Shapiro, Garrity spar in Pa.’s first gubernatorial debate in 8 years
By TOM FONTAINE
TribLive
Republican Stacy Garrity attacked Democratic incumbent Gov. Josh Shapiro’s record during a televised debate Wednesday to try to shift momentum in a race that has seen her lagging behind in the polls and campaign fundraising.
Shapiro in his remarks repeatedly tried to tie Garrity to policies of the Trump administration that he said have driven up costs and resulted in people losing health coverage and food assistance.
The debate started with the candidates weighing in on one of the more contentious issues facing Pennsylvania governments and residents: data center development.
“I put in place the strictest policy, the strictest guardrails in the nation to ensure that our communities are protected,” Shapiro said regarding an executive order he issued in August that establishes a series of requirements for developers to meet before the state will consider their permit requests.
Garrity has called for a pause in data center development to give communities time to develop regulations for such projects. She did not say how long that pause should last.
On the issue of affordability, Garrity went after Shapiro for not keeping a campaign promise to provide Pennsylvanians with a $250 gas tax rebate.
Shapiro said a pool of money he intended to use to provide the rebates was available when he was campaigning, but had dried up by the time he got into office.
He argued that gas and diesel prices have been driven to record highs by “President Trump’s war in Iran, a war that I oppose and a war that my opponent supports.”
Regarding skill games and the looming Oct. 13 deadline lawmakers have to determine how to regulate and likely tax the games, Shapiro said he was hopeful that lawmakers in Harrisburg would be able to come up with an agreement before the deadline. He is calling for a 52% tax rate on the machines.
Garrity called that rate too high; she supports a flat, $500 monthly charge per machine. She projected that would generate $300 million for the state.
The candidates also wrangled on education spending.
Garrity said funding for education has increased by $3 billion since Shapiro took office, but educational results haven’t improved.
“Seven out of 10 of our eighth graders cannot read or do math at grade level,” Garrity said. She supports school choice “because parents, not bureaucrats, know the best way to educate their kids.”
Shapiro said graduation rates have gone up and truancy rates have gone down during his time in office, and he touted expanded mental health counseling, vocational education, free lunch and special education programs in schools across the state. He said he is open to considering school vouchers.
The candidates also weighed in on the potential for public money to be used on new professional sports stadiums in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia (neither is in favor), the death penalty (Shapiro wants to ban it, while Garrity wants to keep the law as it is) and election integrity (both said they favor requiring voter ID).
Polls have shown Shapiro with a commanding lead over Garrity. A poll released Wednesday by Quinnipiac University had Shapiro up, 59% to 34%. If those numbers held up, this would be the most lopsided race for governor in Pennsylvania since 1998, when Republican incumbent Gov. Tom Ridge defeated Democrat Ivan Itkin of Pittsburgh by 26 points.
The campaign finance battle has also been lopsided. Shapiro’s campaign spent $31.8 million between June 9 and Sept. 14, while Garrity’s spent $1.6 million during the same span, according to the latest filings. Shapiro’s campaign had $19.9 million in available cash as of Sept. 22 compared to $1.4 million for Garrity, the filings showed.
