HARRISBURG (TNS) — Gov. Josh Shapiro’s lobbying to bring the NFL draft to Pittsburgh didn’t start with a letter he sent to Roger Goodell last month. It began last year when he was in Arizona to cheer on the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl.
He spotted the NFL commissioner at a luncheon and didn’t hesitate to make his pitch.
“Went right over to him and kind of cornered him and said, ‘We got to bring the NFL draft to Pittsburgh,’” Shapiro said.
As governor, he considers it his responsibility to be Pennsylvania’s cheerleader-in-chief as evidenced by the picks he made when filling out his NCAA basketball brackets choosing many teams that “have something to do with Pennsylvania.”
The 50-year-old former attorney general, county commissioner and legislator has almost made a habit of breaking the mold of what people think a governor is. He casually cusses in interviews and speeches including dropping the S-word in his governing slogan. He’s a prolific user of social media. He keeps an energetic schedule that keeps his executive security detail on the go, hitting 39 of the 67 counties since taking office. And he called it “cool” when told most people in the Capitol refer to him as Josh instead of governor.
Sitting at the massive four-sided desk in his historic Capitol office with portraits of Ben Franklin, William Penn and others lining the walls, Shapiro spoke with PennLive last week in a wide-raging interview on topics from governing to current events to his family. Here is what he had to say.
He’s a sports fanIt’s March and with March comes March Madness.
An avid basketball fan, Shapiro filled out his bracket for the men and women’s NCAA tournaments and posted videos on social media for the men’s and the women’s tournaments, which he walked through on a Zoom call with West Chester University’s women’s basketball coach Kiera Wooden.
“I was like, look, most of my bracket are head picks but you got to have some heart picks too,” he said.
Moving on to professional football, he is an Eagles fan and said he is pleased with off-season roster moves general manager Howie Roseman has made. Asked if he planned to travel to Brazil to see the Eagles play in the first international game in South America on Sept. 6, Shapiro said, ”I don’t think so,” but left open the door saying that could change.
One thing he was more certain of was how hosting the NFL draft in Pittsburgh in 2026 or 2027 would be an economic boon for western Pennsylvania.
“Think about just the hotel rooms we’re gonna fill, the restaurants, the bars,” he said. “You don’t have to be a sports fan. You have to be a football fan. You don’t have to be a Steelers fan, to know this would be a massive event for Pittsburgh.”
Shapiro rattled off other events that will shine a spotlight on Pennsylvania in 2026 – the 250th anniversary of this nation, the FIFA World Cup, MLB All Star game, WWE (“if you consider that a sport,” he said.) March Madness and the PGA Championship.
On governingShapiro’s first budget may have been six months late but he gets defensive when it’s portrayed as a ding on his record.
“You’re ignoring the significant amount of stuff we did get done and ignoring the reality that I’m the only governor in the nation with a divided legislature,” he said.
Rattling off what was accomplished: providing a tax cut for seniors through a broadened property tax and rent rebate program, expanding the child care tax credit, a historic education budget increase, investing in economic development and diverting state police funding from the Motor License Fund to free up money for road and bridge projects.
“We really got the ball rolling, and that was all because we were able to compromise Democrats and Republicans,” he said. “Everybody was able to get something. That’s a hard thing to do.”
Going into his second year budget with a $14 billion in reserves, Shapiro put some big ideas on the table, from legalizing adult-use marijuana and higher education reform to a new energy plan. He said he wants to bring Democrats and Republicans together to find common ground.
“I’m prepared to not get 100% of what I want if the other parties are prepared to do the heavy lifting on their part and come to the table with their ideas and focus on making progress for the good people of Pennsylvania,” he said.
But doing nothing is not an option, Shapiro said. He frequently describes himself as “competitive as hell” and won’t settle for his state being near last in the nation in anything, or having an unconstitutional K-12 school funding system.
The role his faith playsShapiro calls himself “a proud American Jew” who credits his faith with calling him to government service.
“Now, I don’t try and preach at others or tell them what to believe,” he said. “But I think it’s important for you to know what I believe, what draws me to service. When I’m confronted with an issue on this desk. sign a bill, veto a bill, be for this issue, be against that issue, whatever it is, I don’t consult with my faith. I don’t look to scripture for answers. I never, ever, ever seek to impose my faith or my teachings on others. And so for me, faith is a motivator to do this work in public service, but it is not a guide for policymaking.”
But he will defend his faith when it is attacked as it was last week by Donald Trump who said during a conservative web show interview, “Any Jewish person that votes for Democrats hates their religion” and hates Israel.
Shapiro said it isn’t the first time Trump “engaged in peddling antisemitic tropes, and sadly, it won’t be the last time I think leaders have a responsibility to speak and act with moral clarity.”
He went on to say that divisive rhetoric that targets any segment of the population, whether by their faith or color of their skin, makes everyone less safe.
“The former president is giving license to others to attack you because of who you pray to in this case, or what you look like and that makes all Pennsylvanians less safe.,” he said.
On legislative electionsWith nearly $5 million sitting in his primary campaign account, Shapiro said he will get involved in this year’s legislative elections, supporting candidates “who are protecting freedom, real freedom here in Pennsylvania. Those who will defend a woman’s right to choose. Those who will help me get passed things that I think are critically important to pass in this commonwealth” such as raising the minimum wage and having universal background checks on firearm purchases.
He didn’t rule out supporting Republican candidates who back those initiatives.
“We’ll see as we get into the election season,” Shapiro said.
If Democrats flip the Senate and hold onto the House, he sees lots of progress being made on a number of fronts.
“We would raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour. We would have a constitutional funding system in our public schools. We would finally have universal background checks in Pennsylvania. We would pass a statute of limitations law that would allow those who have been abused the opportunity to confront their abusers in court, something I’ve been calling for for years,” he sid.
If Republicans flip the House and give him a GOP-controlled General Assembly to deal with in the final two years of his term, he said, “I’ll work with whoever the good people of Pennsylvania send here and it is my job to find ways to work with lawmakers and it’s their job to find ways to work with us, as well to advance the cause and to put points on the board for Pennsylvanians every single day.”
Backing BidenShapiro has made no secret he is all-in on helping President Biden win a second term.
“I’m gonna do everything I can politically to support Joe Biden and to help him win again here in Pennsylvania and across the country,” he said.
Shapiro said he thinks Biden deserves a second term based on his track record for Pennsylvania — the billions for affordable high-speed internet in rural areas, improving roads and bridges and replacing lead water lines.
“I’ve got a good story to tell about his accomplishments for this commonwealth and, and I’ll be telling them,” he said. “I think that’s a clear contrast with you know, Donald Trump, who is a threat to our freedom. He’s already taken away a woman’s right to choose. And I think if given the chance he’ll continue to take away our fundamental freedoms.”
A fan of social mediaShapiro said he wants to connect with Pennsylvanians wherever they are – and for some Pennsylvanians, particularly younger ones, that’s on social media including TikTok that Congress is considering banning saying it poses a national security threat.
He issued an executive order limiting or restricting the use of TikTok on certain devices. But he said how he uses it doesn’t defy that order.
“We’re careful that the phone that we use for TikTok is not on [the state’s] wi-fi network, does not have any other information on it or stored on it,” he aid. “We try and balance the need to reach people where they are, but also make take the necessary precautions that the IT department has advised us on.”
On being DadShapiro said he and his wife, Lori, work to shield their four children as much as possible from the attention that can fall on a first family and try to “keep it as normal as possible,” despite occasionally spending time at a second home that happens to be the Governor’s Residence in Harrisburg.
“One of the things we’re known to do is wander around the Governor’s Residence in sweatpants and bare feet just be a normal family in an obviously environment that isn’t typical,” Shapiro said.
At least one of their children was unsure they could be themselves at the residence. He said the morning after swearing-in day, while getting ready for breakfast, “one of our kids asked me, “Do I have to like get dressed up to have breakfast?”
He said his decision to run for governor was a family one made with a recognition the demands that come with the position would require sacrifices. He would have to miss some of his children’s games. Family events could get interrupted. An outing with Dad wouldn’t guarantee the same alone time with him they used to have.
But they have found a way to make family time happen by literally building it into his schedule.
“Look, the most important job in the world to me is being a good husband and a good father,” Shapiro said. “And for as important as my job is to the people of Pennsylvania — and I think they would understand this —your family has to come first.”
His children, in turn, have adapted to this new way of life for their family.
“They understand that this work that we are doing is important,” he said. “If that means sometimes giving up a little piece of Dad or Mom to do that, they’ve been amazing. I gotta say Sophia, Jonah, Max and Reuben have made a lot of sacrifices and I love them for that. I am really grateful.”
