This governor hasn’t been reading the room since the get-go of getting into office when it comes to “gifts” and the appearance of impropriety. He seems to have no idea who got him elected. And he seems to have no idea that he won running against an insurrectionist conspiracy fiction mongering weirdo.
Campaign funds, secretive nonprofit pay for Josh Shapiro’s sports tickets by Stephen Caruso of Spotlight PA | Dec. 17, 2024 Shapiro’s camp has insisted that the governor has done nothing wrong by accepting tickets from Team PA or political donors, including a lobbyist for a gaming industry at the center of a messy political fight. But good-government advocates have previously argued that Shapiro is violating his own ban on taking gifts from people with business before the government. They say third parties financing Shapiro and other policymakers’ attendance at pricey events is problematic no matter how it happens. There are “many ways money can flow” from special interests to elected officials, Michael Pollack, executive director of the good-government group March on Harrisburg, told Spotlight PA. Whether a campaign contribution, gift, or something else, the end result is the same, Pollack argued: an expectation that the recipient will prioritize donors’ interests over everyday people’s.
Letter to reps:
Elected officials attending pricey events paid by special interest industry movers and shakers, at a minimum gives the appearance of impropriety and definitely signals that such a representative is prioritizing donor interests over the general constituency. It shouldn’t even be legal.