Republican challenger in 72nd Legislative District says she plans defamation complaint over opponent's ad

Oct. 7—JOHNSTOWN, Pa. — The race for the 72nd Legislative District seat in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives is apparently heading from the campaign trail into the courtroom.

Jesse Daniel, an attorney representing Republican candidate Renae Billow and her campaign, said on Thursday that he plans to file a complaint of defamation over a TV advertisement released on Wednesday by Billow's opponent, incumbent state Rep. Frank Burns, D-East Taylor Township.

Burns' advertisement alleged that Billow "scammed taxpayer money" from an emergency relief fund to pay off her mortgage, while buying a property next to her home around the same time "just so Renae could have a yard behind her pool."

Daniel called the advertisement "intentionally false" and said using the word "scammed" was making an accusation of criminal activity.

He plans to file the defamation complaint against Burns and the Pennsylvania House Democratic Campaign Committee in the Cambria County Court of Common Pleas by the close of business on Friday.

Daniel has sent cease-and-desist requests to television stations asking for them to stop airing the commercial.

Billow lost her job at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and received mortgage assistance through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) Mortgage Payment Forbearance program, according to Daniel.

"What Renae did is she basically had the government pay the sum of about $9,800 directly to her mortgage company, and then she gave the government another mortgage on her house, by which she is required to pay back that money," Daniel said, "so the taxpayers didn't buy her house. The taxpayers, if anything, like they did for a lot of other people in Cambria County, gave her a temporary loan, which she will pay back and she's required to pay back."

Burns obtained documents from the county that showed Billow and her husband had a subordinate mortgage ("security instrument") of $9,821.98 given to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development on March 30, 2021, and then purchased a nearby property for $1,500 on April 26, 2021.

The subordinate mortgage paperwork states that the process is a forbearance of payment, not a waiver of payment, with the total due by Aug. 31, 2038.

Daniel said Billow purchased the neighboring vacant land using borrowed money from family members in order to prevent it from possibly being bought by a commercial developer to turn into a parking lot. He called the attempt to link Billow's participation in the federal program and her purchase of the second property a "complete red-herring canard."

Burns responded to a request for an interview with a written statement: "Renae Billow is upset because this is the first time she has to answer to the voters.

"Most hardworking people would agree it's a scam to get emergency taxpayer funded relief to avoid foreclosure, then just days later buy a second property — that's exactly what Renae Billow did.

"These relief funds were meant to help people truly at risk of losing their homes. Not for people looking to free up cash to buy second properties.

"The taxpayers deserve a thorough explanation and Renae Billow needs to release her applications and supporting documents. Anybody who applies for an emergency loan and buys a second property days later warrants an explanation and maybe even an investigation."

The advertisement also contained mugshot-type images of Billow with the words "Scammer Renae Billow." A search of the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania's online database showed no criminal activity that would result in a mugshot of Billow being taken, only routine traffic violations. Daniel said: "To my knowledge, Renae has never had any criminal activity."