(The Center Square) – The flap over spending on Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro’s security deepened on Monday when former governors endorsed the concept of gubernatorial security, but a Republican senator objected to surpassing the $32 million already spent on upgrades at the publicly owned Governor’s Residence by footing the bill for work at his private home.
The back-and-forth came two days after an armed attacker tried to get into the White House correspondents’ dinner in Washington, D.C., that was being attended by President Donald Trump. Just over a year ago, a man firebombed the Governor’s Residence in Harrisburg while Shapiro and his family slept, although they escaped without harm.
“Combatting political violence and keeping our elected officials safe should always be nonpartisan and a priority,” said a statement issued through Shapiro’s office but originated by formers Democratic Govs. Tom Wolf and Ed Rendell and former Republican Govs. Tom Corbett, Mark Schweiker, and Tom Ridge.
“For us, the attack on Pennsylvania’s first family was particularly upsetting. In the aftermath of that attack we ask the state’s current leaders and legislators to make the safety and security of the governor and his family a priority,” the former governors said.
Last week, Republican Treasurer Stacy Garrity – who will likely be Shapiro’s opponent in his bid to be re-elected in November – announced her office could not pay for more than $1 million in security upgrades at the governor’s private home in Montgomery County. While the improvements already have been made, she said having the public pay for them would not be “lawful and correct.”
On Monday, Garrity said her duties as treasurer were clearly defined and did not include “authority to pay for security improvements to a personal residence.”
Garrity noted that security improvements already have been made at the governor’s private home, hence, “This isn’t about the improvements, it’s about having the legal authority to pay the bills, and that simply does not exist.”
Since the firebomb attack, the public has already spent about $32 million on upgrades at the public Governor’s Residence in north Harrisburg, according to Republican Sen. Jarrett Coleman. That figure includes a line-item expenditure placed in the 2025-26 state budget and a separate sum of about $10 million from Department of General Services capital funds.
“Current law does not allow for tax dollars to be making modifications to private property, like the Shapiros’ personal home,” Coleman said.
Coleman on Monday submitted a memo – typically an advance step to filing a bill – to establish a seven-member “Executive Protection Oversight Board” to handle such situations in the future.
Democrats blasted Garrity’s announcement last week. Sen. Jay Costa of Allegheny County, the top Democrat in the Senate, equated it with “playing games with the lives of the Shapiro family for cheap political points.”
