Democratic candidate a clear choice over radical opponent
Josh Shapiro has labored tirelessly for half his life to serve his community and Pennsylvania residents.
He started his government service as a hard-working staff to Democratic Congressmen in Washington D.C. and then followed with a 7-year term as State Representative from nearby Montgomery County.
Serving further as County Commissioner there for five years, Shapiro proved himself not only an able administrator but also worked productively with the Republican majority on that county board.
In 2016, Josh was elected State Attorney General, cleaning up that office and focusing it on moral and ethical principles. He has constantly cooperated with our City District Attorney Larry Krasner to foster fairness within the criminal justice system.
A particular cause he has championed is trying with the U.S Justice Dept. to abolish redlining of minorities in home mortgages.
Trump’s Man Mastriano – A Potential Disaster
In stark comparison to Josh Shapiro’s quarter-century of strong Democratic leadership is radical opponent Doug Mastriano. While Mastriano’s 30-year career as an Army officer is commendable, it contributed little to running a complex state like Pennsylvania.
The worst nightmare for us, of course, is combining a Trump-supported religious zealot like Mastriano with the uncaring, self-serving Republican state legislature. And the potential for hurting Philadelphians is the damage a Republican partnership in Harrisburg could do in two critical areas:
– Public Education: Mastriano has proposed that our school children would suffer from a massive reduction in the essential state subsidy of $19,000 per student down to an absurd $10,000 per child. Impossible, you say? But that was precisely what the last Republican Governor, Tom Corbett did in his term in 2011-15. Worse, Corbett and his House majority stopped the “Fair Funding Formula” which allocated school dollars to underserved city schools like ours. Our Philadelphia School District has never recovered!
– Voting Rights: Mastriano initiated a bill in Harrisburg to reverse Pennsylvania voters’ selection of Joe Biden as president. After that failed, he sponsored two busloads of Trump supporters to attend the infamous Trump rally in Washington D.C. on January 6, 2021 – which preceded the Trump-led attack on the nation’s Capital. Mastriano has continued to promote the Trump lie that he was cheated out of his election as President.
In Pennsylvania, it is the governor who appoints the State Secretary of State who oversees elections.
Last June, Mastriano bragged that if elected he had the power to “decertify every [voting] machine in the state” if he disagreed with the voting results: Goodbye fair elections in PA!
For those who feel abortion and women’s rights to healthy choice is a decisive factor, Mastriano’s position is ultra-conservation: No abortions.
And no consideration for pregnancy involving rape, incest, or the life of the mother.
Josh Shapiro: The Right Candidate for Governor
Suffice to say, on every one of the key issues above, Josh Shapiro’s positions are the total opposite of his right-wing opponent.
As to endorsements, perhaps the most interesting are those of two arch-opponent Republicans: State Representative Dennis O’Brien of Philadelphia and Republican fellow Montgomery County Commissioner Bruce L. Castor Jr
“I just recognized that he (Shapiro) had extraordinary leadership skills from the get-go,” O’Brien – who is backing Shapiro for governor. *
“I’ll tell anyone who asks me that Josh Shapiro was the best county commissioner I ever knew, including me,” said. “He’s a very fine administrator, and he’s very good at arriving at consensus,” stated Castor who has not named his gubernatorial preference.
**Quoted in “The Clear Choice: Shapiro,” by Chris Brennan, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Oct. 24, 2022
