State senator removes Bagdes-Canning from fundraiser doorway
A state senator pulled Cherry Valley Mayor Michael Bagdes-Canning away from the doorway of a Harrisburg restaurant he was blocking in a protest of a $1,000-a-plate political fundraiser that another senator was having at the restaurant.
Active in Cherry Valley government for 34 years and involved for many years with Marcellus Outreach Butler, which opposes drilling for Marcellus Shale natural gas, Bagdes-Canning, said he was protesting the fundraiser Tuesday when Republican Sen. Mike Regan, who represents parts of Cumberland and York counties, grabbed him and pulled him away from the door before he entered the restaurant.
“I didn’t know he was a state senator at the time. It was kind of deflating,” Bagdes-Canning said Thursday. “He looks over the scene. Looks at the three fiery women I was working with. He sees the old guy with the cane and goes after me.”
He said he is using cane to assist with walking due to back pain, and the incident left him with more pain he had to deal with during the drive back to Butler County.
