How Gov. Wolf plans to help Biden win Pa. this fall

More talk about jobs, less about climate change

• Ed Mahon
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  Ed Mahon comes to Spotlight PA from PA Post, where he covered state politics and policy, produced radio stories that were broadcast on public media stations throughout the state and on NPR’s national newscasts, and co-wrote a weekday newsletter. Prior to joining PA Post, Ed worked for six years as an investigative and political reporter for the York Daily Record, part of the USA Today Network. His reporting on failures in Pennsylvania’s system for protecting domestic abuse victims was a finalist in the national 2018 Livingston Awards for Young Journalists in the local reporting category. He was also part of a team whose coverage of the criminal justice system, including the aggressive use of civil asset forfeiture by York County prosecutors, received the 2018 G. Richard Dew Award for Journalistic Service from the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association. Before joining the York Daily Record, Ed covered K-12 education at the Centre Daily Times in State College and worked as a stringer for suburban sections of The Philadelphia Inquirer. He grew up in Delaware County, Pennsylvania.

 Screenshot from Biden livestream / PA Post

Former Vice President Joe Biden and Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf speak during a virtual meeting on May 27, 2020.

Screenshot from Biden livestream / PA Post

Former Vice President Joe Biden and Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf speak during a virtual meeting on May 27, 2020. (Screenshot from Biden livestream)

A virtual meeting between presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf offered a glimpse of how Biden plans to win our crucial swing state — and how Wolf hopes to help the former vice president and U.S. senator from Delaware.

First: Plenty of reminders about Biden’s Pennsylvania roots

Biden was born in Scranton. And Wilmington, Del., where he lives, is only about 10 miles from the Pennsylvania border.

“I had somebody once say the best part of Delaware is Pennsylvania. You know, it’s not. … But my point is we’re very close,” Biden said.

That led to a  history discussion and a reminder from Wolf that Delaware was once part of Pennsylvania.

“That’s right, but we declared our independence,” Biden said.

(I grew up in Delaware County, Pa. But I have no memory of any grade-school teachers explaining the Delaware independence movement to my class. Here’s some good background.)

Second: Biden criticized President Trump directly. Wolf didn’t.

Avoiding that kind of criticism of President Trump is part of Wolf’s style. (That’s one reason his May 11 news conference — when he said politicians were acting cowardly and selfishly by encouraging businesses to reopen despite his shut down order — received so much attention.)

Wolf did join Biden in talking about the importance of wearing masks in public — something Trump often avoids doing and has mocked.

“We are wearing masks when we go outside. That’s not a sign of weakness,” Wolf said. “That’s a sign of concern for your fellow human being.”

Third: They spent a lot of time talking about jobs and unemployment

Biden said the federal government should have done more to prevent the surge in unemployment as coronavirus lockdowns were imposed.

He didn’t go into specifics, but he referenced different results in other countries. A Washington Post story from late April describes how many European governments intervened to subsidize private-sector salaries: “The unemployment rate in Europe crept up only modestly in the first weeks of the coronavirus lockdowns — at a time when millions of Americans filed for jobless benefits,” Michael Birnbaum wrote.

And, notably, Wolf and Biden didn’t focus on the role that Wolf’s March 19 business shutdown order has had in Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate. That rate reached 15.1 percent in April — an 11 percentage point increase over the previous April. Instead, Biden said Wolf’s phased reopening plan for different parts of the state should be a model for the country.

Fourth: They didn’t talk about energy or climate issues

Maybe that’s just because the coronavirus is such an all-consuming issue right now and that COVID-19 was the advertised topic for the discussion.

Energy and climate change could be tricky issues for Biden to navigate in Pennsylvania, as The Wall Street Journal recently reported: “Joe Biden says he will add details to his climate plan and is likely to propose new investments, an olive branch to Bernie Sanders and his liberal allies,” Eliza Collins wrote. “But in battleground states such as Pennsylvania, Republicans are already portraying Mr. Biden as a threat to the oil-and-gas industry.”

The Trump on Earth podcast recently explored that issue in interviews with InsideClimate News reporter Marianne Levelle and with 16-year-old climate activist Lily Gardner. Reid Frazier for StateImpact Pennsylvania looked at whether Biden can convince environmentalists that he supports their climate agenda.

[You can watch the full Biden-Wolf conversation on Biden’s Youtube page.]

GOP legislator reveals he had COVID-19

Ed Mahon / PA Post

A sign outside of the Pennsylvania Capitol in Harrisburg on Monday, March 16, 2020. The capitol was closed to the public as a precaution against the coronavirus outbreak. (Ed Mahon / PA Post)

Even though the Pennsylvania House approved rules changes in March to allow nearly all members to vote remotely, some lawmakers have returned to the Capitol in Harrisburg to conduct business.

One of them, state Rep. Andrew Lewis (R-Dauphin), said Wednesday that he was tested for COVID-19 on May 18 and his test came back positive on May 20. He said his last day in the state Capitol was May 14.

The announcement, naturally, raises questions about how many other lawmakers were exposed to the coronavirus, whether they were tested and who was notified about a potential risk.

Some Democratic lawmakers wrote on Twitter that they weren’t notified about Lewis’s case until Wednesday. In a statement shortly after 5 p.m., Democratic Leader Frank Dermody (D-Allegheny) criticized House Republicans for not sharing the information more broadly.

“What makes this situation even more galling is that some House members, a vocal few, have attempted to make a virtue out of not wearing a mask when in close proximity to others,” Dermody said. “…This attitude shows a fundamental lack of respect for fellow lawmakers, our staff and our families back home. On their behalf, we are demanding more answers about this than we’ve received thus far.”

Later Wednesday evening, a video posted to Facebook by state Rep. Brian Sims (D-Philadelphia) was being shared on social media, and state Rep. Kevin Boyle (D-Philadelphia) was calling on Attorney General Josh Shapiro to investigate. PennLive covered the backlash in more detail, as did the Capital-Star.

In his statement, Lewis said he experienced mild symptoms, a fever that lasted about 24 hours, and a brief cough. He said he has recovered and completed a quarantine period.

Mike Straub, a spokesman for the House Republican Caucus, said Republican leaders followed guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Pennsylvania Department of Health to determine who they should notify and require to quarantine.

Meanwhile, in Washington, D.C., some Republican lawmakers are challenging a rules change to allow proxy voting in the House of Representatives. U.S. Rep. Scott Perry, a York County Republican who is expected to face a tough re-election fight, has joined the lawsuit.

Further reading:

• Mark Bowden, the journalist and author of “Black Hawk Down” and other nonfiction books, wrote about his Chester County community for The Atlantic: Small Towns Won’t Know They’re Infected Until It’s Too Late.

• Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Fitzgerald has no ‘intel’ but thinks Allegheny County will move to green next week

• PublicSource: 99 people who will help shape the Pittsburgh region’s recovery

• WESA: Child Care Advocates Tell Lawmakers More Funding Is Needed To Prevent Sector Collapse

• PennLive: Will students have to wear masks to school? Pa. superintendents face tough choices for fall

• LNP: Is CDC guidance for schools feasible? Lancaster County educators say it raises more questions than answers

• WLVR: A health complication from COVID-19 has impacted a small number of children in PA

• PA Post: Six Democrats, one Republican vie to succeed DePasquale as auditor general

• PennLive: Limited outdoor dine-in service at Pa. restaurants, bars can be offered in yellow-phase counties starting next week