Garrity’s gubernatorial campaign stops in Butler County
CRANBERRY TWP — Stacy Garrity, treasurer of Pennsylvania and the likely Republican candidate for governor this fall, was at the Butler County GOP headquarters for a meet and greet Wednesday, April 29.
Garrity gave a brief speech to the room before chatting individually with attendees.
In her speech, Garrity claimed that the “the commonwealth is falling behind” and addressed several of her platform issues, including natural gas, education, government spending and the state’s shrinking population.
“We are at a crossroad, and we have to decide what kind of state we want to be,” she said.
The primaries for the gubernatorial elections will be held in May, with the general election taking place in November.
Referring to Gov. Josh Shapiro’s policy on oil and gas, Garrity described Shapiro as outwardly an “all of the above energy governor” who actually subverts fracking.
Garrity claimed that by 2030, Ohio, Indiana, and West Virginia are projected to match Pennsylvania in natural gas production.
“To me, that’s awful, because we should be leading the way,” Garrity said. “We need to unleash the natural resources under our feet.”
Garrity said doing so will create jobs, economic opportunity, and also lower inflation.
She also said the state is 39th in education, and 7 out of 10 eighth-graders can’t read or perform mathematics at their grade level.
Garrity said one of the major concerns that led her to run for the governor’s position is that Pennsylvania experiences a $5 billion deficit annually, which she added is not sustainable.
“We all know Josh Shapiro is not going to be easy to beat,” Garrity said in her speech. “But when you’re Josh Shapiro, and you’ve never had a serious challenger, it is so easy to start believing that it’s all about you and not the voters that elected you.”
Scott Timko, a resident of Cranberry Township, who is running for the state 12th district House seat, was at the event. Timko said while the race is going to be very competitive, he believes Garrity has a good chance.
Timko added that the GOP has a strong presence in Pennsylvania, with the exception of Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.
Garrity said she has spent a considerable amount of time in Butler County, where she said there is political “grassroots movement.”
Pointing out that 48 of 67 counties in Pennsylvania are rural, she said the rising trends in people leaving the state to settle somewhere else is predominantly in rural areas, where infrastructure is ignored and there is minimal investment.
“It doesn’t matter what corner of the commonwealth I’m at — this is what I hear from parents and grandparents,” Garrity said. “They want their kids to stay here.”
To address these concerns, she said Pennsylvania needs to be more business-friendly so there are opportunities for future generations.
She said that Pennsylvania ranks 12th in regulation, which stifles investment, with the state ranking 38th economically, according to Garrity.
“We want to make sure that Pennsylvania is the hub of global commerce,” she said. “Pennsylvania has led before. There is no reason — none — that we can’t lead again.”
Garrity, who served 30 years in the Army Reserve, retired from service in 2016. She also was a vice president at Global Tungsten & Powders Corp. from 1987 to 2021.
She entered politics in 2018, when she successfully lobbied Congress to ban the military from purchasing tungsten from China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran.
