Despite portraying himself as the ‘Get Sh** Done’ governor, a recent survey of 800 Pennsylvania voters showed they feel like Josh Shapiro hasn’t done enough.
“Actions speak louder than words,” Commonwealth Foundation Senior Manager Andre Beliveau told DVJournal.
The poll was released by the Commonwealth Foundation a week before Kamala Harris passed over Shapiro for the vice-presidential spot on the Democratic ticket.
It found that 76 percent believe the governor needed to be more involved in budget negotiations. The budget is supposed to be signed each year by June 30. It’s been late in both years Shapiro’s been in office. It took until early August for Shapiro to sign the initial 2023 budget. The rest wasn’t finalized until just before Christmas. This year, the budget was signed in mid-July.
Shapiro has blamed the state’s divided legislature for the delays. Republicans control the Senate, and Democrats control the House. However, 84 percent of those surveyed called for Shapiro to be more active in working with the legislature to deliver campaign promises.
That included a deal on school vouchers he reached with Senate Republicans last year. Shapiro went back on the promise weeks later after House Democrats revolted.
“Gov. Shapiro made a lot of promises and he hasn’t delivered,” said Beliveau.
The Commonwealth Foundation said the governor had the lowest legislative production of any Pennsylvania governor in the last 50 years. He’s signed 111 bills in his first 18 months of office. Compare that to Harris’ running mate, Gov. Tim Walz (D-Minn.) He signed more than 150 bills over two legislative sessions. Minnesota has a part-time legislature, while Pennsylvania’s serves full time.
One proposal Shapiro promoted heavily was his Pennsylvania Climate Emissions Reduction Act (PACER). The governor called PACER “tailored for Pennsylvania” and swore it would create jobs, lower carbon emissions, and save consumers millions via electricity rebates. The bill died in the legislature.
It was portrayed as an alternative to the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), the multi-state compact Gov. Tom Wolf (D) unilaterally entered the state into in 2022. The Commonwealth Court removed Pennsylvania from RGGI last year and called it an “invalid tax.” An appeal before the state Supreme Court is pending.
Voters aren’t feeling either compact.
The Commonwealth Foundation poll found 61 percent of respondents disagreed with PACER, fearing it would increase electricity costs. Twenty-nine percent supported PACER.
For RGGI, half of those polled didn’t want the state involved in the program. About 30 percent supported RGGI, which Shapiro avoided discussing during his gubernatorial campaign.
Beliveau said the results show Pennsylvanians care about pocketbook issues, particularly those that would increase utility costs and impact their family. He added the policies were well-intentioned, but he did not believe they would help America maintain energy dominance. He’s certain that pocketbook issues will be on voters’ minds while inside polling places on Election Day.
Transparency and taxpayer-funded air travel also caused waves in the poll.
Almost 75 percent of surveyed voters expressed concern about the $270,000 in taxpayer-funded airfare Shapiro used during his first year of office. Twenty-two percent expressed little to no concern. Shapiro’s used the plane for everything from opening a new state park to visiting a South Carolina resort to attending a Phillies playoff game. In contrast, Wolf spent $487,000 during his eight years in office, while Republican Gov. Tom Corbett spent $481,000 in four years.
One way Shapiro followed in the footsteps of Wolf and Corbett involves his daily calendar. The governor has not released his daily calendar to the public. Corbett and Wolf also kept parts of their calendar private.
The lack of transparency is a point of contention. More than three-fourths of those surveyed say that the governor needed to be more transparent with Pennsylvanians on what he does during the day. Just 17 percent say it was not a big deal.
Despite those concerns, Shapiro remains popular with voters. His average approval rating hovered around 60 percent during his first two years in office. However, voters seem to want Shapiro to govern more and talk less.
Beliveau saw the poll as proof that politicians can’t just pay lip service to their constituents during speeches and public events.
“People can promise the world, but have they followed through on their actions,” he said.
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