Yeah, there are some things you shouldn’t say, man. Bob Brooks, the president of Pennsylvania’s firefighters’ union, said something to a group of college students at Lehigh University that Gov. Josh Shapiro probably would have wanted to keep private.
The allegation is that Shapiro helped incumbent Republican Treasurer Stacy Garrity re-elect herself over Democrat Erin McClelland. The reason: McClelland criticized Shapiro, who at the time was a potential VP pick for Kamala Harris. There’s been damage control, with Brooks and Shapiro’s camps saying that the quote uttered was inaccurate (via Axios):
Brooks, who's also the president of Pennsylvania's firefighters union, told students at Lehigh University last week that Shapiro had asked his union to back Republican Stacy Garrity over McClelland in the 2024 state treasurer's race.
"That was a request, ironically, from Gov. Josh Shapiro because Erin McClelland was running against her," Brooks told the students.
Brooks added: "Josh Shapiro had requested because Stacy, er, Erin McClelland came out hard about something on Josh Shapiro, and really, the Democratic Party as a whole turned on Erin McClelland. And he said, 'I would like you guys to endorse Stacy Garrity.'"
Brooks mentioned Shapiro's move after a person at the Lehigh gathering asked Brooks why his union had backed Garrity in 2024.
What they're saying: Asked to comment for this story, Brooks said in a statement: "I misspoke and made an inaccurate comment."
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McClelland's break with Shapiro went public in July 2024, when she posted on X: "I want a VP pick that's secure enough to be second under a woman, is content to be VP & won't undermine the president to maneuver his own election & doesn't sweep sexual harassment under the rug."
That was a reference to Shapiro's former top aide, Mike Vereb, being accused of sexual harassment in 2023. Vereb stayed in his position for months after a complaint was filed, and Shapiro's administration reached a settlement with Vereb's accuser for $295,000.
Shapiro maintained he didn't know about the complaint by Vereb's accuser until months after it was made. The governor declined to endorse McClelland in 2024.
State of play: Garrity won reelection to her state treasurer post in 2024 — and, in a twist, is challenging Shapiro for governor this year.
Brooks also said there was never a request from Shapiro to endorse Garrity, though the lack of endorsement usually clearly indicates the dynamic between these two: his not endorsing McClelland was enough.
Politics is the organization of our animosities, and revenge is still a compelling motivating factor. Would you be shocked if Shapiro did this? No. I wouldn’t.
