PORT ALLEGANY — If elected governor, Josh Shapiro would be “uncompromising” in defense of women’s right to choose and voting and workers’ rights, but he said he would also use his political experience to “seek common ground” as much as possible with Republicans in Harrisburg.

Shapiro, Pennsylvania’s attorney general and the presumptive Democratic nominee to run for governor in the fall, made the pledge Thursday afternoon in a stop at Eddie’s in Port Allegany. An enthusiastic crowd of McKean County Democrats listened to his ideas and asked questions of Shapiro, whose first election was a successful run for Montgomery County commissioner.

“It’s meetings like this that are going to decide who the next governor of the commonwealth of Pennsylvania is going to be,” Shapiro said, challenging his supporters in the room to take their enthusiasm into their neighborhoods. “As I travel around the state … I am inspired by the people I meet, but I’m also reminded of the challenge that we face.”

Acknowledging the North Country of Pennsylvania is strongly Republican — Shapiro was headed for Coudersport later Thursday evening and he’ll be in Warren today — the attorney general pointed out he first won election to the state House of Representatives in 2004 in a district that was 70% GOP.

His message is that he “will be someone who will solve real problems and take on the big fights.”

On education, Shapiro said he would invest heavily to ensure school districts, be they in urban centers or rural areas, have the resources needed to guarantee quality learning environments for all children. Funding for arts and science education would be a priority, he said, while vocational and technical programs would be enhanced.

He also pledged that he would do away with standardized testing, which brought cheers and applause from the crowd.

“Standardized testing doesn’t help our children learn … and it doesn’t help our teachers to teach,” Shapiro said.

Serving his second term as Pennsylvania’s AG, Shapiro pledged he would work for safe communities, which includes increasing the number of police in the state. He noted his efforts to fight the scourge of methamphetamine, fentanyl and heroin in Pennsylvania.

Any effort to grow the economy in the state, Shapiro insisted, hinges on delivering the development of broadband services throughout the state — particularly in rural areas.

“It’s a changing economy in Pennsylvania that is less tied to the high rises in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh,” he said, noting that better broadband connectivity means job-creating telecommunications centers could just as easily be established in the Northern Tier than anywhere else.

Shapiro also insisted that he supports the natural gas and oil industries in Pennsylvania — provided they practice strict adherence to environmental laws — and he believes they still have a critical role to play in the state’s economy. But he also believes Pennsylvania can move toward more renewables and he would push for 30% of the state’s energy to be produced by solar and wind power by 2030.

Addressing legislation in other states that are seen as restricting voting rights or limiting the rights of women to have abortions, Shapiro said he would veto similar measures should they be passed in the Legislature. He expressed his concern that if any of the Republicans seeking the nomination to run for governor were to be elected, such laws could become reality in Pennsylvania.

“Each and every one of the nine guys on the other side of the primary” could sign that kind of legislation, Shapiro said. “They want to divide Pennsylvania further … but I can tell you I won’t hesitate to use the veto pen to protect your individual rights.”

He also noted that his office defended against a total of 43 legal challenges related to the 2020 election — both on procedures leading up to Election Day and then regarding the results in which Joe Biden won Pennsylvania in the presidential election. Each one of the legal filings was turned back.

“We were 43-0!” Shapiro said, while noting that on the first day of his administration as governor he would appoint a steadfastly “pro-democracy” secretary of state to protect voting rights.

Nevertheless, Shapiro said his experiences as a county commissioner and legislator showed that he could work with Republicans and, as governor, he would reach out and seek their help in solving Pennsylvania’s most pressing problems.

“We need to find common ground,” he said. “I think Pennsylvanians are most frustrated that nothing gets done in Harrisburg. On important issues the state faces, “I will reach out to the other side and present my 10 ideas and ask them to bring their 10 ideas to the table. … I think we could find common ground on four or five things.”

Asked to address health care in rural areas of the state — with the future of Bradford Regional Medical Center on many minds in McKean County — Shapiro said incentives to get medical professionals to want to work and practice in rural areas is critical. He said he would push for loan forgiveness programs to ensure physicians and nurses are available to work and practice in rural areas.

He also pointed to his efforts a few years ago in working out a deal between UPMC and Highmark to ensure Pennsylvanians’ health insurance coverage was maintained.

Marty Wilder, McKean County’s Democratic Party chair, noted the UPMC/Highmark episode as well as Shapiro’s detailed investigation of sexual abuse by Catholic priests as among the reasons she believes he should be the next governor.

“He’s a fighter,” she said.