Philly Inquirer: "Josh Shapiro is the clear choice for Pennsylvania governor - Endorsement"

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Josh Shapiro is the clear choice for Pennsylvania governor | Endorsement

The Republican nominee, Doug Mastriano, worked to invalidate the results of the 2020 presidential election and is utterly unfit for public office.


by The Editorial Board
Updated Oct 9, 2022

In the history of political endorsements for statewide office in Pennsylvania, it’s hard to remember when there has ever been a more straightforward choice than in the 2022 race for governor. That is not just because Josh Shapiro is an experienced and highly qualified candidate with a track record of taking on powerful interests and working across the aisle. That is largely because Doug Mastriano, his Republican opponent, is so utterly unfit for public office.

Shapiro, the Democratic nominee, has dedicated his life to public service. He grew up in Montgomery County and worked on Capitol Hill while attending law school at Georgetown University. Shapiro served as a state representative for seven years where he brokered a bipartisan agreement to make Republican Dennis O’Brien the speaker of the House. In 2011, Shapiro was elected to the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners, winning bipartisan support in what was then a largely Republican county. In 2016, Shapiro was elected state attorney general, where he cleaned up the scandal-plagued office of Kathleen Kane.

As attorney general, Shapiro took on major institutions. A 2018 grand jury report detailed child sexual abuse by more than 300 Catholic priests. He worked with other attorneys general to crack down on pharmaceutical firms and the consulting giant McKinsey & Co. for promoting opioids. Shapiro’s office worked with the U.S. Justice Department to stop abusive redlining practices by a major mortgage lender. Shapiro stood up to his own party, filing corruption charges against two Democratic lawmakers in Harrisburg. Shapiro also clashed — and collaborated — with Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner. Shapiro’s independence and ability to work across the aisle explains why many Republican officials endorsed him for governor.

Shapiro is on the right side of history on big issues, including education funding and gun safety. Most important, as governor, Shapiro would serve as a firewall to stop the unraveling of voting and abortion rights in Pennsylvania. Mastriano, in contrast, is the Chevy Corvair of candidates: unsafe at any speed. His candidacy for governor should be a nonstarter, except he won the Republican primary in a landslide. It is a national embarrassment for the Grand Old Party that Mastriano, a backbench state senator with virtually no legislative record, is the face of Republicanism in Pennsylvania. There are several editorials’ worth of arguments to be made against voting for Mastriano, but there is one reason he is not qualified to hold public office: He participated in a coup attempt.

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More: https://www.inquirer.com/opinion/editorials/josh-shapiro-pennsylvania-governor-2022-endorsement-20221009.html

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