Elizabethtown Borough council member apologizes for comment about Black residents

CLARIFICATION: A previous version of this story misrepresented comments made by Tina Wilson. She did not defend Jay Hynicker in a social media post.

An Elizabethtown Borough Council member on Tuesday apologized for remarks he made about Black residents at a public meeting last week, as local Democrats organized residents to call for his resignation.

At a meeting Thursday, during which the council passed a symbolic “nonsanctuary” resolution reaffirming its support for federal immigration enforcement, council member Jay Hynicker said, “We’ve had Blacks in Elizabethtown for a long time. We’ve never had a problem with them.”

Hynicker, a Republican elected in 2021, apologized for the comment during a conversation with an LNP | LancasterOnline reporter at his house, but he was unable to explain how the comment related to the resolution passed by council.

Hynicker said he was trying to say the borough has residents of many different backgrounds.

The resolution, approved in a 4-2 vote, formalized the borough’s support of law enforcement agencies in their efforts to enforce federal immigration law.

“I shouldn’t have picked out just Black (people). I apologize. … I’m not racist if that’s what people are calling me,” Hynicker said. “I’ll make a statement and apologize … for creating a mess. Don’t we have free speech?”

READ: Lancaster city will comply with federal, state laws under 'Welcome City' ordinance despite criticism

Kristy Moore, chair of the Elizabethtown-area Democratic Committee, criticized Hynicker’s comments on a public Facebook page created for her prior unsuccessful runs for school board. She called Hynicker’s comment a “blatantly racist remark.”

Moore said she was encouraged by Hynicker’s apology but said “there needs to be some accountability.” She said the Democratic committee plans to encourage people to come to the Aug. 15 borough council meeting to call for Hynicker’s resignation.

“A public apology will certainly go a long way. It’s still concerning that he would make such a comment and that it went unchecked. I’m also disappointed that nobody in that moment took issue with that,” Moore said. “I don’t know how you could gain back the trust of the community that bias doesn’t exist.”

Hynicker declined to comment further when reached by phone Tuesday afternoon. Borough Council Chairman J. Marc Hershey was not immediately available for comment.

Hynicker said he had not heard from anyone who was upset about the comments he made during Thursday’s meeting. He said he planned to touch base with the borough office to see if any messages had been left for him there.

“It wasn’t meant to hurt anybody,” Hynicker said. “I’m here for everybody. If not, I wouldn’t have run.”

Borough Manager Ann Roda was not immediately available to respond to questions about whether residents had contacted the borough.

Two Republican Elizabethtown school board members, Danielle Lindemuth and Tina Wilson, commented on Moore's Facebook post that criticized Hynicker. Lindemuth and Wilson spoke to the importance of the borough adopting a "non-sanctuary" resolution.

Lindemuth said Hynicker has a right to free speech.

“As someone who attended the meeting, and actually stayed till the end instead of leaving in a huff when I didn’t hear the verdict I was looking for, I was able to hear the heart behind the misconstrued statement. This elected official spoke about his concern for his constituents and his love for them,” Lindemuth wrote.