By MICHAEL MACAGNONE, COURIER TIMES STAFF WRITER
A Courier Times article
An anonymous website criticizing Democratic primary candidate Ritchie Webb has been taken down, but he's still trying to find who was behind the site.
Webb, the former chairman of the Neshaminy School Board, is running against Gina Kiley for the Democratic nomination for the 142nd State House district race. She and her campaign staff denied any involvement with the site and said they didn't know about it until they were contacted by a reporter.
The site, ritchiewebb.com, first appeared last month and criticized Webb’s views and past statements. The site asked whether Webb was a "Folk hero or Fraud" and criticized him for his recent switch from the Republican party, his views on unions, abortion and the environment, among other issues. Webb said many claims on the site were false, including his views on Marcellus Shale drilling and the Paycheck Protection Act.
“At the same time, I’m troubled that someone would stoop this low to put something out like that,” Webb said. “And I think that it is just dirty politics.”
By Monday, the website had been replaced by a blank page.
The site’s domain name was registered through a third-party registry site, domainsbyproxy.com, which is meant to be anonymous. The site was first registered on April 1, according to register.com. The registration, through Godaddy.com, is still active through next year.
Lou Hornstein, Webb’s attorney, said the site was voluntarily removed after he contacted the anonymous registration website with a cease-and-desist letter. He also said he plans to find out who put the website up, through a lawsuit, if necessary.
“It was removed voluntarily, but Mr. Webb is still concerned and we plan to pursue it,” he said. “I plan to pursue it with (domainsbyproxy.com) in order to ascertain who put up the website.”
Representatives from the Neshaminy Federation of Teachers said the union's leadership wasn't involved with the website and didn't endorse it. Webb led the Neshaminy School Board through a contentious five-year contract dispute with the teachers’ union.
The winner of the May 20 Democratic primary will face state Rep. Frank Farry, R-142, Langhorne, in November.
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