Steve Chronister explores run for office, but still won't address Grandview incident

Steve Chronister, who previously served three terms on the York County Board of Commissioners and has come under fire for twice calling 911 to remove five African-American women for golfing too slow at Grandview Golf Club, on Friday said he’s exploring another run for office.

“I want to see what the people think,” said Chronister, who added that he's probably going to move through the nominating petition process and then make a decision about whether to run for commissioner.

Chronister, 65, of Dover Township, a Republican, served on the York County Board of Commissioners from 2004 to 2015. But he dropped out of the GOP primary after more than 100 signatures on his nominating petition were challenged. He ran as an independent and lost in the general election.

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In an interview, Chronister said he had unfinished business, adding that he liked helping people solve problems as a commissioner. He said he's going to address what happened at the golf course at “a different time.” It's possible he could face one of the women in an election.

“But, obviously, I’m not — and my family’s not — what they said we were,” Chronister said. “And I’ll leave it at that right now.”

“The people will look at my record,” he later added. “The people will look at what happened, and they’ll draw their own conclusions, as many of them already did.”

Chronister said he would not have considered running if Susan Byrnes, president of the York County Board of Commissioners, had decided to seek re-election.

READ:Grandview Golf Club getting new owners

On April 21, 2018, Sandra Thompson; Myneca Ojo, Sandra Harrison; Carolyn Dow; and Karen Crosby said ownership and staff at Grandview Golf Club discriminated against them based on their color and gender.

Chronister, who’s involved in an advisory role at Grandview Golf Club, twice called 911 to have them removed because of slow play. The women maintain they were keeping pace — an account that other witnesses have backed up.

Northern York County Regional police met with the women and golf course management and determined that the situation was not a law enforcement issue. No charges were filed, and the women left.

The Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission held a hearing about the incident.

Thompson, who's president of the York NAACP, said she'd heard rumors for several weeks that Chronister was considering a run for office.

"This is America. Everybody has the right to engage the political process," she said. "I think that it’s really going to be up to the people of York County to determine the face that it wants for the county — the people that they want to elect as leaders and representatives of the county."

Crosby, a credit analyst for MEMO Financial Services Inc., is running for commissioner as a Democrat. “I don’t even really care to comment on it at this time," she said.

Jeff Piccola, chairman of the York County Republican Committee, said "we were never contacted nor did we know about Mr. Chronister’s intent.”

“I can’t speak for the party, I can only speak for myself, but I’m the chairman," Piccola said. "From what I know of Mr. Chronister, he’s not the type of candidate that York County Republicans should be supporting."

Piccola said Chronister's record is "out there for all to see." That includes his support of Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat, to "at the very least, the very embarrassing situation that occurred at his golf course.”

“I can’t imagine anybody involved with the York County Republican Committee would be supporting Mr. Chronister," Piccola said. "I know I will not."

The York County Board of Commissioners is composed of three members who are elected to four-year terms. The minority party is guaranteed one seat.

In York County, the president commissioner will make $93,365.79 in 2020. The other two commissioners will earn $90,031.32.

The primary is on May 21.

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Contact Dylan Segelbaum at 717-771-2102.

Who else is running for York County commissioner in 2019?

• Doug Hoke, vice president of the York County Board of Commissioners, a Democrat, is running for re-election.
• Chris Reilly, a member of the York County Board of Commissioners, a Republican, is running for re-election.
• Glenn Wascovich, the mayor of Hallam, a Democrat.
• Karen Crosby, a credit analyst for MEMO Financial Services Inc., a Democrat.
• Matthew Mann, the mayor of East Prospect, a Republican.
• Judith Higgins, a small business owner who previously ran for a seat on the Pennsylvania State Senate, a Democrat.
• Ron Smith, the president of Dallastown Borough Council, a Republican.
• Blanda Nace, former director of strategic development with the York County Economic Alliance, a Republican.
• Julie Wheeler, a local businesswoman who previously ran for a seat on the Pennsylvania State Senate, a Republican.
• Madeline Geiman, a Democrat.

Also of interest, this photo gallery: