noting there were no actual threats and that his office would take no further action — a move that created confusion throughout the borough.
At the rescheduled meeting, officials announced that Biancuzzo, the council member who received the message, had submitted his resignation letter before the session and was absent.
Before the meeting began, reporters and attendees received copies of statements from Biancuzzo and Solicitor James Dennison.
Biancuzzo’s statement outlined the events leading to his decision and included a copy of a text message he alleged resident Christy Fulton sent him.
“The message sent to me by Ms. Fulton… is not political discourse, civic engagement, or protected debate over public policy,” Biancuzzo wrote. “It is a targeted personal attack filled with vulgarity, intimidations, false accusations, humiliation, and degrading language intended to emotionally harm and publicly demean an elected official and his spouse.”
Biancuzzo stated his husband also received a message from Fulton.
In a direct note to Sayers, Biancuzzo wrote: “If you do not believe that this message was intended to harass and intimidate me and my family, constituted unlawful retaliation against me as a public servant for my prior vote regarding dissolution of the regional police department or represented actual or threatened unlawful harm intended to influence my action and decisions as an elected official, then you are failing in your duty as District Attorney.”
During public comment, Fulton addressed the council to dispute what she called false allegations.
Fulton said she has shared a 20-year friendship with Biancuzzo and recently sent him a “friendship-ending text.” She added that the copy provided to the public and press was incomplete. Biancuzzo’s statement included a partial screenshot of the text that cut off on the first page, followed by a slightly longer screenshot with more dialogue on the second page.
Fulton alleged Biancuzzo and Strouse recently created a Facebook group to promote community pride and combat bullies, but claimed posts in the group made and implied derogatory comments about her.
She argued that if actual harassment had occurred, “… the DA would have charged me,” noting that Biancuzzo has not filed a formal complaint.
Fulton asked why she had been blocked from the borough’s Facebook page and said her primary concern is that the borough cannot afford to dissolve the Clearfield Regional Police Department (CRPD).
During the solicitor’s report, Dennison asked to post his written statement on the borough’s Facebook page and stated the borough’s finances were strong until the CRPD was formed.
“The question is over, they [the borough] are leaving the CRPD,” Dennison said.
Fulton spoke out from the audience, calling his statement a non-legal opinion. Dennison initially instructed the officer on duty to remove her from the building, but amended his order, warning Fulton she would be removed if she spoke out again. Fulton agreed to remain quiet.
With council’s permission, Dennison then read the full statement Biancuzzo had shared with the public and press into the record.
Dennison called Biancuzzo an excellent council member and noted that messages have worsened as the borough draws closer to the police department’s dissolution date. He added that Sayers failed to speak with anyone from the borough before releasing his statement last week.
Council Member Bill Armstrong added that Biancuzzo’s resignation is a loss for the community. “Dennis Biancuzzo is a good man, and he made a sincere effort to make Clearfield Borough a better place.”
In his written statement, Dennison said borough staff, council, and other officials have received numerous messages over the past eight months from “an individual that has clear intent of harassing the recipient and influencing the manner in which they vote on various issues that come before council.”
Dennison wrote that the messages increased in frequency and intensity and were eventually reported to the state police. He noted that council and staff have tried to ignore them since the DA indicated he will not take action.
Dennison’s full statement is available here.
During his own report, Strouse said he personally checked the borough’s Facebook account and found no evidence that anyone had been blocked.
He also stated he has screenshots of messages Fulton sent him and allegedly deleted later, in which she falsely accused him of crimes. According to Strouse, those comments resulted in an alternate schedule at the school where he worked at the time.
Strouse read his resignation statement later in the meeting, calling the local political atmosphere hostile, toxic, and damaging to his home life and career. He tendered his resignation effective June 1.
“It’s just become too much — when it affects my children and my career it’s too much,” Strouse said.
Strouse’s full statement is available here.
