Letters to the Editor | Aug. 5, 2024

With an attempt to quietly settle a sexual harassment complaint against one of his senior aides, Mike Vereb, Kamala Harris should pass over Gov. Josh Shapiro and select another candidate as her running mate. In addition, as Erik Telford points out in his recent op-ed, the number of laws passed under Shapiro’s watch is pitiful even when compared with other states where legislators don’t meet year-round, as they do in Pennsylvania. Finally, being a strong supporter of Israel over Palestine in Gaza could cause Shapiro to lose the endorsement of young agnostic, Christian, Jewish, and Muslim voters who have been subjected to police brutality during college demonstrations, along with faculty supporters who have lost their jobs.

Perry Watts, Philadelphia

Some rather bizarre critiques of why Gov. Josh Shapiro should not be Kamala Harris’ vice presidential pick have surfaced from both the political left and right. On the conservative side, the Commonwealth Foundation’s recent op-ed disparaged Shapiro for signing off on fewer bills than other state governors. For the Commonwealth Foundation, the more bills signed into law, the better, regardless of the quality of the legislation.

And then there are those on the political left who want to prevent Shapiro from being Harris’ choice because of his position on school vouchers. Never mind that as vice president, Shapiro would have very little influence over school vouchers, which are, for the most part, legislated at the state level. In fact, if he becomes vice president and exits the governorship, Pennsylvania will no longer have such a strong ally who will advocate for these scholarships. Seems like a win for those of us who want to prevent public education from becoming a private enterprise.

Coleman Poses, Philadelphia

As a lifelong political observer and former candidate, I believe Gov. Josh Shapiro’s interest in a vice presidential candidacy is ill-timed, and will prove of limited value to Kamala Harris. While Shapiro may prove popular across the commonwealth, his vote attraction capability on a national scale is wholly untested. Passing a state budget on time and the warp-speed reconstruction of I-95 are laudable, but of limited meaning to voters outside of Pennsylvania. While his pro-Israel stance reflects a solid morality, the current right-wing government and the associated war to exterminate Israel’s enemies are more than troubling. Many voted for Shapiro to be our governor for four years, yet it seems he wants to move on after serving less than two. There are plenty of meaningful tasks to be accomplished here in Pennsylvania — and I, for one, wish that Shapiro fulfills the promises he made to us first before attempting to take up residence in Washington.

Robert M. Dettore, Berwyn, bob@dettore.com

I strongly disagree with Marwan Kreidie’s op-ed about Gov. Josh Shapiro and Pennsylvania’s Arab American communities. Contrary to Kreidie’s assertion, the Arab and Muslim communities in Pennsylvania have been unsafe under Shapiro and will be in a worse position if he becomes Kamala Harris’ running mate.

In December, Shapiro expressed outrage at pro-Palestinian demonstrators protesting outside Goldie’s restaurant, whose owner, Michael Solomonov, was accused of firing workers for wearing Palestine solidarity pins. He immediately rushed to Philadelphia in a show of solidarity with Solomonov and also gave a long news conference, in which he likened the protest to a scene from Germany in the 1930s, and could barely spare a word of compassion for the thousands of murdered Palestinian children. He also insisted that the leadership at the University of Pennsylvania should have had the “moral clarity” to denounce a hypothetical call to genocide, while mum has been the word from the governor since the International Court of Justice found grounds for “plausible genocide,” and later ruled that Israel is guilty of apartheid, a crime against humanity. Shapiro’s moral clarity was likewise nowhere to be found last week when extremist Israeli lawmakers rioted in defense of soldiers accused of committing sexual violence and torturing Palestinian captives.

On Oct. 13, when a man brandished a gun and yelled racial slurs at pro-Palestine demonstrators in Harrisburg, it took Shapiro two days to muster the flimsiest of statements — and that was only after outrage mounted and calls on him to weigh in intensified. During the Penn encampment, Philadelphia police initially — and honorably — declined to disband the peaceful protest because the students were not breaking the law. Shapiro intervened, demanding the police move and arrest students. Like all communities, we, too, have opportunists in our midst who want to sell a Zionist Islamophobe to us. But actions are the only things that speak in politics, and Shapiro’s squalid record is there for all to see.

Susan Abulhawa, Elkins Park

On a recent Sunday morning, a vigil took place with people lining the bike lane on the 1800 block of Spruce Street in Center City. They stood in solemn reverence as if attending a church service, but instead of hands folded in prayer, their hands held signs saying “No More Bicycle Deaths,” in memoriam of Barbara Friedes, a 30-year-old woman who was hit and killed while riding her bicycle in Rittenhouse Square. Friedes was a doctor at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

The east-to-west bike lane on Spruce Street is one of the busiest and most popular bike lanes in the city. There’s one problem: It’s dangerous. Green-painted bike lanes and white plastic flex poles are the only things in place to protect bicyclists from vehicles. Those in attendance at the vigil were sad but respectful, talking quietly about solutions, a plan — a way forward.

Paula D’Adamo told her story of loss: On Aug. 4, 2023, her son, Mario D’Adamo, 37, an attorney, was killed in what police call an attempted hit-and-run. He was struck while he was riding his bike in the bike lane at FDR Park. Wearing a black T-shirt with a picture of her hugging her son, D’Adamo talked about the need for protection and safety for cyclists. City leaders need to be responsible and take the lead to protect their citizens by having concrete bollards installed to make the bike lanes safer. Residents deserve to feel safe moving about the city, not fearful they might not make it home.

Peter Tobia, Philadelphia, petertobia1@verizon.net

The horrific allegations of abuse of children living in Pennsylvania juvenile detention institutions licensed and often run by the state remind us of the unacceptable legacy of child abuse that has plagued these facilities for decades in Pennsylvania and across the country. As these cases go to court, the public will learn that attempts to reform these facilities have failed to protect children from physical and mental abuse and sexual assaults time and again, and no measure of state oversight, in any state, has proven effective to guarantee the safety of children.

These allegations are further evidence of this fundamentally flawed approach to juvenile detention. Pennsylvania must adopt models that heal children who, research proves, make bad choices because their lives were unfathomably hard, and little was done to help their family or community to ensure their healthy development. Children First calls upon the state legislature and Gov. Josh Shapiro to take immediate action by passing House Bill 1381, a comprehensive bill that reduces our reliance on youth detention, and House Bill 2175, which establishes a permanent Office of the Child Advocate to protect children’s rights and help keep them safe.

Amy J. Kobeta, communications director, Children First

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