News & Brews October 28, 2021
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In a political dodge, Shapiro starts to question RGGI
Democrat Attorney General and gubernatorial candidate Josh Shapiro raised lots of eyebrows yesterday when, for the first time publicly, he questioned whether Gov. Wolf’s plan to join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) is a good idea. Why the break when just a few weeks ago he seemed pretty supportive of RGGI when talking with Conservation Voters of PA? In a word, politics. Trades unions don’t like RGGI. Shapiro wants money from trades unions. One union leaders said as much, telling the AP that he had told Shapiro, “We are going to support the guy who doesn’t support RGGI,” to which Shapiro responded, “I can’t support it as is.” Shapiro’s statements yesterday came from his campaign, which is notable as his campaign can’t do squat about RGGI, but the office of attorney general can. But AG Shapiro has been silent on what his office will do. Or, as the Commonwealth Foundation’s Nate Benefield observed, “So in short, Shapiro is telling Trades union bosses he might not implement RGGI to get their money, telling environmental groups he likes RGGI to get their money, while doing nothing as Attorney General to block RGGI.”
New Poll: Biden’s job approval drops in PA
A new Franklin & Marshall poll shows President Biden’s job approval among Pennsylvanians has plummeted in the past two months, going from 41% in August to 32% now. Among Democrats, Biden’s job approval has fallen by 16% since August. Meanwhile, Gov. Wolf’s job approval stands at 42%. See the poll’s topline report here, summary of findings here, or for shorter read, check out PennLive’s story on the poll here.
Boockvar screws up amendment, resigns …gets honored?
Some things just make you shake your head. Former Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar, who resigned earlier this year after derailing a constitutional amendment intended to help victims of sex abuse by ‘forgetting’ to advertise the amendment so it could get on the ballot, is set to be honored by the Bucks County YWCA today at its “Women Who Make a Difference” awards dinner. The YWCA says the award is because of Boockvar’s leadership during the 2020 elections. (I guess that means selectively inviting Democrat counties to apply for election grants.)
Congressional redistricting hearing today
The House State Government Committee will hold a hearing this morning on congressional redistricting, with a particular focus on “population deviation between districts and census data analysis.” The hearing, which is scheduled to begin at 10am, will be live-streamed here.
Johnny Doc trial update: Prosecution nears end
As prosecutors are wrapping up their case in the trial of Philadelphia union leader John “Johnny Doc” Dougherty, the Inquirer gives an update on allegations that Philly Councilman Bobby Henon accepted bribes in exchange for his vote to stop an audit of the Philadelphia Parking Authority. Once the prosecution rests, the defense will take center stage in the courtroom.