From Wolf to Shapiro, wolf to what?
What is most surprising about Gov. Tom Wolf’s tenure is how ideologically driven he turned out to be — often to the Commonwealth’s detriment. With Josh Shapiro’s inauguration just two days away, this is a good moment to wonder what Pennsylvanians can expect from Mr. Wolf’s fellow Democrat.
The evidence indicates the new governor will be less ideological and more bipartisan than his hard-driving demeanor suggests.
That’s the inverse of what we got from the muted Mr. Wolf, but with Mr. Wolf, there wasn’t much evidence to go on — just a brief stint as an appointee (Secretary of Revenue) of former Gov. Ed Rendell (a savvy, popular leader with a permanent whiff of sleaze).
Gov. Wolf had no experience in elective office, no history of crafting legislation or hammering out deals. The refined world of the many nonprofit boards he chaired is far removed from the jostling and sharp elbows of Harrisburg. But with $10 million of his own money upfront, the mild-mannered buildingsupplies scion was able to vault himself into Pennsylvania’s highest elected office.
A scant six months into his first term, an InsideGov study ranked him America’s most liberal governor. He rejected the characterization, claiming to be guided by “practicality” born of his business career.
Businessowners of any political stripe may have hoped that this long immersion in the family enterprise would give Gov. Wolf insight into how they actually survive, but his capriciousCOVID lockdowns say otherwise.
In late 2020 he announced restaurants could stay open for the all-important holiday season. A few days later, after restaurants placed the year’s biggest food orders, he reversed himself, causing many permanent closures and lost jobs.
It was one of the worst decisions of his tenure, joined by his ban on fracking, his opposition to privatizing state stores and opposition to a bill that would have (modestly) limited abortions to 20 weeks’ gestation.
Do any of these positions display practicality or business acumen? Are they the actions of an ideologue, or of a man bowing to partisan pressure?
Good can come from ruinous decisions, however: Pennsylvania voters were first in the nation to approve, in May 2021, constitutional amendments that greatly curtail a governor’s emergency declaration powers — a pointed repudiation of Mr. Wolf.
A recent, widely published puff-piece by Marc Levy at the Associated Press cited unidentified “in-state polling” that shows Mr. Wolf leaving office with positive approval ratings.
By contrast, polls of “at least 1,263 registered voters” in every state, conducted by Morning Consult, show that Mr. Wolf has 47% approval and 46% disapproval ratings (figures fairly consistent “since early 2021” — that is, since right after his disastrous lockdowns). That makes him one of the least popular governors inthe U.S., fifth from the bottom.
What has the governor-elect gleaned from his predecessor’s performance?
As Attorney General, Mr. Shapiro asked the U.S. Supreme Court to throw out a lawsuit challenging Gov. Wolf’s lockdown measures, and his office urged citizens to report anyone who didn’t comply with COVID “guidelines.” But during last year’s campaign, Mr. Shapiro said he disagreed with Gov. Wolf’s pandemic policies.
Since his SCOTUS action and COVID tweets date from May 2020, it may well be that he, like many Americans, kept learning through the pandemic. We saw what worked and what didn’t, and we figured out when we were being lied to.
Gov.-elect Shapiro’s entire career has been spent in politics, a fact that rarely inspires confidence, no matter the party. In this Democrat’s case, however, a Republican colleague from his county commissioner days told the Philadelphia Inquirer that Mr. Shapiro was “verygood at arriving at consensus.”
His track record as Attorney General displays tenacity, competence and a passion to address injustice — especially his great victory onbehalf of victims of clergy sexual abuse.
In style, the outgoing and incoming governors could hardly be more different. Mr. Wolf arrived in sheep’s clothing and proved himself a partisan warrior. Mr. Shapiro arrives in warrior’s garb, fresh from important battles, to helm a state as divided as any in America. Here’s hoping he leads with those consensus-building skills.