Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro made a stop in Westmoreland County on Monday evening, the 15th of 18 counties he’ll visit during a six-day bus tour after his announcement last week he is running for governor.
Shapiro is calling it the “Big Fights” bus tour, promoting his work exposing decades of abuse in the Catholic church and protecting health care for state residents by brokering a deal between UPMC and Highmark.
“I know that some Democrats have forgotten about communities like this,” Shapiro told a crowd of about 50 supporters gathered at the Westmoreland County Democratic Committee office in Greensburg. “I never have, and I want you to know that, as your next governor, you’ll be front and center on my mind.”
Shapiro said he hopes to strengthen families by building up Pennsylvania’s economy and hopes Pennsylvania can become a global leader in energy.
“I refuse to believe that we have to choose between energy independence and protecting jobs for our workers,” he said. “We’ve got to break this partisan fever that’s holding us back as a commonwealth.”
Derry Area school board member and Democrat Sean Kemmerer attended Shapiro’s campaign event and said he likes seeing a fellow Democrat visit Westmoreland.
“It’s important for everyone to have choice,” Kemmerer said. “What I’ve found is that having that exchange of ideas is important. Not just at the state level but the local level. Those are people you go to church with and see at the grocery store.”
Shapiro agreed and encouraged everyone to get out and vote in the November election.
“It’s important that everyone does their part to protect our democracy,” he said. “So when you have races for positions like school board, commissioner — those are the types of positions where the rubber meets the road, and I think it’s important for people to be engaged and involved in their local community.”
At the same time, he is focused on bringing voters out to further his goal of becoming the next governor.
“The defense of our democracy, the defense of the real progress we’ve made, happens in 2022,” he said.
