Beth Ann Rosica: Josh Shapiro — A wolf in sheep’s clothing

“Throughout his career, Josh has taken on the status quo, brought people together, and fought to keep Pennsylvanians from getting screwed — and that’s exactly what he’ll do as Governor.”

That statement was part of his campaign in 2022 when he was running for Governor of Pennsylvania. A month before the election, I questioned whether Shapiro would actually fight for Pennsylvanians because if past performance is indicative of future behaviors, it did not seem likely.

Before being elected as Governor, Shapiro served as the Attorney General for the commonwealth. As Attorney General, he supported former Governor Tom Wolf’s Covid-19 mandates and lockdowns. Shapiro never pushed back on the extended school and business closures or mask and vaccine mandates. And then he did a complete 180 and claimed the actions were not necessary.

Whether you like his choice of words or not, Shapiro did not fight to keep Pennsylvanians from being screwed as Attorney General and he certainly has not fought as Governor.

According to the Commonwealth Foundation, Shapiro is one of the least productive governors in Pennsylvania history. “Despite having a ‘full-time legislature’ the 111 bills signed by Gov. Josh Shapiro, from the beginning of his term through the end of June 2024, represent the fewest of any governor with divided government.”

Pennsylvania is one of seven states with a divided government, meaning the Governor and legislature are from different political parties. Of the other potential Vice President candidates, there are two Governors who also work within divided governments: Roy Cooper from North Carolina and Andy Beshear from Kentucky.

From January 2023 through June 2024, Cooper signed 162 bills into law, and Beshear signed 440 — both exceeding Shapiro’s 111.

Shapiro has also struggled to bring the legislature together and get the state budget passed. His first year in office ended with the honor that Pennsylvania was the last state in the country to have a signed budget, a full five months after the July 1, 2023 deadline. His assertion that he has “brought people together” rang hollow when he was incapable of working across the aisle to get the budget signed.

That is, in fact, one of the primary roles of the governor: to work with the House and Senate to get the budget passed on time. This year, despite the fact that the budget finally passed in mid July, Pennsylvania was still one of only two states that did not have a signed budget by the July 1 deadline.

Even more disappointing is the fact that Shapiro ran on a platform to support a very moderate school choice plan, known as Lifeline (PASS) Scholarships for students in failing schools. There are voters who supported him based on this issue, and two years later, he has failed to deliver.

Last year at this time when he was attempting to persuade reluctant Democrats to support the scholarships, he appeared on Fox News and said, “every child of God deserves quality education.”

Yet Shapiro was ultimately unsuccessful in fulfilling his campaign promise and instead pandered to the progressives and abandoned children in failing schools. I wonder if those families believe Shapiro fought to prevent them from being screwed?

The same pattern happened this budget year, and despite the Black Pastors United for Education group calling on Shapiro to help the state’s most vulnerable students, the Lifeline (PASS) scholarships were again eliminated from the budget.

Since taking office, and even while campaigning for Governor, Shapiro has pandered to both sides and rather than effectively bringing people together, he has pushed them further apart and further away from him.

So how does his record qualify him for Vice President consideration? The national punditry thinks it might help Harris’ chances to win Pennsylvania, but those of us who live here know Shapiro is hardly a beloved governor.

Despite his rhetoric, he has not done much of anything since taking office — with the one exception of ensuring the quick repair of the I-95 bridge.

Yet, is expeditiously repairing a bridge really the only qualification for the second-highest position in the country?

Shapiro’s pandering has left him in a precarious position with his base. Even though he failed to pass the very moderate Lifeline Scholarships program, the fact that he vocally supported it hurt him with progressives and the teachers’ unions.

The Pennsylvania State Education Association (PSEA) was not happy with Shapiro’s support of the scholarships for students in failing schools. Rich Askey, former president, said last year, “we are incredibly disappointed… that Gov. Shapiro could be the first governor in Pennsylvania’s history to sign a school voucher bill.”

Shapiro was heavily supported financially by the PSEA and national teachers’ unions. PSEA donated over $800,000 to his Governor race in 2022, and the American Federation of Teachers and the National Education Association contributed $900,000 collectively.

And just last week, the Freedom Foundation filed three complaints with federal and state authorities alleging the PSEA made illegal campaign contributions to Shapiro in 2022. “PSEA’s scheme to secretly launder nearly $1.5 million in members’ dues through the Democratic Governors Association to support Josh Shapiro’s 2022 candidacy appears to have violated both an array of Pennsylvania laws and the Internal Revenue Code,” said Maxford Nelsen, the Freedom Foundation’s director of research and government affairs.

As a result of Shapiro’s stance on school choice, two dozen public school advocacy groups from across the country penned a letter asking Harris, the presumptive democratic presidential candidate, to avoid taking Shapiro as her running mate.

While Shapiro talks about working across the aisle, getting things done, and preventing people from getting screwed, it is only that: talk. Rather than bringing people together, he has angered both sides. 

His progressive base and the teachers’ union are unhappy with his verbal support of school choice.

He has also alienated the moderates and conservatives who hoped and possibly believed he would do the right thing for students in failing schools.

The bottom line is Shapiro has failed everyone and does not deserve consideration for the Vice President seat. He may present as polished and politically savvy, but Shapiro is nothing more than a wolf in sheep’s clothing. 

Pennsylvania deserves better, but we are stuck with him. The country deserves better and there is still time for the Democrats to make a better decision.

Beth Ann Rosica resides in West Chester, has a Ph.D. in Education, and has dedicated her career to advocating on behalf of at-risk children and families. She covers education issues for Broad + Liberty. Contact her at barosica@s46680.p831.sites.pressdns.com.