

Tom Corbett on a platform of good government and education spending. He beat a crowded Democratic primary field by spending millions of his own dollars, then he bested incumbent GOP Gov. Wolf, a 74-year-old wealthy scion of a cabinetmaker from York County, was first elected in 2014. Bryan Cutler (R., Lancaster) shook hands after the signing of Act 77. “But I think at the end of the day, that’s exactly how government is supposed to work,” Cutler added.Ĭommonwealth Media Services Gov. Sometimes in the public square, sometimes through legislation that was vetoed.” “Those areas where we agree, we would work together,” House Republican Leader Bryan Cutler (R., Lancaster) said, “and where we didn’t, we had vigorous discussions. Still, talk to those who governed with Wolf now, and there are few lingering hard feelings. In public statements over the years, legislative Republicans accused Wolf’s administration of having “no interest in fulfilling one of the most basic functions of their responsibility” when Wolf declined to haggle over a congressional map disparaged his push to legalize recreational marijuana as “irresponsible” and at one point, said his COVID-19 measures were canceling Christmas.Ĭorman conceded that the GOP has gotten more partisan in the past decade, but insisted Wolf was also “a little more ideological” than previous governors. “The Republican Party today,” he continued, “basically doesn’t want government to function at all.” “There is a huge difference between the years 2002 2010 and the years 2015 2023, and the difference is the Republican Party in my eight years as governor still was transactional,” Rendell said. But he added that partisanship was extremely different during his time as Pennsylvania’s top executive. That’s fair.”Įd Rendell, a former Democratic governor known for his dealmaking, said that Wolf had a harder time working with the legislature. “If he said he would do something, he did it.

#TOM WOLF PRO#
Wolf, in my time with him, he was an honest broker,” said former Republican state Senate leader and President Pro Tempore Jake Corman. He issued the second most vetoes of any governor since the 1970s, rejecting attempts to restrict abortion and LGBTQ rights and protecting his executive actions on issues like climate change. What few dispute, though, is that Wolf held firm to his convictions. More private than some of his predecessors, Wolf wasn’t one to dominate a dais, hold frequent news conferences or issue sweeping public pronouncements, a temperament that made it hard to predict what he would prioritize next or how far he would be willing to compromise to get it. His governing style - and personality - sometimes heightened that sense of uncertainty. That dynamic only intensified as he tried to steer the state through life-or-death decisions during a once-in-generations pandemic. Wolf’s background as a successful businessman used to calling the shots, particularly early in his tenure, clashed with the reality that he had to negotiate with a legislature dominated by Republicans with opposing views. That approach, in many ways, served Wolf well.Īs he prepares to hand the reins of government to Democrat Josh Shapiro, Wolf leaves behind a long list of policy wins, from boosting education funding to legalizing medical marijuana.īut complicating his legacy is the sense that policymaking in the Capitol often teetered on the edge of political brinkmanship.
