(The Center Square) – Pennsylvania’s living former governors and first ladies issued a joint statement affirming their support for Gov. Josh Shapiro and the First Family in the wake of this week’s arson attack on the home they’ve all shared.
The statement included executives from both sides of the aisle whose terms represent the decades of public service that have shaped the state since before the turn of the millennium.
“As former Governors, First Ladies, members of First Families, and occupants of the Pennsylvania Governor’s Residence, we are grateful Pennsylvanians who had the honor of living at this historic residence and understand the unique treasure the beautiful home along the Susquehanna River is to our Commonwealth,” reads the statement.
The Residence began construction in 1966 and was first used in 1968. The first governor to live there was Republican Raymond P. Shafer and his family.
The families emphasized the Residence’s dual roles both as a public space and as a private residence for the commonwealth’s leaders and their families, saying “We bonded with the property’s staff, raised our children, worked late nights, and welcomed Pennsylvanians from all walks of life for public events and tours.”
They said the Residence is unique because it is open to the public for tours as well as host to a variety of public events, including holiday celebrations.
The statement said Sunday’s attack “shook each of [us] to our cores,” with concern for the First Family and the staff that surrounds them, as well as the mansion itself.
The Department of General Services, charged with repairing and restoring the Residence, has already undertaken the work. They’ve set an “aggressive restoration and construction” schedule with the expectation of returning to normal operations as quickly as possible.
Yet, the families showed an even deeper concern for the atmosphere of unrest from which the attack sprung.
“…we were devastated to see this type of political violence. It is essential that we all work to reduce the rhetoric and name calling that has become far too prevalent in today’s public discourse,” reads the statement.
Shapiro, too, has spent the past week condemning political violence. He’s opted not to speculate on the specific nature of the attack against his family in favor of addressing the broader trend of political violence both the state and the country have seen over the past year. He’s urged his fellow politicians to lead with “moral clarity” to lower the national temperature.
The former governors did the same saying, “We stand together, Republicans and Democrats alike, in our belief that Pennsylvania must be a place of tolerance and respect – the ideals that guided William Penn – and we condemn in the strongest of terms the attack on the Governor, his family, and our entire Commonwealth.”
Finally, the First Families stated their commitment to doing whatever they could to assist with restoring the mansion.
The signatories include Shapiro’s predecessor Democrat Gov. Tom Wolf and First Lady Frances Wolf; Republican Gov. Tom Corbett and First Lady Susan Corbett; Democrat Gov. Ed Rendell and First Lady Midge Rendell; Republican Gov. Mark Schweiker and First Lady Kathy Schweiker who took on the role after Tom Ridge was tapped as Secretary of Homeland Security; Republican Gov. Tom Ridge and First Lady Michele Ridge; and First Lady Ginny Thornburgh, whose husband held the office from 1979 to 1987, and their sons.
