Independents in Chester County were forcedto cast a provisional ballot through the morning hours and early afternoon on Election Day.
Poll books delivered to Chester County’s precincts Tuesday morning did not include the names of independent and third-party voters, the county’s voter services department said in a post to X. As a result, poll workers were unable to allow those voters to cast ballots on machines as normal.
The county resolved the issue, delivering supplemental poll books to precincts, by 3:45 p.m. Tuesday. In response to the problem, the county extended voting hours by two hours. Voters who arrive at their polling places between 8 and 10 p.m. will have the opportunity to cast a provisional ballot.
Chester County Voter Services has reported that the poll books at all precincts currently do not include the names of third-party voters. Voter Services is in the process of sending supplemental poll books to all polling locations. 1/2
— Chester County Voter Services (@ChescoVoterSvcs) November 4, 2025
Poll books are the records poll workers use to verify that each voter is an eligible voter seeking to cast a ballot in the correct precinct.
Until the supplemental books were delivered, voters were asked to cast provisional ballots.
A provisional ballot is used when poll workers cannot immediately verify the eligibility of a voter. The ballots will be counted, but they are counted later than other votes, as election officials must first verify that the voter is eligible and has not already cast a ballot by mail or at another polling place.
All eligible voters in the county ultimately had the opportunity to cast a ballot and have it be counted.
Just over 75,000 Chester County voters are unaffiliated or registered to vote with a third party. Far fewer voters were likely to be affected by the error, however, as many cast mail ballots ahead of the election and odd-year elections tend to be lower in turnout.
A spokesperson for Chester County said the county will conduct a formal review to determine how unaffiliated and third-party voters were left off poll books and how to prevent it from happening again.
This suburban content is produced with support from the Leslie Miller and Richard Worley Foundation and The Lenfest Institute for Journalism. Editorial content is created independently of the project donors. Gifts to support The Inquirer’s high-impact journalism can be made at inquirer.com/donate. A list of Lenfest Institute donors can be found at lenfestinstitute.org/supporters.
The results of the tight race could be a barometer, nationally, for which party has an edge, and signal the type of messaging and candidate that can win over New Jersey voters in an increasingly purple state.
The race has attracted national attention and resources from both parties — especially Democrats who see the seat as a critical opportunity to build momentum and safeguard the state from the policies of President Donald Trump.
Ciattarelli spent his final campaign week rallying with Puerto Rican voters in Passaic County and taking his “It’s Time” bus tour around the state. He held meet-and-greets, rallies, and diner stops over the weekend in Monmouth, Ocean, Union, and Bergen Counties.
Sherrill, who would be only the second woman elected governor in the state should she prevail on Tuesday, rallied with former President Barack Obama on Saturday in Newark and with Sens. Cory Booker and Andy Kim on Sunday in Camden and Mount Laurel Township. The events followed a week that included a “Driving Down Costs” bus tour and appearances with former Transportation Secretary and presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg and Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle L. Parker.
Along with her promise to take on landlords “colluding to raise rents” and to tackle pharmaceutical prices, Sherrill reiterated her campaign promise to freeze utility rate hikes on her first day in office at the rally with Obama on Saturday.
“New Jersey, I’m not playing,” she told the audience. “I’m not writing a strongly worded letter and I’m not starting up a working group. I am not doing a 10-year study. I’m declaring a state of emergency.”
For decades, New Jerseyans had voted blue at the national level while electing Republicans to the governor’s mansion. Democrats have a voter registration advantage of about 850,000 voters in New Jersey, but 2.2 million voters are registered unaffiliated. And GOP registrations have outpaced Democratic ones since the 2024 presidential election, when Trump swung the state significantly redder, losing by only 6 points.
Ashley Koning, the director of the Rutgers Center for Public Interest Polling, said either candidate has a “very plausible path to victory.”
Democratic candidate for governor U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill poses with members of the Princeton College Democrats as she appears at a Mercer County Democrats GOTV Rally at the Mercer Oaks Golf Course in West Windsor Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025. From left are: Julian Danoff; Michelle Miao; and Paul Wang. (The group’s motto: “Bringing blue values to the Orange Bubble.”)
Dueling headwinds
There are dueling headwinds at play in the contest for New Jersey governor, too. Both Trump and Murphy are unpopular with about half of New Jersey voters. New Jersey hasn’t elected the same party to a third term for the governorship since 1961, but Republicans have also not won the office while their party has held the White House since 1985.
Once the votes are tallied in Tuesday’s election, New Jersey political history will be made either way.
Ken Martin, the chair of the Democratic National Committee, said he expects the race to be a close win for Democrats, noting “a win is a win.”
He resisted the critiques from some fellow Democrats that Sherrill played her campaign too safe, “in an era of brash bravado, machismo, and Donald Trump, and these candidates basically saying whatever the hell they want.”
“I think what she’s been doing is putting out a pretty compelling message to New Jerseyans and campaigning everywhere to make sure that they understand what she’s focused on,” he said.
The party’s vice chair, Pa. State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta (D., Philadelphia) predicted a good night for Democrats in New Jersey. “There’s that famous saying that ‘Trenton makes, the world takes,’ and I think Trenton is going to make a lot of momentum that we are going to take into 2026 and beyond.”
“I feel it, you know, I feel it on the ground,” said Sen. Andy Kim (D., N.J.) who campaigned with Sherrill in between fielding questions from fellow Democrats in Washington about what the race looks like back home.
“Everyone I talked to knows what’s at stake,” Kim said.
Chris Russell, Ciattarelli’s political strategist, argued that Ciattarelli has garnered support from voters who have traditionally supported Democrats by delivering them a clearer message on affordability.
“We put a significant amount of time and resources, driven and led by Jack, to be present in minority communities like the Hispanic community and the Black community, and we believe that effort is going to pay off,” he said.
Republican candidate for governor Jack Ciattarelli poses with members of the Pascucci family as he greets supporters at Palermo’s Pizza in Bordentown Monday, Oct.13, 2025 while campaigning in South Jersey.
‘A totally different vibe’
As the candidates made their final burst of media appearances in the countdown to Election Day, Ciattarelli, in a town hall with Fox News’ Sean Hannity on Thursday night, said the Republican campaign energy “is electric.” Ciattarelli said he was encouraged by early-vote and vote-by-mail numbers, which, while trailing Democrats, had surpassed 2021 GOP turnout numbers.
“We go after those one out of four Republicans … who typically only vote in presidential years,” Ciattarelli said on Hannity’s program. “We’ve done a magnificent job, our local Republican organizations have, in getting those people to vote by mail or vote early.”
State Sen. Latham Tiver, a South Jersey Republican, said Ciattarelli’s campaign stops are a “totally different vibe” than his last run in 2021. He recalls Ciattarelli introducing himself table to table, but now, Tiver said when the candidate enters the room, people flock to him.
“Jack’s doing everything he can. … He’s pounding the pavement, he’s meeting more and more people, and we’re all out there doing the same thing for him,” Tiver said.
As the candidates make their final push to lead New Jersey, the outcome will likely depend on who shows up at the polls Tuesday.
Both campaigns have motivated bases, but the election could come down to the less engaged and whether they decide to vote. Despite a record amount of spending in the state, only about 2% of voters remained undecided in polls.
“I don’t think people give enough credit — pollsters, political wonks — to just how burnt out the average American is,” said Jackie Cornell, who previously ran field operations for Obama’s campaign in New Jersey.
“They just don’t want to hear anything about any of this any more, and I worry that will be the deterrent more so than anything else.”
Personal attacks, political division, and culture wars have defined school board races in the Philadelphia suburbs in recentyears.
But 2025 feels different.
Even as national politics are more divided than ever — and amid a federal shutdown and state budget standoff — local school board candidates from both parties are shying away from partisanship in favor of focusing on local issues like taxes and full-day kindergarten.
The change in posture can be attributed to several factors —Republicans who ran on culture-war issues largely lost in 2023 and, while the GOP is now tackling those priorities from the federal level, local candidates said they cannot control what President Donald Trump does.Schools are also facing pressing fiscal issues amid state and federal budget cuts.
There are some exceptions. In Souderton, candidates on the Republican slate say they want to maintain the district’s current policies that prevent transgender girls from playing sports and prioritize “parental rights” — stances Trump has also embraced. Some Democratic candidates, meanwhile, say Trump’s education policies, including plans to dismantle the federal Department of Education, motivated them to run.
Still, those issues are not taking center stage across the Philadelphia collar counties.
“School districts are struggling financially,” said Brittany Crampsie, a Democratic consultant. Parents “don’t want to have a debate about DEI [diversity, equity, and inclusion] anymore, they want to make sure their kids are getting a good education.”
Moving on from ‘culture wars’ — for the most part
Supporters cheer in 2023 before five new Central Bucks school members are sworn in. Democrats seized control of the board in a contentious race.
Two years ago Central Bucks was again amongthe most closely watched races in the region, with spending surpassing $600,000. Democrats swept every open seat, oustinga conservative majority that had banned books and Pride flags in the district. Other suburban districts flipped to Democratic control as well.
Now, candidates are steering clear of those hot-button topics.
“My campaign is focused on academics, school taxes, and safety….these are the current issues of concern in Central Bucks,” Betty Santoro, a Republican, wrote in an email.
The Democratic candidates for Central Bucks school board: Amanda O’Connor, Katrina Filiatrault, David Comalli, and Daniel Kimicata (left to right).
Culture wars were a “distraction” from priorities for the district, said Daniel Kimicata, a Democrat running for reelection. Four of nine seats are on the ballot this year; Democrats will maintain their majority regardless of the outcome.
Andrew Miller, a Republican running in Central Bucks, wrote in an email it’s good that things are quieter. “People are tired of the shouting and want results,” he wrote. “They want candidates who listen, not lecture and candidates who build bridges, not walls.”
In Souderton — where Democrats say they are optimistic about their chances of gaining representation on the all-Republicanboard — the Republican platform also includesparental rights and student safety.
Republican board president Stephen Nelson, who is running for reelection, said that culture-war topics are not an issue in the district, but that it would not allow transgender athletes to compete on girls sports teams should the situation arise. (The Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association this year changed its transgender athlete policy to comply with President Donald Trump’s executive order on “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports.”)
“Why is that a question? It’s always been that way and we don’t quite understand why it has to be any different,” Nelson said.
In Pennridge, where the board is Democratic-controlled, Republican candidates, in a statement, pushed back on the idea that school board races in the past centered on issues promoted by Republicans. Instead, they argued, GOP candidates were responding to Democratic-initiated policies and questioning some DEI policies and whether they were best for students.
“Our intent was never to divide but to ensure that schools serve all students equally and that classroom priorities remain rooted in education, not ideology,” they said.
Money, money, money
This year, there is far less money flowing into school board races, though Central Bucks continues to attractoutside fundraising.
The Republican candidates for Central Bucks school board. Andrew Miller, Sharon Beck, Roman Szewczuk, and Betty Santoro (left to right).
The 1776 Project PAC, a group supportingRepublican school board candidates that has drawn ire from Democrats, has spent more than $86,000 on mailers and text messagesin Bucks County. Approximately half that has gone toward supporting Central Bucks GOP candidates,with the rest going to candidates in Centennial School District and Pennridge, according to Bucks Countycampaign finance reports.
The PAC has also spent more than $20,000 supporting candidates on Republican slates in Perkiomen Valley and Lower Merion, according to Montgomery County campaign finance filings.
Democrats are also getting support from an outside group — Red Wine and Blue, a national group of suburban women that promotes Democratic candidates. The group has spent approximately $260 in Bucks County and $104 in Montgomery County school board races, according to county filings.
In Bucks County, other races like district attorney and sheriffhave drawn money and attention that might have otherwise gone to school boards, said Guy Ciarrocchi, a GOP analyst.
“There’s a certain amount of fatigue that’s hitting a place like Bucks,” Ciarrocchi said.
The Trump factor
Democrats in suburban districts said they need tomaintain majorities to bestaddress the impacts of Trump administration policies.
“When I realized the threat that public education was under, I decided now was the time that I had to run,” said Katrina Filiatrault, a Democrat running in Central Bucks.
Judy Lofton, a Democrat running in Perkiomen Valley, said of her slate: “Our central unifying message is that we want to protect public education, that public education is currently under attacks from a variety of different stakeholders.”
Republicans are striking a different tone.
“We’re not focused on anything that’s going on outside of something that we don’t control,” said Jason Saylor, a Republican running for reelection in Perkiomen Valley. “We don’t control the federal government. We don’t control what might happen with the Department of Education. We don’t control issues at the state legislature.”
In Souderton, controversy flared last year whenRepublican school board member Bill Formica made lewd comments about former Vice President Kamala Harris. He is still on the board and is not up for reelection this year.
Residents protest at a Souderton school board meeting last year after board member Bill made a lewd social media post about then-Vice President Kamala Harris.
“We’re talking to every voter who might be a Republican or an independent, and they’re sharing concerns at the doors about how they can’t vote for certain people anymore,” said Corinne DeGeiso, a Democrat running for the board.
Nelson, the Republican school board president running for reelection, said Formica was protected by the First Amendment.
His comments, Nelson said, were “rude, lewd, and unacceptable,” but there was nothing the board could do about it.
Even in a less contentious election cycle, Chris Lilienthal, a spokesperson for the Pennsylvania State Education Association, which tends to endorse Democratic candidates, said school board elections are more important than ever this year.
“They’re holding the line right now in this budget impasse,” he said, “and that alone should merit the attention of voters.”
This suburban content is produced with support from the Leslie Miller and Richard Worley Foundation and The Lenfest Institute for Journalism. Editorial content is created independently of the project donors. Gifts to support The Inquirer’s high-impact journalism can be made at inquirer.com/donate. A list of Lenfest Institute donors can be found at lenfestinstitute.org/supporters.
By most measures, Erica Deuso’s campaign for mayor of Downingtown is unremarkable.
She spends Saturday mornings greeting residents at the farmers market and her weekend days knocking on doors in the Chester County borough. Most of the time, she’s talking about traffic and community events.
Democratic supporters pose with current Downingtown Mayor Phil Dague, center, Chester County Commissioner Josh Maxwell, center left, and mayoral candidate Erica Deuso, center right.
For most voters, though, those facts didn’t even register.
Deuso, who works in management at a pharmaceutical company, has lived in Downingtown for 18 years.
She is a committeewoman in the local Democratic Party, and board member for Emerge Pennsylvania, which trains women and LGBTQ+ people to run for office. Her platform centers on traffic control, domestic violence, community engagement, and sustainable development.
The Downingtown mayor has relatively limited power, overseeing the police department and acting as a tiebreaking vote on borough council. Deuso has promised not to sign an agreement between Downingtown police and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and said she wants to work on enhancing mental health services for officers while expanding their reach in the community to address concerns over traffic violations and e-bikes.
As she knocked on doors on a Saturday morning in October, Deuso’s gender identity rarely came up in her interactions with voters.
“I’m not running on being trans, that’s not something I ever do or ever wanted to do. I wanted to make it about the neighbors,” Deuso said. “It’s the other side making it about who I am, my identity.”
Going door-to-door looking for votes in Downingtown in October, Erica Deuso meets Nicole Flood at her door.
The historic nature of her campaign has likely driven attention and funds to the race. She has earned endorsements from several organizations that back LGBTQ+ and women candidates. And she’s received donations from outside the state and outside Chester County, including a $3,000 donation from Greater Than PAC, which supports progressive women.
But a scan of comments in community Facebook pages shows her identity has also driven more vitriol.
“There are people who refuse to use my correct name or pronouns, they’ve deadnamed me, all those sorts of things. But it’s been 16 years since I transitioned; I don’t really care,” Deuso said. But she’s mindful that LGBTQ+ youth are watching her. She engages in some of the posts, but not all of them.
“I want to handle it with grace.”
Those efforts are already influencing at least one local teen. Nicole Bastida-Moyer, a 39-year-old voter, told Deuso her candidacy had inspired her 14-year-old daughter to volunteer to help other students with their mental health. Both she and her daughter are pansexual.
“She deals with a lot of hate,” Bastida-Moyer said through tears about her daughter.
“Having Erica’s voice, it means a lot,” Bastida-Moyer said.
Nicole Bastida-Moyer gets a hug from Downingtown mayoral candidate Erica Deuso while campaigning in October.
Impact on voters
Deuso responds to comments on her Facebook page and other groups occasionally. She said she tends to do so only when she thinks a true conversation can come of it.
Door-knocking in her neighborhood, Deuso encountered just one voter who appeared to be hostile to her because of her gender identity. When Deuso approached one house, a woman came to the door and glanced at the candidate and her fliers through the screen door without opening it.
“I’m not voting for him,” the woman said. “For who?” Deuso asked as the woman turned and walked away.
Episodes like this are relatively rare, Deuso said
“People are generally much nicer in person than online,” said Jenn Fenn, who managed U.S. Rep. Chrissy Houlahan’s 2024 reelection campaign in a district that includes Downingtown.
Deuso’s opponent, Republican Rich Bryant, says he doesn’t condone those who attack Deuso based on her identity.
But Deuso has shared several screenshots on social media that appear to show Bryant insulting transgender women and making misogynistic remarks about cisgender women. At a canvass launch at the local farmers market, the township’s current mayor, Democrat Phil Dague, referenced these posts while comparing Bryant to Trump.
Current Downingtown Mayor Phil Dague talks with supporters for Erica Deuso listening at right. Saturday October 18, 2025.
Bryant claimed 90% of these posts are AI-generated but refused to say which posts are real and which are fake.
“I don’t like mud-slinging misinformation,” Bryant said. “I try to stay focused on what’s good for Downingtown.”
Rich Bryant is running as a Republican for Downingtown mayor.
He sought to present himself as better experienced than Deuso to be mayor, contending his career in cybersecurity has prepared him for the mayor’s primary duty of overseeing the local police department.
Alice Sullivan, an 80-year-old neighbor and donor to Deuso, had noticed some of the nastiness on social media and said she was voting for Deuso because, unlike her opponent, she wasn’t a “bigot.”
She lamented the online attacksagainst Deuso as disappointing — but unsurprising. The candidate’s gender identity shouldn’t matter, insisted Sullivan, who has lived in Downingtown for decades.
“Other people’s lives, genders, whatever is not my business,” she said.
Josh Maxwell, a Democratic county commissioner and former Downingtown mayor who had joined Deuso to knock doors, asked if Sullivan thought others would disagree in the historically Catholic community. But the people who cared, Sullivan argued, are “not going to vote Democrat anyway.”
“There might be some,” she said. “I don’t know very many.”
Campaigning in the west end of Downingtown Erica Deuso greets Alice Sullivan on Oct. 18.
As Deuso walked door to door, her conversations focused on local and community issues. She greeted every dog she saw and spoke to their owners about their safety concerns — drivers had been racing down quiet neighborhood streets — and their concerns about the community. Deuso is proposing a program to offer hotel rooms for one night to those facing domestic violence.
She also made it clear that she would be a resource, even on issues that went beyond the mayor’s official duties. She showed one voter how she had started a youth-driven art project at a recent township festival. And pointed to a home that, just weeks prior, she’d brought a misdelivered package to on behalf of a voter.
For weeks, Raul Hurtado, Deuso’s neighbor who immigrated from Colombia in the 1990s, has been rolling down his windows when he sees Deuso, telling her he’s voting for her.
“She is from this town, my neighbor, and we need someone to help us,” Hurtado told The Inquirer.
If she’s elected, Deuso told Hurtado, her goal is to be available to all residents through office hours at Borough Hall.
“We can have a face-to-face discussion,” she said. “Not through your car window.”
This suburban content is produced with support from the Leslie Miller and Richard Worley Foundation and The Lenfest Institute for Journalism. Editorial content is created independently of the project donors. Gifts to support The Inquirer’s high-impact journalism can be made at inquirer.com/donate. A list of Lenfest Institute donors can be found at lenfestinstitute.org/supporters.
City Councilmember Jimmy Harrity wants to revisit the contentious debate that led to the 2017 creation of Philadelphia’s sweetened beverage tax, arguing that the levy has cost the city jobs and will eventually prove insufficient to pay for the programs it was enacted to support, such as subsidized prekindergarten.
“We‘re going to keep on pulling more money out of the general fund each year, taking away from other programs,” Harrity, a Democrat, said Monday at a hearing of Council’s Labor and Civil Service Committee, which he chairs. “If we were in business and these numbers were the numbers of the business, we wouldn’t be in business long.”
The tax, which is paid by distributors of sweetened beverages sold in Philadelphia, is 1.5 cents per ounce. Council approved it in 2016 despite vociferous opposition from the beverage industry and Teamsters Local 830, which testified Monday the tax has led to 1,000 of its members who drove trucks for distributors losing work.
Harrity,an ally of the Teamsters, noted that revenue from the tax has declined as Philadelphians either drink fewer sweetened beverages or find ways to purchase them outside the city. The tax produced about $73.4 million in the 2023 fiscal year, but only $64.4 million last year, he said.
A Council staffer arranges a table of sugary drinks before Councilmember Jimmy Harrity (not shown) holds a hearing in City Council Monday, Oct. 27, 2025 on former Mayor Jim Kenney’s tax on sweetened beverages.
For Harrity, that means that the city should consider eliminating the “soda tax,” as it is widely known, in favor of a more “sustainable” funding stream. He did not offer any alternatives.
But based on his colleagues’ reactions, it is unlikely the tax will be reconsidered in a serious way any time soon.
Marcy Boroff with Children First dresses as a coke can for a City Council hearing Monday, Oct. 27, 2025 on former Mayor Jim Kenney’s tax on sweetened beverages. She was there to support the tax. Children First advocates for policy changes to improve child health, education, and welfare, especially for low-income children. .
And they stressed its critical role in paying for the three initiatives that Kenney launched alongside the tax: PHL Pre-K, which provides free childcare to 5,250 kids; community schools, which offer a multitude of services to families in 20 Philly schools; and the Rebuild program, which renovates and improves recreation centers and playgrounds.
“We have to make tough decisions that will actually benefit the greater good, and that’s what we did here,” Democratic Councilmember Rue Landau said during the hearing, adding that “the majority of us up here on this panel think this is a great investment.”
“We would not have been able to fund these programs without that beverage tax money,” said city Finance Director Rob Dubow, who has held his role under Parker, Kenney, and former Mayor Michael A. Nutter. Nutter twice tried unsuccessfully to implement a “soda tax” before Kenney succeeded.
Dubow told lawmakers that the decline in the tax’s revenue over time was always part of the plan and that city leaders intended for the regular city budget to make up the difference for funding Rebuild, pre-K, and community schools when they created the tax. The moment when the soda tax began taking in less money than the city pays out for the three programs it helped launch was the 2024 fiscal year, he said.
“We pay for it out of the general fund, which is what we always intended we would do,” Dubow said.
This year, Rebuild, pre-K, and community schools are projected to cost $110 million, Dubow said. Of that, $73 million pays for the 5,250 slots in the city’s pre-K program.
Preschoolers and their caregivers attend a City Council hearing held by Councilmember Jimmy Harrity Monday, Oct. 27, 2025 on former Mayor Jim Kenney’s tax on sweetened beverages. The tax funds the city’s universal pre-kindergarten program
‘Why not Taj Mahals?’
Councilmember Brian O’Neill was the only other Council member besides Harrity to vocally criticize the tax at Monday’s hearing.
O’Neill, Council’s lone Republican, noted that Council members have traditionally had control over capital funding for Philadelphia Parks and Recreation projects in their districts. That money, he noted, is split evenly among the 10 district Council members.
“This program — Rebuild, they call it — they didn’t decide to bring playgrounds up to some minimum level where people over the years may not have spent their money well,” O’Neill said. “They decided to build Taj Mahals in many cases. … You know what happens when you build a playground and spend tons of money on it? … All the playgrounds around it look terrible.“
Councilmember Brian J. O’Neill (center) speaks during a hearing in City Council Monday, Oct. 27, 2025 on former Mayor Jim Kenney’s tax on sweetened beverages. Behind him, front to rear, are: Councilmembers Kendra Brooks, Jimmy Harrity, Nina Ahmad, and Rue Landau.
That comment did not go over well with some of his colleagues.
“My community benefited from a rec center that was through the Rebuild program,” said Councilmember Kendra Brooks, a member of the progressive Working Families Party who lives in Nicetown. “It’s not a Taj Mahal. It’s a quality rec center in the middle of North Philadelphia. It does not have everything, because I personally went and bought a refrigerator.”
And Councilmember Nina Ahmad, a Democrat, questioned why building grandiose rec centers would be a problem in the first place.
“Why not Taj Mahals for all our folks? Why not have the best-quality rec centers so our children want to go there, our children want to spend time there?” Ahmad said. “We live in a first-world country and yet we are begging for scraps for our youngest citizens.”
Gov. Josh Shapiro told the New York Times in an article appearing Monday his opinion that a Jewish person could become president has not changed since he first voiced it a year ago.
The article referenced a statement Shapiro made to the Times last year that “speaking broadly, absolutely” America could elect a Jewish president in his lifetime.
The Monday article stated: “This month he said his view was unchanged.”
Shapiro has never publicly confirmed he’s interested in running for president, though speculation has long followed him.
While he has been largely untested on the national stage, Shapiro is often listed among the Democrats likely to make a run for the presidency in 2028.
Despite that, the April arson attack, denounced by many as antisemitic, at the governor’s mansion against Shapiro and his family on Passover as they slept shook some people’s “confidence in the idea that the country was ready for leaders like Mr. Shapiro,” the Times wrote.
In fact, Shapiro told the Times, he spoke with his family about whether holding elected office was worth the risk of political violence, which Americans believe is on the rise, according to a survey released last week by the Pew Research Center.
Shapiro concluded: “If I leave because violence pushed us out or scared us, then those who want to perpetuate political violence win.
“I’ve got to stay. I’ve got to show that we’re not afraid.”
Taking that stand, however, is not getting easier.
“It’s gotten hotter and hotter and more and more dangerous,” Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, herself the target of a kidnapping plot, told the Times.
Cody Balmer, 38, the man accused of setting the governor’s mansion ablaze, pleaded guilty on Oct. 14 to attempted murder and related crimes.Sentenced to 25 to 50 years in prison, Balmer said he intended to attack Shapiro with a hammer that night.
Photos released by the Pennsylvania State Police and seen on YouTube showed a soot-covered chandelier, singed walls, a blackened carpet, melted tables, burned furniture, and a damaged grand piano.
Since the attack, Shapiro has spoken with other elected leaders and those considering running for office, offering personal guidance to those victimized by political violence, and he talked with Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota after the former state House speaker, Melissa Hortman, and her husband were assassinated, the Times wrote.
“Knowing that as you’re doing that work that I consider to be noble, that it comes with a risk to you and your family,” he told the Times, “that’s a tension that is a challenge to work through.”
“It is one of the reasons why I’m so motivated to speak out against political violence,” Shapiroadded. To “try and take the temperature down so that good people want to serve.”
Regarding potential bias against religion, the governor told the Times that Americans “respect faith, even if they don’t practice it, and want to have a deep relationship with the people who represent them.”
Being open about his Judaism has allowed him “to be able to have a deeper relationship with the people of Pennsylvania, allowed them to share their stories,” Shapiro told the Times, adding: “We’re doing that in this ultimate swing state.”
Considered a viable Democratic presence, Shapiro on Saturday stumped for New Jersey gubernatorial candidate U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill in the Garden State at a senior center auditorium and an African Methodist Episcopal church, targeting two groups seen as necessary for Sherrill to beat Republican Jack Ciattarelli.
Staff writers Julia Terruso and Gillian McGoldrick contributed to this article.
Delaware County’s homeless services, already overextended and stretched to its limits, are slated to lose two shelters and a much-needed rental assistance program at the end of the month as a result of the ongoing budget impasse in Harrisburg.
The closures, though likely temporary until state lawmakers set aside partisan disagreements to approve a budget, would mark a major blow to a system some say is on the brink of collapse in one of Pennsylvania’s most populous counties.
Delaware County officials have attempted to stave off suspensions in critical social services for the first few months of the budget impasse by dipping into their coffers. According to officials, the county typically spends $12 million a month on homeless shelters and other services for children and youth, mental health needs, and substance use disorders.
Now out of options to pay for these critical supports, the county has notified local service providers that they won’t be able to help them any further. Only a budget can restore funding.
“We had hoped the impasse would be resolved much sooner and had fully funded our providers through September, but unfortunately can no longer fully fund providers without the funds from the state,” county spokesperson Mike Connolly said.
Men’s dorm at Life Center-Eastern Delaware County in Upper Darby on Friday.
The Community Action Agency of Delaware County, which operates three shelters and a rental assistance program, among other services, has no choice but to make cuts to its services or even close, its executive director Ed Coleman said.
Life Center, a shelter that has room for about 50 people, has gradually cut its capacity by half. Wesley House and Family Management Center, which have a combined capacity to house more than 110 people, are slated to close by the end of the month. Plus, CAADC’s rental assistance program, which helps approximately 270 families a year, will be paused until the state budget is passed.
Remaining homeless shelters, such as Breaking Bread in Upper Darby and the Salvation Army in Chester, have already seen a surge in people seeking assistance in recent weeks as Wesley House Shelter and Family Management Center wind down operations.
“We’re at capacity. We have no more room,” said James Stephenson, who leads the Salvation Army’s 40-person facility.
Mental Health Partnerships, which provides services for people with mental health conditions or substance use disorders, has been assembling a weekly working group with local shelters and county government to prepare for a winter with at least one emergency shelter, in anticipation of more shelter closures, said its president and CEO, Jeannine Lisitski. Mental Health Partnerships officials have already begun seeing more people on the streets around Delaware County as part of their street outreach there due to the diminishing number of places that people can go to stay warm in these cooling months.
“There’s a real crisis in Delaware County brewing now,” Lisitski said.
‘It’s childish for people to be so politically divided’
With no state budget in sight, public schools, counties, and service providers that help Pennsylvania’s most vulnerable have been forced to find ways to keep their doors open as they await reimbursement from the state. School districts have had to make up more than $3 billion in expected state payments, while some counties have had to lay off staff or take out major loans.
But the issues are particularly dire in Delaware County, where the budget impasse is just the latest blow to the threadbare safety net that has only been further stretched in recent years.
Delco had the fourth-highest eviction rate in Pennsylvania in 2022, at 11.5%, according to a study by PolicyLink and Community Legal Services of Philadelphia.
The persistent issue pushed Delco officials and dozens of other stakeholders to convene the following year to find ways to help the more than 300 people already facing homelessness and the 100 families on wait lists for shelters in the county, as well as all those in danger of losing housing.
Breaking Bread, which until recently could serve 25 people, can take in only eight after moving back to its original building, which is in need of repairs and has limited space.
And the county’s adult and family services agency, which contracts with shelter providers, saw a loss of $1 million in funding.
Lisitski said Mental Health Partnerships — which serves Delaware County, the other three collar counties, and Philadelphia — has already taken out a significant amount of credit to continue operating. And she has grown deeply frustrated with the state government that leaders have not been able to come together to achieve a budget deal.
“I’m really disgusted, I have to say. I hold myself to a very high standard as a CEO and as a leader. I would not leave my post if I did not take care of every program. I would not leave for the day until I resolved everything,” she said.
“That’s my commitment. I want the same commitment from our elected officials. And it’s childish for people to be so politically divided,” she added.
Separately, the federal shutdown is poised to delay funds from the Low-Income Energy Assistance Program, which help about 300,000 Pennsylvanians pay their heating bills, as well as the distribution of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.
At Wesley House, which can serve an average of 50 children at any given time, families like Grayson’s are scrambling to find temporary housing.
The 52-year-old has been living in Wesley House for almost seven months after caring for his terminally ill mother drained the family’s finances and led his family of four to be evicted. He asked that his full name be withheld to protect the identity of his two young children, as not everyone knows the family became homeless this year.
“This is people’s last resort. This is the last stop before being on the street,” Grayson said of the room with four bunk beds he shares with his family. “I feel like we’re being kicked while we’re already down.”
With news of Wesley House’s closure, Grayson and his wife are working with social workers to get rapid rehousing so as not to disrupt their children’s lives, but it’s a race against time in between the three combined jobs the couple is working.
John Weis, Life Center of Delaware County’s lead case manager (left) assists client Joseph Wallace Friday.
For Heather Schearer, her several months living at Life Center were a necessary step up in her recovery process. She had been unhoused for about five months earlier this year, and was sleeping in her car until it got too cold. When approached, she agreed to stay at Life Center until she eventually was connected to longer-term provider Mental Health Partnerships for its rapid rehousing and peer support programs, she said.
“[Politicians] don’t want to get their boots on the ground, take your ties off, and sit and talk,” Schearer said. “It’s the little things that matter that will get you to the next step.”
According to Community Action, similar scenes are playing out at Family Management Center, which can serve an average of a little more than 30 children at any given time. And while the most significant service reductions in homeless services are not scheduled for another week, the impacts of cuts are already visible across Delaware County.
Lisitski, of Mental Health Partnerships, which provides street outreach around Delaware County, said staff have already seen “a lot more people” than usual living on the street.
When shelters close like this, it becomes a “life-and-death situation” for people who are unhoused, she added. If the people who access critical services — usually people who are homeless, have substance use disorder, or have serious mental health conditions — cannot do so, she said, it will result in their being jailed, institutionalized, or, in the worst cases, dead.
In anticipation of the added need for housing due to the impasse, Mental Health Partnerships is working with Delaware County officials, faith-based entities, and other local groups to prepare emergency shelter space from December through April. It is also taking a line of credit to stay afloat.
But loans are not a viable option for all service providers.
Coleman, of Community Action, said even if the nonprofit could be approved for a line of credit, leaders have no way of knowing how much to ask for since they don’t know when a budget will be passed. Then there would be the question of interest.
“There’s no way [shelters] can afford to pay back interest on a loan, and the interest on a loan cannot be charged to a grant, so it would just be money lost to them,” he said.
Without a state budget, local government is the nonprofit’s last hope. Upper Darby, where Life Center is located, has awarded Life Center $120,000 in Community Development Block Grant funds, which will become available Jan. 1, according to officials there.
It’s much-needed money, but only one thing can help Community Action’s two other shelters stay open.
“We’re hoping that the legislators can do their job and pass a budget so the county doesn’t have to deal with some unfortunate situations,” Coleman said.
C.B. can’t even comprehend her transgender daughter being required to use the boys’ bathroomat her South Jersey school.
“If you went into her classroom and someone said, ‘Pick out the trans kid out of these 25 kids,’ you would not be able to,” C.B. said. “You might very well get it wrong.”
C.B., who asked to be identified by her initials to protect the privacy of her child, said she loves the Garden State. She has a “very Jersey family.”
But, like other parents of trans children, she’s considering packing her family’s bags depending on the results of the Nov. 4 election, and whether the next governor maintains the state’s LGBTQ+ friendly policies.
“I can’t think of anyone who’s not at least thinking of a contingency plan. I think we all have our limits of when we’ve got to go,” C.B. said. “We just have to protect our kids.”
The stakes of the election are stark for C.B. and other parents. Jack Ciattarelli, the Republican nominee for New Jersey governor, opposes state policies implemented under Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy meant to protect transgender children. Ciattarelli says he would require schools to tell parents about their children’s gender identity and stop transgender girls from participating in girls’ sports. He also opposes gender-affirming care for minors and believes parents should be able to opt their kids out of LGBTQ+ related topics in school.
U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill, the Democratic nominee, has largely voted in support of transgender rights throughout her nearly seven-year legislative career. She was endorsed by LGBTQ+ advocacy groups as well as her friend U.S. Rep. Sarah McBride (D., Del.), the first openly transgender member of Congress. But Sherrill has not publicly defended trans rights when criticized by Ciattarelli and has declined to answer reporters’ questions on the matter.
L.B., another South Jersey parent facing the same dilemma in the lead-up to Election Day,said her 10-year-old transgender daughter isn’t stealing any thunder from other girls on her coed sports team — she is the smallest in her class. And it’s hard for her to imagine anyone seeing her child as a threat to anyone in the bathroom.
“People move from all over the country to New Jersey because it’s known as a safe haven for LGBTQ rights,” said L.B., who is using her initials to protect her child’s privacy. “And now, if Jack Ciattarelli wins, it could become a state that people have to flee from.”
Republican nominee for New Jersey governor Jack Ciattarelli speaks at a rally at the Corner House Tavern in Columbus.
During the 2024 election, President Donald Trump frequently attacked Vice President Kamala Harris for supporting transgender people.Ciattarelli has followedthat playbook, framing Sherrill on the campaign trail, in ads, and on the debate stage as being too supportive of transgender identities.
Sherrill has not just ignored the attacks. She has avoided talking aboutthe issue altogether.
“I don’t necessarily blame her for that, although more vocal support, outspoken support, would be amazing. It would make a lot of us feel much safer,” C.B. said.
Othertransgender rights advocates interviewed by The Inquirer also said they wish Sherrill would speak up more. But they understand why she doesn’t.
“Mikie Sherrill is not saying much of anything about the transgender population — which, you know, frankly, is what unfortunately might be her best strategy to be elected,” said Melissa Firstenberg, a transgender woman who founded Marlton Pride. “Unfortunately, for somebody like me, she is the only option.”
Melissa Firstenberg marching in a July 4 parade with Marlton Pride.
A page out of Trump’s playbook
Trump campaigned for president on the promise of stopping transgender athletes from competing in women’s and girls’ sports.
Ciattarelli has also made the popular GOP talking point a centerpiece of his campaign. In his stump speeches, he attacks Sherrill for voting “to allow biological boys to play in girls’ sports” despite being “a mother of two daughters,” in reference to her vote against the “Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act‚” which would prohibit transgender girls from participating in girls’ sports and had support from only two House Democrats.
Ciattarelli has championed a so-called parental rights movement and frequently touts his opposition to New Jersey School Policy 5756, an advisory policy calling for schools to support students’ gender identity and allow transgender students to compete on sports teams and use the restrooms where they feel comfortable. The guidance states that parental consent is not needed to accept a student’s asserted gender identity.
In the first general election debate last month, Ciattarelli tried to veer the conversation to transgender youth in schools multiple times, and said he was concerned about “the welfare of our children.”
“I don’t think school districts should be keeping secrets from parents. I don’t think that biological boys should be playing in girls’ sports,” he said.
“She opposes me on both of those issues,” Ciattarelli added, referring to Sherrill’s 2023 voteagainst the “Parents Bill of Rights Act” that would require parental notification of children’s gender identity, among other measures. No House Democrats voted for the bill.
Sherrill did not address her past votes, correct Ciattarelli, or respond to the specifics of his argument,beyond mentioning that “parents know their kids best, and they need to be able to determine if there’s something they want to opt out of.” That stance echoes Ciattarelli’s arguments, though it was unclear what exactly Sherrill was referring to.
When asked after the debate about participation of transgender athletes, Sherrill deferred to “New Jersey sports groups” and the National Collegiate Athletic Association. She also cited her support for the Kids Online Safety Act, mentioning an uptick in bullying of LGBTQ+ youth.
Sherrill has garnered endorsements and donations fromLGBTQ+ advocacygroups like the Human Rights Campaign and GLAAD for her voting record — though she did take heat for a December 2024 vote for the National Defense Authorization Act, which included a provision that removed transgender healthcare for military dependents. Despite her vote,Sherrill criticized that measure as singling “out a small handful of innocent children to be used as political pawns.”
But Sherrill declined through a campaign spokesperson to share her stance on the state’s school guidance or protections for gender-affirming care for this story, or to be interviewed about trans rights.
U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D., N.J.) speaks during a gubernatorial debate with Republican Jack Ciattarelli Sept. 21, 2025 at Rider University.
Instead, in a statement, Sherrill said she “will govern in a way that keeps New Jersey kids, my own and others, safe and with parents in the driver’s seat regarding their kids’ education.” The 200-word statement did not mention “trans,” “gender,” or “LGBTQ.”
She also said that “schools are a place to learn, not to advance political agendas,” and that she would ensure they teach “the full history of our nation” and continue to give parents the choiceto opt out of “certain sex-education conversations.”
Meanwhile, Chris Russell, a Ciattarelli campaign spokesperson, said in a text message that Ciattarelli “opposes so-called gender-affirming care for minors” when asked about Murphy’s executive order that makes the state a “safe haven” for gender-affirming healthcare.
“As Governor Jack will review all of Governor Murphy’s EO’s and related policies to ensure that they are consistent with his positions regarding parental notification for minors, protecting women’s & girl’s sports & offering an age appropriate curriculum,” he added.
Sherrill is not the only Democrat across the country who has trod lightly on trans rights since Republicans upped the attacks last year, but Diane Rugala, a Collingswood-based parent whose transgender son is a Rutgers University graduate student, thinks Sherrill should “just own it” when it comes to defending transgender kids.
“You have to play the game, I get it,” said Rugala, who is also an activist with PFLAG, an LGBTQ+ advocacy group.
“But I also think that a really authentic statement would be good,” she added. “I don’t think people are asking for her to become this big advocate for the trans community … just a simple statement.”
Attack ads mirroring the presidential election
Ciattarelli’s campaign recently started running an adthat highlights Sherrill saying that she “would push an LGBTQ education into our schools,” and that “parents have a right to opt out of a lot of things” but “this is not an area where they should be opting out.”
The clip was from a Democratic primary debate earlier this year when she was responding to the question of whether parents should be able to opt their students out of “LGBTQ-related content” in the same way they can be taken out of sex-ed and health classes.
The ad calls it her “education plan” and tells viewers that it’s “your choice, not hers.”
She explained in that debate that students should understand “the background of people throughout our nation” and condemned the “erasure of history.” As of 2020, New Jersey schools are required to teach about societal contributions from LGBTQ+ people, along with other groups, in middle and high school social studies.
Jo Miller speaks at a rally for trans youth organized by Garden State Equality in Asbury Park in June.
Another ad echoes the attack that was lodged against Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign.
The American Principles Project (APP), a Virginia-based conservative group that identifies itself as “pro-family,” paid for an ad that vilifies trans people and accuses Sherrill of wanting to “protect they/them instead of your children,” referencing nonbinary pronouns. The group’s New Jersey PAC reported $126,000 in expenditures in the race as of Oct. 3, with $429,000 more cash on hand.
Trump’s campaign aired ads last year arguing that Harris is for “they/them,” while Trump is for “you.”
Jo Miller, 29, a transgender woman who serves on the Woodbury City Council, said she “would like to see a more forceful response” from Sherrill because not addressing the attacks can leave more people thinking that Republicans’ “demonization” of trans people — a small segment of the population — is true.
“I would love to see Mikie Sherrill take some stronger stances, and I think we will see that eventually as governor, but I think the truth is, it’s not her main focus,” Miller said. “And it’s kind of strange that it’s Jack Ciattarelli’s main focus, and it’s Donald Trump’s main focus.”
On the first day of early in-person voting in New Jersey, and with U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate, showing a slim polling edge over her Republican opponent, Democrats called in the popular governor from neighboring Pennsylvania to drum up some enthusiasm among Garden State voters.
Gov. Josh Shapiro stumped for Sherrill at a senior center auditorium and an African Methodist Episcopal church, targeting two groups seen as necessary for Sherrill to beat Republican Jack Ciattarelli.
“Thank you for getting off the sidelines,” Shapiro said to the crowd at the senior center, several of whom said they either voted by mail already or were on their way to the polls. “Thank you for doing your part. Thank you for being in this game. I am grateful.”
Outside the Monroe Township senior center, Shapiro was a big draw among the crowd that lined up early Saturday to get through security.
“He’s very well liked,” said Connie Hamlin, 71, of Monroe Township, who sipped coffee to stay warm “Number one, he’s handsome. He’s young. That’s very important.”
Equally important, she said, is that Shapiro is “for democracy” and “a decent person,” two traits she said President Donald Trump lacks.
Gov. Josh Shapiro on the campaign trail for NJ gubernatorial candidate Mikie Sherrill (left) Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025.
At the two campaign stops, Sherrill ripped into Trump, saying that while the prices of consumer goods like coffee have skyrocketed, “Trump and his family are making billions.”
Sherrill said her opponent would rubber-stamp Trump administration policies that are unpopular with many in New Jersey — such as his cancellation of $16 billion in funding to build two new rail tunnels under the Hudson River.
“It’s about opportunity and affordability,” Sherrill said. “We’re fighting for our kids, to make sure they have a better future.”
Ciattarelli hit the campaign trail as well Saturday, stopping in Passaic, Bergen, and Morris Counties with a message of “a stronger, safer, and more affordable New Jersey,” according to Facebook posts.
Friday evening, Trump held a tele-rally for Ciattarelli, in which he said Sherrill would “be a travesty as the governor of New Jersey” and urged Republicans to take part in early voting.
“You got to make sure the votes are counted, because New Jersey has a little bit of a rough reputation, I must be honest,” Trump said.
There is no evidence of mass voter fraud in New Jersey or anywhere else in recent elections, but Trump still claims the 2020 election was rigged against him and has appointed a notorious Pennsylvania election denier to a federal position monitoring elections. On Friday, the Department of Justice said it will send federal observers to monitor elections in New Jersey and California.
At a news conference Saturday, Sherrill said she is proud that New Jersey’s elections have been “open, transparent, and free.”
“And we’re going to continue to do that, and ensure we don’t have any voter intimidation,” Sherrill said.
At the senior center, Hamlin said she supports Sherrill’s plan to lower energy costs, likes that she’s a woman, and feels it’s important that the next governor is a Democrat. “She’s soft-spoken, but she has meaningful things to say,” Hamlin said.
Shapiro spoke about how he was raised and how his faith teaches him that “no one is required to complete the task, but neither are we free to refrain from it.”
The message wasn’t lost on Steve Riback, who said Trump has given antisemites and other extremists “license to come out of the woodwork.” Riback, who is Jewish, said that Shapiro would be his top choice for president in 2028, above Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker.
Shapiro urged voters frustrated with Trump to send a message to the rest of the country “that here in Jersey, we value our freedom, we cherish our democracy, and we love our country.”
And Shapiro held up Sherrill as someone who would get things done in New Jersey. Sherrill has cited Pennsylvania as an example of a state with more efficient business licensure rules and better-managed energy costs.
Shapiro, who has not officially announced his reelection campaign, has long been floated as a presidential hopeful by Democratic insiders and national pundits. Shapiro’s soon-to-be-released memoir will likely add to speculation about his 2026 intentions.
After the senior center visit, Shapiro and Sherrill hit the turnpike up to New Brunswick, where a packed Mount Zion A.M.E. Church — congregants had come in on buses from around the state — was waiting for him.
Shapiro said it was up to Democrats to keep, and build upon, what the founders created. “We are those people, and this is a moment where we have to do this work. We’ve got to stand up for our rights,” he said. “We’ve got to keep perfecting our union.”
Pheobie Thomas, an A.M.E. member who traveled from Trenton for church, said Shapiro and Sherrill offered promising signs that they support “equitable access for all people, including Black people.”
Thomas, 48, said there is a long history of Democratic politicians courting Black churches for votes, and for good reason.
“The Black church is extremely important,” Thomas said. “We do go to the polls. We do show up.”
As for Shapiro, she said he was speaking to New Jersey — but at the same time, he hinted that he was speaking to a broader audience.
“You just know that there’s that potential of, you know, ‘I may come back again to ask for your vote.’”
Staff writer Robert Moran contributed to this article.
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HARRISBURG — Taxpayers are paying for roughly $1 million in security upgrades to Gov. Josh Shapiro’s private home in Montgomery County, according to information the administration disclosed to top lawmakers about its expenditures in the aftermath of the brazen arson attack on the first family earlier this year.
In a Friday letter to legislative leaders, administration officials said improvements include “erecting physical and visual barriers on the property, installing enhanced security technology, and other steps.” They then noted that due to safety concerns, they could not provide more details about the work being conducted at Shapiro’s private home.
The letter, authored by Pennsylvania State Police Commissioner Christopher Paris and Department of General Services Secretary Reggie McNeill, also disclosed safety upgrades totaling $32.3 million at the governor’s official residence in Harrisburg, including $8 million to retrofit the mansion with new windows that are bullet- and shatterproof.
The attack occurred at the 29,000-square-foot mansion this past April while the governor and his family were asleep inside.
“The horrifying attack on the Governor, his family, and Commonwealth property, coupled with the unfortunate rise in political violence across our country, has made these updates necessary to protect the Governor and his family and ensure the continued operation of the executive branch of the Commonwealth,” Paris and McNeill wrote. “No family should have to live behind bulletproof glass or behind large walls — but the nature of the threats against elected officials today require us to take these important steps.”
They added: “Unfortunately, the threat to a high-profile elected official like Gov. Shapiro does not end when he leaves the Governor’s Residence.”
In a statement, Shapiro spokesperson Rosie Lapowsky said the State Police conducted a security review of the governor’s personal residence and recommended a number of improvements. Before carrying out any of those improvements, she said the administration “consulted the Ethics Commission … to ensure there is no improper private, pecuniary gain from these security improvements.”
Last week, Harrisburg resident Cody Balmer pleaded guilty to attempted murder, aggravated arson, and other charges related to the attack in the dead of the night on April 13. That is when Balmer scaled the perimeter fence at the governor’s official residence along the banks of the Susquehanna River, broke two windows, and used crude, homemade Molotov cocktails to set fire to several rooms on the residence’s first floor.
Shapiro, his family, and friends had celebrated Passover just hours before, and were asleep on the second floor of the residence when Balmer broke in. Balmer told authorities that he would have beaten Shapiro with a hammer he had with him if he had encountered the governor.
The Democratic governor has said that he and his family are still struggling with the emotional toll of the attack, but stressed that he will not be deterred from continuing in public service.
It is not clear what prompted Paris and McNeill’s letter. Earlier this week, Spotlight PA submitted a public records request for all taxpayer-funded expenditures at the governor’s private home.
Also midweek, Republican state Sen. Jarett Coleman, who chairs the chamber’s Intergovernmental Operations Committee, fired off a letter to Paris seeking similar information about physical improvements to Shapiro’s Montgomery County home, among other items.
Coleman told Spotlight PA on Friday that his committee will “continue to investigate” spending at the governor’s private residence “to protect taxpayers as this unprecedented project is being completed.”
Spotlight PA last month reported that the state has spent more than $6 million to repair extensive damage from the fire at the governor’s official residence — but that the administration is shielding information about nearly a quarter of those expenses, including who was paid and exactly what the money was spent on.
The news organization has also reported that private donors have separately contributed to a fund managed by a Harrisburg-based nonprofit to help restore the mansion. So far, neither the organization nor the administration has disclosed the donors’ identities, the amount they contributed to the fund, or provided a general description of what that money has or will be used for.
In the letter sent to legislative leaders, the administration shed light on at least some of those questions. The officials said that to date, the state has submitted $4.5 million in expenses to one of its insurers, which in turn has so far approved $2 million in reimbursements.
Security upgrades and improvements to the official residence, however, are not covered by the state’s insurance plans. The security improvements — recommended by a third-party review commissioned by the State Police in the wake of the attack — there include:
An estimated $14 million to replace the 6-foot fence that Balmer scaled with a “single material, 10-foot barrier resistant to vehicle damage or climbing.”
An estimated $6.3 million to install updated cameras, improve lighting, and add motion detection sensors in the residence’s yard.
An estimated $8 million to retrofit the residence’s existing windows with bulletproof and shatterproof glass.
An estimated $4 million to install a comprehensive fire suppression system in the residence, one of the largest state-owned buildings without one.
“In addition to the visible and extensive building security enhancements outlined above, additional recommendations on things like staffing, internal systems, and other technology improvements have been implemented,” by the state, Paris and McNeill wrote. “To avoid risk of a successful security threat against the property or the Governor in the future, we cannot disclose all of those recommendations publicly.”
The two men noted that the fire damaged multiple decorative items inside the residence, including chandeliers, china, pianos, and artwork. Most of those items, they said, do not qualify for insurance reimbursement, and their repair or replacement will be funded by private dollars.
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