Buckingham Supervisor Apologizes For Making False Claims Against Township Farm

BUCKINGHAM TOWNSHIP, PA — Buckingham Township Supervisor Jon Forest has issued a public apology to Froehlich's Farm for a political flyer he sent out during his campaign for supervisor in 2023.

In his apology, posted to his 2023 campaign Facebook page, Forest said he made several claims about Froehlich's Farm, and by extension, Chip Froehlich and Brian Stover, that were "factually untrue. I erroneously accused Froehlich's Farm of engaging in corruption and quid pro quo behavior. This accusation was based on conversations that never happened."

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The letter of apology is part of a settlement agreement reached between Forest and the farm over a defamation lawsuit filed by the farm over the flyer. In its suit, the farm alleged claims for "defamation, commercial disparagement, and tortious interference with prospective economic advantage."

In addition to the apology, Forest agreed to a settlement payment to the farm of $65,000, according to the public settlement agreement.

In his apology letter, Forest also said he "falsely stated that Mr. (Mike) Bateman attended the August 31, 2023 hearing to support Froehlich's Farm and offered to defend them in exchange for their electoral support. Neither Mr. Bateman nor anyone from Froehlich's Farm ever made statements to that effect," he writes.

"I wrongly claimed that at the October 5th hearing, a conversation took place in which Mr. Bateman and a representative of Froehlich's Farm were overheard saying, 'We just have to wait for this election to be over and all of this will go away.' However, this statement was never said to or by Mr. Bateman, let alone by Mr. Stover and Mr. Froehlich," wrote Forest.

He concluded his apology by saying, "For over 50 years, Froehlich's Farm has cultivated a strong reputation in this community. It was a lapse of judgment to create and share the flyer without checking the accuracy of its claims. I apologize to Froehlich's Farm for spreading false statements."

The settlement agreement required that Forest distribute his letter of apology to the same households in the Devonshire neighborhood that received the original flyer in 2023.

In response to the public apology, Supervisor Mike Bateman, who is mentioned in Forest's apology, said he is "glad that Jon has publicly corrected the record regarding the 2023 election.

"The truth matters, particularly in a small community where words can have a lasting impact on our neighbors and their reputations. This statement makes clear that the accusations made by Jon were not true. I take no pleasure in the circumstances, but I am grateful the truth is now part of the public record. In the end, honesty and integrity matter."