ICYMI: Josh Shapiro Joined La Mega Radio to Discuss His Top Priorities for Pennsylvania

Press Release

This morning, Attorney General Josh Shapiro joined La Mega's El Relajo de La Mañana to discuss his top priorities as Governor: building a stronger economy and lowering costs, improving education and investing in schools, and making our communities safer.

Shapiro has been campaigning all across Pennsylvania -- including visiting 19 counties in the two weeks before the primary -- as he meets voters where they are and continues working to build a broad coalition to win in November.

Across the Commonwealth, Shapiro is speaking to voters about his plans to create jobs and lower costs, improve Pennsylvania's schools, and support law enforcement to keep communities safe. As the campaign goes on, Josh Shapiro will continue sharing his message of opportunity and freedom with Democrats, Republicans, and independents alike across the Commonwealth.

See below for key excerpts of Shapiro's appearance on La Mega and listen to the full interview here.

ON SHAPIRO'S CAMPAIGN AND TOP PRIORITIES

Josh Shapiro: I'm proud to be the Democratic nominee and really proud of the team we've built of Republicans, Independents, Democrats, people from all over Pennsylvania. We're growing a big, large coalition, and we're gonna win this election in November. […]

The top priorities for me, of course, are the economy, public safety, and our kids' education. We should start with the economy. […] I want to do a couple things. Number one, we have got to bring down costs…I've got a plan to lower costs. I'm going to give everybody with a car $250 gas tax rebate immediately, if you have two cars, we'll give you 500 bucks, etc. We're going to cut everybody's cell phone tax -- right now we're spending over $300 million a year in a tax to Pennsylvania, just for the right to have a cell phone. We're going to eliminate that tax. We're going to help our seniors stay in their homes by doubling what's known as the Property Tax Rent Rebate, so seniors can get up to 1000 bucks to offset the costs there. So that's the first thing we've got to be able to bring down costs.

The second thing is, we've got to make sure this economy works for all Pennsylvanians. I've seen too many communities, particularly minority communities, rural communities, totally get shut out. They're not getting business from the Commonwealth, the businesses aren't growing. I want to invest in the kind of Main Streets in Reading that I was walking down just the other day.

And I want to make sure that we help -- and this goes into education, but I think it's an important part of the economy -- we have to help our young people get prepared for the workforce. So instead of sending them to high school, where they have to study standardized tests all the time, we're going to end our reliance on standardized testing, and instead in our schools, have vocational, technical, computer training for our kids.

So if they want to go to college, great, we're gonna make it more affordable. But if they want to go into the workforce, we are going to help train them for the workforce. So they can graduate high school and get a job and be able to put real money in their pockets.

ON GETTING MONEY OUT OF HARRISBURG AND INTO PEOPLE'S POCKETS

Josh Shapiro: The money I would use for this gas tax refund actually comes from federal money that was sent to Harrisburg. It's just sitting there not helping anybody. So why should money be sitting with the politicians in Harrisburg? I want to put it in people's pockets.

Question: Let me ask you the following question. Why is there money sitting there? Why is nothing being done with that money? How can billions of dollars be sitting there waiting to be used?

Josh Shapiro: You know, frankly, because the governor and the legislature haven't been able to work together to invest that money in our communities, to invest it in our schools or in workforce development or cutting costs, like what I'm proposing. Look, I'm someone who will know how to bring Democrats and Republicans together to actually get things done. And I think that's what your listeners and other Pennsylvanians want. They just want someone who knows how to work with people to get things done. I think a lot of people are rightly frustrated by government. I'm someone who can actually bring people together to solve problems, and get things done and make people's lives just a little bit better.

ON KEEPING PENNSYLVANIA COMMUNITIES SAFE

Question: What is your plan to help secure our communities?

Josh Shapiro: I will just tell you, number one, it starts with accountability. And I will tell you, as Attorney General, when we make an arrest of someone trafficking guns, or trafficking drugs, or bringing violence to our communities, those people end up behind bars, and they need to be behind bars. In order to ensure safety, people have a right to walk down the street and not fear for their lives. They have a right, a parent does, to know that when the final bell at school rings and their kid is walking home, that they're going to get home safely. And in some communities across Pennsylvania, people don't feel that people have a right to feel safe.

So number one, it starts with real accountability. If you go back and look at the cases we've prosecuted in the Attorney General's office, there is accountability. Number two, we do not have enough police in our communities. I think we need more police, not less. So I have a plan to hire 2,000 more police officers in Pennsylvania. Now hear me on this, we've got to make sure that there is constitutional policing in our communities. But I would maintain to you that if we can hire more police officers, it's one more opportunity for a police officer to get out of their patrol car and walk the beat and get to know the kids' names.

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