1. Joshua David Shapiro was born on June 20,1973 and is an American lawyer and politician who has served as the 48th governor of Pennsylvania since 2023.
104 Facts About Josh Shapiro
1. 2.
Josh Shapiro represented the 153rd district from 2005 to 2012.
3.
Josh Shapiro was elected to the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners in 2011, marking the first time Republicans lost control of Montgomery County.
4.
Josh Shapiro was elected Pennsylvania attorney general in 2016, defeating Republican John Rafferty Jr.
5.
Joshua David Shapiro was born on June 20,1973, in Kansas City, Missouri.
6.
Josh Shapiro spent a few years of his childhood on a United States Navy base where his father, Steven Shapiro, served as a medical officer, before the family moved to Dresher, Pennsylvania, a community in Upper Dublin Township in Montgomery County.
7.
Josh Shapiro's father Steven is a pediatrician in East Norriton, Pennsylvania, and his mother, Judi, was a teacher.
8.
Josh Shapiro attended high school at Akiba Hebrew Academy in Merion Station, Pennsylvania.
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Josh Shapiro was a basketball team captain during his senior year.
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Josh Shapiro attended the University of Rochester, majoring in political science.
11.
In 2024, a spokesperson for Josh Shapiro said that Josh Shapiro's position had changed since he wrote the op-ed and that he now supports a two-state solution.
12.
Josh Shapiro worked as legislative assistant to US senator Carl Levin and as a senior advisor to US senator Robert Torricelli.
13.
From 1999 to 2003, Josh Shapiro worked as chief of staff to US representative Joe Hoeffel, who represented parts of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.
14.
In 2004, Josh Shapiro ran for the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in the 153rd district.
15.
Josh Shapiro faced the Republican nominee, former congressman Jon D Fox.
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Josh Shapiro trailed in polling at the beginning of the race, but he knocked on 10,000 doors and ran a campaign centered on increasing education funding and better access to health care.
17.
Josh Shapiro was elected by a margin of ten percentage points over Fox.
18.
Josh Shapiro helped broker a deal that resulted in the election of moderate Republican Dennis O'Brien as Speaker of the House.
19.
In 2008, following revelations that Democratic House minority leader Bill DeWeese was involved in a corruption scandal, Josh Shapiro called for him to step down, citing him as a "symbol of a broken system" and arguing that DeWeese remaining in leadership would hurt Democrats statewide in the 2008 elections.
20.
In 2007 and 2009, Josh Shapiro introduced three separate bills into the House to divest state funds from Iran and later Sudan.
21.
From 2006 through 2017, Josh Shapiro practiced corporate law at the firm Stradley, Ronon, Stevens, and Young in Philadelphia.
22.
Josh Shapiro won election to the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners in 2011.
23.
Josh Shapiro announced his candidacy for Pennsylvania attorney general in January 2016.
24.
Josh Shapiro campaigned on his promise to restore the office's integrity following Kathleen Kane's resignation and promised to work to combat the opioid epidemic and gun violence.
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Josh Shapiro won the Democratic primary for attorney general in April 2016, defeating Stephen Zappala and John Morganelli with 47 percent of the vote.
26.
In November 2016, Josh Shapiro narrowly defeated the Republican nominee, state senator John Rafferty Jr.
27.
Josh Shapiro received 3,461,472 votes, the most of any candidate in Pennsylvania history, and outran Joe Biden in the concurrent presidential election.
28.
Edits were made by paid communications staffers from Josh Shapiro's campaign, according to Lancaster Online.
29.
In 2017, Josh Shapiro announced the roundup of a "Million Dollar Heroin Ring" under "Operation Outfoxed" in Luzerne County.
30.
All the charges in Operation Outfoxed were abruptly dismissed after allegations that Josh Shapiro had mishandled the sealing of wiretapped recordings.
31.
In 2018, Josh Shapiro offered former Bedford County district attorney William Higgins a plea deal for corruption charges.
32.
Josh Shapiro inherited the investigation, and in August 2018 released the results of an extensive grand jury report.
33.
In 2019, Josh Shapiro led efforts to ensure that insurance holders of Highmark, a healthcare company, could receive treatment at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.
34.
When serving on the Pennsylvania Board of Pardons as attorney general in 2019, Josh Shapiro cast the fewest votes in favor of commutation, denying 24 out of 41 pardons and being one of only two board members to vote against more cases than in favor.
35.
Josh Shapiro reportedly supported a bill in the Pennsylvania state legislature that turned over certain powers of the Philadelphia district attorney to the Office of Attorney General, including "the authority to prosecute the illegal possession, sale, or purchase of firearms".
36.
Representatives Chris Rabb and Mary Jo Daley, who voted against it, attested Josh Shapiro had privately lobbied in favor of the legislation.
37.
The bill passed, but garnered backlash from Democrats who said they were not made fully aware of its contents before they voted for it, and Josh Shapiro faced protests during public appearances afterward.
38.
Josh Shapiro joined several other state attorneys general in opposing President Donald Trump's travel ban, and sued Trump to block the implementation of a rule that would have made it easier for employers to deny health insurance coverage of contraceptives.
39.
Josh Shapiro was one of 20 electors the Pennsylvania Democratic Party chose to vote in the Electoral College for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in 2020 United States presidential election.
40.
In December 2019, Josh Shapiro charged state representative Movita Johnson-Harrell with perjury and theft of funds from her own charity for such things as vacations and clothing.
41.
In July 2021, Shapiro charged state representative Margo L Davidson with theft by deception, solicitation to hinder apprehension, and Election Code violations after stealing public funds by filing fraudulent overnight per diem requests and various other expenses through the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Comptroller's Office, as well as hindering a state prosecution.
42.
Josh Shapiro had long been expected to run for governor of Pennsylvania, and on October 13,2021, he announced his candidacy in the 2022 election.
43.
Josh Shapiro faced no opponents in the Democratic primary, and secured the nomination on May 17,2022.
44.
Josh Shapiro faced Republican nominee Doug Mastriano in the general election.
45.
Josh Shapiro ran on a platform of protecting voting rights, abortion rights, and raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour.
46.
Josh Shapiro's campaign was criticized by some progressives because of his support for capital punishment for "heinous crimes", his public feuds with Philadelphia district attorney Larry Krasner, and his compromising with police unions to pass police reform bills.
47.
Josh Shapiro later changed his position, now saying he opposes capital punishment and would sign a bill to abolish it.
48.
The ad was seen as an "endorsement" of the Republican candidate Josh Shapiro would want to face in the general election, with Mastriano seen as too extreme for swing voters to elect.
49.
Josh Shapiro said that as governor he would protect abortion access in Pennsylvania and veto any bill the state legislature passes that restricts or outlaws abortion.
50.
Josh Shapiro was asked in a 2022 interview with Pennsylvania Capital-Star why his position changed, to which he responded:.
51.
Josh Shapiro said he would not sign any future death warrants for prisoners on death row.
52.
Josh Shapiro supports cutting Pennsylvania's nearly 10 percent corporate tax rate to 4 percent by 2025.
53.
Josh Shapiro has proposed hiring 2,000 additional police officers across Pennsylvania, saying, the "more police officers we hire, the more opportunities we have for them to get out of their patrol cars, walk the beat, learn the names of the kids in the communities".
54.
Josh Shapiro favors pardoning those convicted for possession of small amount of marijuana.
55.
On efforts to mitigate COVID-19, Josh Shapiro has broken with some in the Democratic Party and opposes mask and vaccine mandates.
56.
Josh Shapiro is skeptical about Pennsylvania joining the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a market-based program to reduce some greenhouse gas emissions.
57.
Josh Shapiro has proposed expanding Pennsylvania's clean energy portfolio for utility companies, greater electric car infrastructure and investing in clean energy research and development.
58.
Josh Shapiro has proposed a plan that will allow for a $250 gas tax refund per personal passenger vehicle up to four vehicles per household.
59.
Josh Shapiro proposed funding the proposal with funds from the American Rescue Plan.
60.
Josh Shapiro supports eliminating four-year degree requirements for state government jobs.
61.
Josh Shapiro is a supporter of unions and has vowed to veto any "right to work" legislation.
62.
Josh Shapiro received endorsements from former governor Ed Rendell, state senator Anthony H Williams, former Pennsylvania Democratic Party chair Marcel Groen, and the Planned Parenthood Action Fund.
63.
Josh Shapiro was endorsed by the SEIU Pennsylvania State Council, four SEIU local unions consisting of over 80,000 SEIU members in the state.
64.
The vast majority of President Joe Biden's voters in 2020 voted for Josh Shapiro, as did many independents and a sizable segment of Donald Trump supporters.
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The only regions where Josh Shapiro did not do better than Biden in 2020 were in "the most economically marginal, heavily minority" parts of cities like Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, where turnout marginally decreased compared to 2020.
66.
On January 17,2023, Josh Shapiro was sworn in on a stack of three Hebrew Bibles, including one that was on the bimah during the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting.
67.
Long weaving his Jewish identity into his politics, Josh Shapiro is considered part of the new age of Jewish politicians who are open about their identity.
68.
Josh Shapiro is the third Jewish governor in the history of Pennsylvania, after Milton Shapp and Ed Rendell.
69.
On December 6,2022, during his transition to the governorship, it was reported that Josh Shapiro tapped several of his longtime aides to serve in high-ranking positions, including naming his campaign manager Dana Fritz as his chief of staff.
70.
Josh Shapiro defended his administration's actions, saying that an investigation into the allegations against Vereb is under way.
71.
At an event with Janet Yellen in July 2024, Josh Shapiro reiterated his support for "aggressive" corporate tax cuts.
72.
SEPTA chief executive officer Leslie Richards said Josh Shapiro played "a key role bringing people together to forge this agreement".
73.
On several occasions, Josh Shapiro has proposed raising Pennsylvania's minimum wage from $7.25 per hour to $15.
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Josh Shapiro had hinted he would have signed the bill into law if it had passed both chambers of the General Assembly, as Pennsylvania had not raised the minimum wage since 2009.
75.
In February 2023, Josh Shapiro criticized the management of the Norfolk Southern Railway after it failed to contact Pennsylvania officials following the derailment of a train carrying harmful chemicals in Ohio, adjacent to the Pennsylvania border.
76.
Josh Shapiro called for the railway company to take "a safer overall approach" and called on the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration to revisit the need for more advanced safety and braking equipment in trains.
77.
On June 11,2023, Josh Shapiro issued a "disaster emergency" proclamation after part of Interstate 95 collapsed in Philadelphia.
78.
Lawyers for several state school districts, along with several progressive organizations, criticized Josh Shapiro and argued his budget proposals had not done enough to benefit low-income schools.
79.
Josh Shapiro later dropped his support to avoid a protracted budget delay after Democrats in the state House refused to support it.
80.
Early in his term, Josh Shapiro had pledged to permanently extend the Wolf administration's free breakfast program for all Pennsylvania public-school students.
81.
The program was permanently extended as a part of the 2023 state budget Josh Shapiro signed into law in August.
82.
In January and February 2024, the Republican-controlled State Senate urged Josh Shapiro to send the Pennsylvania National Guard to the US southern border to help Texas resolve the growing numbers of migrants entering the country, but he declined to do so.
83.
In December 2023, Josh Shapiro signed into law a bipartisan bill to restrict the kinds of activities that are considered violations of parole.
84.
Josh Shapiro called on the Pennsylvania General Assembly to abolish the death penalty.
85.
In 2024, Josh Shapiro filed a brief in support of an Allegheny County inmate appealing his life without parole sentence.
86.
Josh Shapiro said he decided to end the contract to better defend abortion access in the state.
87.
On September 19,2023, Josh Shapiro announced Pennsylvania would enact automatic voter registration effective immediately.
88.
Josh Shapiro condemned the attempted assassination of Donald Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, where a stray bullet killed one rally goer.
89.
Josh Shapiro said the man "died a hero" protecting his family at the rally and ordered that flags be flown at half-mast in his honor.
90.
Josh Shapiro supported the recount, but rejected calls by some, including the Bucks County Board of Commissioners, to count undated or incorrectly dated ballots, which the Pennsylvania Supreme Court had previously ruled against doing.
91.
In November 2024, Josh Shapiro signed an executive order to create the Pennsylvania Permit Fast Track Program, which will streamline and speed up the permitting process for large-scale infrastructure projects that require multiple permits.
92.
Josh Shapiro was historically popular in his first two years as governor, despite being the only governor in the country with a divided legislature.
93.
Josh Shapiro denied any interest in running for president and declared his support for Biden.
94.
Josh Shapiro initially been seen as the top contender, but faced criticism from progressives for some of his positions, most prominently his stance on Israel amid the Gaza war.
95.
Critics of Shapiro reject this assertion, pointing to the relative lack of criticism leveled at J B Pritzker, another possible Harris running mate who is Jewish, and insisting that the differences between Shapiro's stance and those of governors such as Walz and Andy Beshear are more pronounced than his supporters claim.
96.
Josh Shapiro has supported cutting off state ties with entities that engage in boycotts of Israel, such as BDS, or of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.
97.
Josh Shapiro said that BDS was "rooted in antisemitism" and praised Pennsylvania's anti-BDS law, which was enacted five years earlier.
98.
In 2024, according to a spokesperson, Josh Shapiro pledged to sign a bill to block state funding of colleges and universities that engage in a "boycott or divestment from Israel", a term the bill defines to include any activity "intended to financially penalize the State of Israel".
99.
Josh Shapiro has repeatedly voiced support for Israel in the Gaza war.
100.
Josh Shapiro has repeatedly criticized Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu for his handling of the conflict.
101.
Josh Shapiro called on local officials to "step in and enforce the law" to protect students.
102.
In May 2024, Josh Shapiro called for a police crackdown on the pro-Palestinian encampment at the University of Pennsylvania, but later said he was already aware of police plans to disband the encampment after police made arrests less than 24 hours after Josh Shapiro's statement.
103.
Critics of Josh Shapiro have said that he has exaggerated and misrepresented the threat student demonstrators pose to their peers.
104.
Josh Shapiro said he was not drawing a false equivalence between Netanyahu and the "terrorist group" Hamas.