An Interview with PA Governor-elect Josh Shapiro

The below is the transcript of Bloomsburg University’s Jared Garrison interview with then-gubernatorial candidate Josh Shapiro during his November 3rd visit to Carver Hall.

Considering that many Pennsylvania politicians tend to focus on areas like Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Scranton, what do you plan to do for people in towns like Bloomsburg?

“Show up, treat them with respect, listen, invest in their communities, and their public schools. [Invest] in main streets and local businesses and protect people’s fundamental rights and freedoms whether it’s the right to choose, the right to make decisions over your own body, the right to marry who you love, the right to vote. It’s all on the line right now. We all got to show up, stand up. And communities like this really matter and they’re going to make a real difference in this election.”

What will you do to ensure that young people stick around Pennsylvania so they can use their degrees and/or job training adequately?

“We got to do a better job at connecting our universities to the workplace. And creating a pathway of opportunity from our schools into the jobs of tomorrow. Whether it’s green energy jobs, jobs in robotics or computer science, there’s so many jobs that we need to create here in Pennsylvania. And I believe that working through institutions like Bloomsburg we can keep students here and connect them to jobs in our communities.”

After taking office what are the priority issues you will address and what do you expect to take some time to accomplish?

“On day one, I’ll be able to protect everyone’s rights and freedoms because I’ll veto any of those bills that undermine your freedoms when they reach my desk. I’ll sign a multitude of executive orders to make government work again including doing away with the requirement for a college degree to work for [Pennsylvania’s government]. We’ll invest our budget into public schools and into law enforcement too and make sure our communities are safe. People have a right to both be safe and feel safe in our neighborhoods. And we’ll invest in [the] jobs of tomorrow. So, I think there’s a lot of work we need to do, and there’s a lot we can accomplish together in a bipartisan manner.”

Is there anything else you would like to say to the students here at Bloomsburg or just in general?

“I would just say [to] students, that your voices matter. Gen Z really matters. And I think you’ll make the difference here in this election if you show up and vote, we need to you show up.”

“Thank you to the Shapiro campaign for arranging this interview, and special thanks to Josh Shapiro for speaking here at Bloomsburg University.” – Jared Garrison

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