Candidate statement: Attorney General Josh Shapiro

I grew up in Pennsylvania, watching my parents serve their community — my father as a pediatrician, and my mother as an educator. I witnessed firsthand how they cared for our neighbors and friends, and I recognized at a young age the importance of standing up for others and knew that was how I wanted to spend my career.

Those experiences guided me and inspired me to take on big fights and deliver real results for Pennsylvanians in all 67 counties throughout my career — and every day as attorney general. I uncovered decades of sexual abuse and coverups in the Catholic Church. I’ve had workers’ backs when they’ve been ripped off by wealthy corporations. I’ve held drug companies accountable for their role in the opioid crisis, and protected health care access for nearly 2 million people in Western Pennsylvania. I am proud of the work we’ve done to protect Pennsylvanians, and I will always hold those in power accountable when they try to screw Pennsylvanians over.

I am proud of my work, but I know there is so much more to be done. People across our commonwealth are facing serious challenges right now, and they need a governor who will focus on their challenges and fight for them. I will be a governor Pennsylvanians can count on — one who will create jobs, grow our economy, fix our education system, ensure we have safe communities and protect our fundamental freedoms.

I’ll hire 2,000 more police officers across the commonwealth — because I know we need more police, more funding and more training to keep our communities safe. I’ll invest more in apprenticeships, job skills training and vocational training — and I will remove the college degree requirement for thousands of state government jobs. I believe parents deserve to have a voice in their kids’ education — and that’s why I will make sure parents have a seat at the table by appointing at least two parents to the State Board of Education.

A strong economy, good schools and safe communities are the pillars of my vision for Pennsylvania — and making this a reality will guide everything I do as governor. I believe there is far more that unites us than divides us — and when it comes to protecting our communities and building a commonwealth that is the best place for businesses and families to thrive, I’ll work with anybody to get it done.

To learn more, please go to joshshapiro.org.