HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Democrat Josh Shapiro was sworn in Tuesday to become Pennsylvania’s 48th governor, laying his hand on a stack of three Jewish Bibles during an inaugural ceremony outside the state Capitol to crown his resounding victory in November. election.
Shapiro, 49, takes over in the nation’s fifth most populous state with more experience in state government than any of his recent predecessors, including six years as elected Pennsylvania attorney general. and seven as a state legislator.
Chief Justice Debra Todd was sworn in on a stage erected behind the ornate Harrisburg Capitol, with American senses Bob Casey and John Fetterman, former governors, members of Congress and many thousands of others gathered against the cold day of winter.
“I am honored to stand before you today as the 48th Governor of Pennsylvania,” Shapiro said as he began his 23-minute speech with his wife and four children nearby. “Along the winding road that led to this moment, I have been rooted in my faith and my family.”
Shapiro succeeds Democratic term governor Tom Wolf and is the first Pennsylvania governor since 1966 to be elected to succeed a member of his own party.
On stage with Shapiro were just over a dozen people he invited – including survivors of child sexual abuse, parents of children killed by gun violence and the widows of two state troopers killed in the line of duty – which aides say symbolizes his work as attorney general and his bipartisan politics as governor.
“Your stories, your courage stayed with me,” Shapiro said addressing them. “And, they will motivate me every day while I am your governor.”
Shapiro did not specify specific policy goals in his speech. But he underlined the themes he developed before and after the elections: that voters embrace democracy and tolerance, reject extremism and hatred, and demand that their leaders protect their rights and make progress on issues important to quality of life.
“Now is the time to unite behind the unifying force of three simple truths that have sustained our nation for the past two and a half centuries: that above all, beyond any momentary political difference, we value our freedom, we cherish our democracy and we love this country,” Shapiro said.
An hour before the inaugural ceremony, Shapiro’s friends and supporters, the political elite and many who will work in the new administration gathered in the Senate chamber to witness the swearing-in of Democrat Austin Davis, 33. , as Pennsylvania’s first black lieutenant governor.
Shapiro takes the reins of a sprawling state government — it employs about 80,000 staff and manages more than $100 billion a year in state and federal money — that has billions in reserve and an economy stronger than ever. habit for the slow-growing state.
But he’s also moving across the street from the Attorney General’s office to the Capitol’s executive suite even as the House of Representatives is paralyzed by a partisan fight for control and Republican lawmakers aim to remove some executive leeway to enact regulations.
Shapiro himself has preached bipartisanship, underscoring his support for independents and Republicans in the election when he won a powerful 15 percentage point victory over far-right Republican candidate State Sen. Doug Mastriano.
For at least the next two years, every new law under Shapiro must have a stamp of approval from the GOP, given the Republican majority of six seats in the state Senate.
To that end, Shapiro attempted to avoid radioactive political issues, staked the midst of various entrenched political fights, and hired several Republicans for his cabinet.
Ranking Senate Republican Senate Pro Tempore Speaker Kim Ward, R-Westmoreland, said Shapiro’s speech sounded “rather bipartisan.”
“I think that’s very important because that’s how we’re going to govern with the Republican Senate and the Democratic House and the governor,” Ward said.
Shapiro will sign ethics orders for his administration later this week, aides say, and will address a joint session of the Legislature when he presents his first budget plan on March 7.
Shapiro also resigned as attorney general on Tuesday, leaving his senior deputy of six years in charge, Michelle Henry, 54, a career Bucks County prosecutor whom Shapiro plans to appoint to serve the final two years of her term.
Shapiro, a devout Jew, chose a stack of three Jewish Bibles to swear on, making religious tolerance an important part of the event, with members of multiple faiths delivering an invocation beforehand.
One was a family Bible; the second was from the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, where a gunman in 2018 killed 11 worshipers in the deadliest anti-Semitic attack in US history; and the third was an Army-issued tome carried by Herman Hershman of Philadelphia on D-Day in 1944.
The grand opening ended with a sold-out $50-a-ticket party at Rock Lititz Studios in Lititz, where hundreds watched performances by rappers Wiz Khalifa and singer-songwriter Meek Mill. Smokey Robinson and indie rock band Mt. Joy.
The event space was draped in shades of lights and red and blue backdrops before Shapiro – introduced by Mill – emerged later that evening with the new lieutenant governor. Shouting over the crowd, he called it a night to celebrate Pennsylvania, “a place where we believe in opportunity, a place where we believe in true freedom.”
“And folks, we look forward to working for you tomorrow,” Shapiro said. “Let’s carry on, everyone.”
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Brooke Schultz is a member of the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places reporters in local newsrooms to report on underreported issues.
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