
David W. Sunday, Jr., speaks after being sworn in as Pennsylvania’s Attorney General during a ceremony at the Forum Auditorium in Harrisburg on Tuesday, Jan 21, 2025.
Blaine Shahan / LNP | LancasterOnline
David W. Sunday, Jr., speaks after being sworn in as Pennsylvania’s Attorney General during a ceremony at the Forum Auditorium in Harrisburg on Tuesday, Jan 21, 2025.
Blaine Shahan / LNP | LancasterOnline
Blaine Shahan / LNP | LancasterOnline
David W. Sunday, Jr., speaks after being sworn in as Pennsylvania’s Attorney General during a ceremony at the Forum Auditorium in Harrisburg on Tuesday, Jan 21, 2025.
Pennsylvania’s trio of Republican row officers recited their oaths of office at the Forum Auditorium on Tuesday and pledged to approach their positions without the influence of partisan politics.
With hundreds of politicians, business leaders, lobbyists and reporters in the crowd, the more than four-hour event was organized into three shorter ceremonies for each officer – Attorney General Dave Sunday, Auditor General Tim DeFoor and Treasurer Stacy Garrity.
DeFoor and Garrity entered their second terms after winning reelection in November. Sunday, former York County District Attorney, was sworn into his first term as Pennsylvania’s top prosecutor.
“My philosophy is rooted in two words – accountability and redemption,” Sunday said in his swearing-in speech. “We absolutely must hold criminals accountable. At the same time, we need to embrace redemption for those who have been held accountable and seek to better their lives.”
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Sunday told the audience and television cameras that he planned to focus on areas of collaboration with organizations and agencies in his role as attorney general, likening the approach to that of his career in the U.S. Navy and as a prosecutor.
Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat and former attorney general, spoke at each of the three ceremonies. Shapiro told the crowd that Sunday, the first Republican to hold the office in a decade, “is grounded in integrity” and looks beyond politics to accomplish his work.
Shapiro also praised DeFoor and Garrity, saying both have performed well in their jobs for Pennsylvanians.
DeFoor, the state’s chief fiscal watchdog, is the first professional auditor and person of color to hold the auditor general’s seat.
“We face great, great challenges,” DeFoor said onstage. “But with great challenges, come great opportunities. And if we remember why we serve and who we serve, we’re all going to be okay.”
Garrity, overseeing Pennsylvania’s savings and investments, said the swearing-in ceremony would help jump-start a new era for Pennsylvania.
“We must put aside past disagreements, embrace this moment of opportunity, and find common ground,” Garrity said. “We cannot grow by division. We can and will grow by working together to make Pennsylvania a leader among states.”