Garrity faults Shapiro for hiding sexual abuse allegations against a staffer
Stacy Garrity, the Republican candidate for governor, came out swinging Monday, attacking her opponent, Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro, for his lack of transparency regarding a sexual harassment settlement.
“We have learned on so many issues that Josh Shapiro’s talk only matters when it benefits him, and the actions of his most trusted advisors speak louder than words about the culture his administration has created,” Garrity said. “And that is why we are here today. The lack of accountability Josh Shapiro has delivered, the lack of transparency Josh Shapiro has offered, and the trust that Josh Shapiro has eroded has hurt victims across our Commonwealth.”
Broad + Liberty has written extensively about the alleged sexual harassment by former Shapiro staffer Mike Vereb, who had been a Republican state representative from Montgomery County. Vereb had served with Shapiro in the state House, came with him to the Attorney General’s Office, and finally to the Governor’s Office.
A female staff member accused Vereb of sexual harassment and quit in March 2023.
In the wake of this incident, her emails mysteriously vanished, while emails from other staffers from the same time period remained in the state computer system.
Now in her second term as state treasurer, Garrity noted that taxpayers footed the bill for the aggrieved staffer, paying her nearly $300,000.
Garrity also mentioned some $2 million in contributions to Shapiro’s campaign from Democratic megadonor Reid Hoffman, who founded LinkedIn.
The Garrity for PA campaign called on Shapiro to either return Hoffman’s donation or donate it to a charity supporting Epstein’s victims. Not only has Shapiro done neither, but he has also refused to address the controversy.
“Josh Shapiro’s behavior throughout the Mike Vereb scandal is just one symptom in his broader disregard for women. Josh Shapiro has accepted more than $2 million from LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman, even though Hoffman has virtually no ties to Pennsylvania. Hoffman appears more than 2,600 times in the Epstein Files and, though never charged with criminal wrongdoing, he traveled with Epstein around the globe, including to Epstein’s Island, and did so after Epstein became a convicted sex offender,” said Garrity.
“Josh Shapiro made his reputation investigating sexual abuse in the Catholic Church,” said Garrity. “We should all agree that sexual abuse is abhorrent, particularly when it is the abuse of children. And Gov. Shapiro has not been shy about promoting this work when it helps him, but we’ve seen a darker side when instances of abuse do not fit his narrative or advance his political career.”
Shapiro spokesman Manuel Bonder defended the governor and lobbed a counter-attack, saying Shapiro “has a track record of taking on powerful institutions, exposing sexual abuse, and putting predators behind bars – and he continues to fight to deliver real accountability and justice for survivors here in Pennsylvania.”
Bonder called Garrity “the very worst of our politics: a hypocritical, desperate candidate whose complete and total allegiance to Donald Trump has led her to defend his repulsive relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and state her apparent belief that the Epstein files are no big deal – all while she has silently stood by as her endorsers in the state legislature refuse to pass a law giving survivors of sexual abuse their day in court.”
However, Majority Leader Sen. Joe Pittman (R-41) told Broad + Liberty that the Senate had previously passed legislation to address the statute of limitations in 2024, as well as voter ID, through referendums, and pointed to the Democrat-controlled House for failing to pass that bill.
Bonder also claimed that Garrity is being influenced by “Washington consultants.”
“And it’s exactly why she belongs nowhere near the Governor’s Office.”
Before she was elected state treasurer, Garrity spent 30 years in the Army Reserves. She served in Operation Desert Storm, Iraqi Freedom, and Operation Enduring Freedom, retiring as a colonel. While commanding Camp Bucca, a detention facility in Iraq, she earned the nickname “Angel of the Desert” for her fair treatment of prisoners.
In the private sector, Garrity worked at Global Tungsten & Powders, where she eventually became a vice president.
At the press conference, Garrity was joined by her running mate, Lt. Gov. candidate Jason Richey, the Allegheny County Republican chairman, and state Reps. Abby Major (R-60) and Sheryl Delozier (R-88).
Linda Stein is an award-winning journalist who’s written for newspapers in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Arizona. Before joining Fideri News Network, she was the news editor for Delaware Valley Journal. She holds a master’s degree in journalism from Temple University and earned her undergraduate degree from Arcadia University. Contact her at lstein@fiderinews.com.
