In 2015, Shapiro, then a Montgomery County commissioner, gave the Philadelphia Inquirer his assessment of Greenberg’s political and philanthropic work.

“He’s a major employer in the region and he’s wonderfully philanthropic — for Jewish causes, educational causes and other community organizations,” Shapiro told the paper.

Another co-founder of Susquehanna International Group is even more well-known in the world of Pennsylvania school choice advocacy: billionaire Wall Street trader Jeffrey Yass. He’s emerged as a major Republican donor nationally and an inescapable power broker within the commonwealth, despite his nearly nonexistent public profile.

Both Greenberg and Yass have been involved in bankrolling the school choice movement for more than a decade in Pennsylvania.

“We are not in this to run charter schools, to manage charter schools. This is purely altruistic,” Greenberg told WHYY in 2015, when asked about his support for Williams’ mayoral campaign. “We view this as helping kids have a choice who are trapped in failing, oftentimes violent schools.”

Along with fellow suburban Philadelphia billionaire and SIG co-founder Arthur Dantchik, Greenberg and Yass were at one point the main donors to Students First, a political action committee founded in 2010 to support school choice candidates.

Shapiro accepted $175,000 from that PAC between 2012 and 2016, according to campaign finance records. During that time, he was a Montgomery County commissioner and, by 2016, was running for attorney general.

The donations to Shapiro’s attorney general campaign so troubled Philadelphia’s teachers union that it quietly pulled its endorsement at the last minute, multiple news outlets reported.

The union declined to comment at the time, but a source with knowledge of the situation confirmed to Spotlight PA that the union pulled its endorsement over the Students First donations. (The Pennsylvania State Education Association, a larger, statewide teachers union, continued to back Shapiro in that election.)

During the 2022 gubernatorial race, PACs connected to Yass spent millions during the primary to oppose eventual Republican nominee state Sen. Doug Mastriano (R., Franklin). One of those PACs, Commonwealth Leaders Fund, ran anti-Shapiro ads during the general election but scaled back then stopped that spending shortly after Shapiro publicly pledged his support for vouchers.

Once elected, Shapiro sought to create such a program as part of the 2023-24 state budget.

“I believe every child of God deserves a shot here in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and one of the best ways we can guarantee their success is making sure every child has a quality education,” Shapiro told Fox News in June 2023, late in the state’s budget process.

The remarks preceded the Republican-controlled state Senate’s sudden passage of a budget deal that included $100 million in taxpayer money to fund private school tuition for students in low-performing public districts.

But once the budget reached the state House, Shapiro received hard pushback from the lower chamber’s new Democratic majority. In a politically embarrassing setback, Shapiro agreed to veto the voucher dollars in exchange for the rest of the plan’s passage. That veto led to a nearly six-month budget impasse as state Senate Republicans claimed betrayal.

In his February budget address this year, Shapiro called on the legislature to again consider vouchers, though a top Republican leader later accused him of being unwilling to use his “bully pulpit” to get such a program across the finish line.

His ongoing support also hasn’t saved him from Yass-funded criticism.

For the past two years, a 501(c)(4) nonprofit, which does not have to disclose its donors, has spent prodigiously on ads and other lobbying to criticize politicians who don’t support vouchers.

The group, Commonwealth Action, has received significant dollars from the free market Commonwealth Partners Chamber of Entrepreneurs, according to that group’s most recent filings to the IRS. Commonwealth Partners runs two political action committees that are among the most active in Pennsylvania school choice advocacy, and both are almost entirely funded by Yass.

Between April 2023 and March 2024 — the last recorded filing — Commonwealth Action reported spending more than $973,000 on indirect education lobbying, which includes advertising and other methods aimed at shifting public opinion.

One video from last summer funded by Commonwealth Action accused Shapiro of “choosing special interests over kids.”

Commonwealth Action is linked to an established conservative organization in Pennsylvania, the Commonwealth Foundation. Since summer 2023, the exterior of the organization’s Harrisburg building, which is across the street from the state Capitol, has featured ads calling for Shapiro to pass the voucher plan. The foundation is now funding a six-figure newspaper and TV ad campaign.

“You lied, and you turned your back on us again,” Printess Garrett, a Harrisburg mother, says in a TV spot. “The only thing we have for our children is our word, and if we can’t trust in your word, we don’t have anything else.”

Moving forward, political sources told Spotlight PA they expect teachers unions and other public education advocates to be among the most skeptical of a Shapiro vice presidency.

On Wednesday, 28 education advocacy groups from across the country sent an open letter to presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris arguing that “it is essential that our President and Vice President be wholly committed to our nation’s public education system and willing to fight against school privatization in all its forms.”

But to Payton, not considering Shapiro for backing a policy to aid parents in the hunt for what’s best for their kids is a bad choice.

“To blatantly disqualify somebody over something ideological like that is foolish,” Payton said.

The giant steelworks that greets visitors to Allentown, Pennsylvania once symbolized the city’s success as an industrial hub. Today, its middle-class residents struggle to overcome the long-term impacts of post-pandemic inflation.

Purchasing power is one of the main themes of the US presidential election, and a thorn in the side of Democrats — especially in this Rust Belt battleground state, which could be one of a handful to decide who wins the White House in November.

“Inflation has come down tremendously,” said Bill Leiner, a 70-year-old nurse and volunteer for the Democratic Party, which seems to be coalescing behind Vice President Kamala Harris after Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the race.

“However, there are many people… who don’t believe that, because there’s a right-wing echo chamber pumping out disinformation,” Leiner told AFP, explaining he even has to help his own family members separate truth from fiction.

When a loved one complained about the high price of eggs, Leiner explained it was the result of a bird flu epidemic, not government policy, and advised the person to buy the store’s brand, instead of a name brand product, to save money.

“I’ve amended my habits. I keep an eye on prices. I look at what I do, at my budget,” he said.

Matthew Kayes, who was exiting a Whole Foods supermarket with his family, said he too had changed up his shopping habits, buying different products from different suppliers.

Kayes even goes straight to local farms in the region dotted with green hills, where “the prices are generally cheaper and, we find, the produce is better.”

Accountant Tamy Ferry said she watches her budget, but still buys what she likes, even if prices are higher.

“Occasionally, I stay away from certain things, or I wait until they go on sale, but I do shop at various stores,” Ferry said.

– More visitors at food pantries –

On Friday, all eyes will be on new inflation figures from the US government. May data showed that goods prices had cooled slightly — good news for both consumers and Democrats keen to overcome voter hesitation about their economic record.

In Allentown, residents are considered middle class if their households earn between $37,300 and $112,000 a year. Even then, some have had to turn to food pantries.

“For the last two years, we saw almost a doubling of the people showing up in our food pantry every single day,” said J. Marc Rittle, the executive director of New Bethany, a nonprofit that helps those facing economic and social hardship.

According to Rittle, more and more of the newcomers visiting New Bethany are middle class.

“Housing costs have skyrocketed, so people have to choose between paying their rent or buying food,” he said, explaining those coming to the pantry are looking for a “complement” to the food they can afford on their own.

“We don’t refuse anyone,” Rittle said — even those whose salaries exceed the level suggested by the federal Feeding America program.

He said he noticed that more Allentown residents started having trouble when the financial aid programs launched during the coronavirus pandemic expired.

At that same moment, the war in Ukraine sent oil prices soaring, which translated into an overall jump in the cost of daily necessities.

The annual inflation rate has certainly fallen, from a high of 9.5 percent in June 2022 to an average of 2.6 percent in recent months.

“A slowdown in inflation is still an increasing rate of the cost of living, so that doesn’t help at all. It’s just not going up as much as before,” Rittle said.

“We would have to return to a lower cost of living.”

– ‘Modest and incremental’ –

Al Jacobsen, executive director of Allentown’s 1,000-seat Miller Symphony Hall, also counts on the assistance of others to keep his budget out of the red.

He struggles to balance higher operating costs and salaries with the impossibility of raising ticket prices without seeing a hit on attendance, among patrons who face tough choices about how to spend the little disposable income they have.

He also says he has created new ticket categories and launched subscription incentives, but has been unable to book some artists whose fees have soared.

“We are not an essential service like food or shelter, so we’re limited in how much we can increase without affecting the demand,” Jacobsen said.

“Our increases have been modest and incremental.”

elm/sst/mlm

PITTSBURGH — In the days after President Joe Biden ended his 2024 campaign and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to succeed him, Democrats across the country rushed to rally behind her, too. In Pennsylvania, the Philadelphia Democratic Party went a step further — endorsing not just Harris, but a ticket with Harris backed up by Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro.

As Harris kicks off an unusually rapid search for a vice presidential nominee, Shapiro’s in-state allies are standing out with an especially public and vocal push to elevate their governor. Shapiro, who was elected in 2022 and twice elected state attorney general before that, has mostly deflected when asked about running mate speculation in recent days. So have North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona and others.

But their friends are making enough noise on their own.

Former Rep. Bob Brady, the chair of the Philadelphia Democratic Party, told NBC News that with Shapiro on the ticket, Harris will win Pennsylvania.

“I don’t guarantee anything, but I will guarantee that,” said Brady, whose committee announced endorsing Shapiro for VP “without any opposition.” He continued, “No question about it. We’re so enthused, so riled up.” 

“We are pushing for our favorite son,” Brady said gushing about Shapiro’s electability, calling the endorsement of Shapiro a “no-brainer” and saying, “He checks every box.” 

Pennsylvania state House Speaker Joanna McClinton also endorsed a Harris-Shapiro ticket, telling NBC News that “when I think about winning Pennsylvania, I think about our governor first, because Gov. Shapiro has won across Pennsylvania three times.” 

Former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell said Shapiro is “the type of man that every mother in Pennsylvania would hope her son grows up to be.” 

Rendell says the enthusiasm level in Pennsylvania is already “sky high” for Harris, but believes with Shapiro on the ticket, it would “go off the charts.”

This push is a stark contrast to what Shapiro has been saying while fielding a glut of media questions about Harris’ campaign. Shapiro released a statement Sunday quickly endorsing Harris and noting their relationship, adding that he spoke to Biden and Harris after their announcements and has known Harris “for nearly two decades.” 

Since then, Shapiro has repeatedly told reporters that Harris has a “deeply personal decision to make,” adding that “it should be made free from any political pressure.”

Shapiro has kept up his local public schedule amid a new crush of national attention, speaking Wednesday in New Castle, Pennsylvania, about a new law reforming pharmacy benefit manager regulations. Like anything that passes through Pennsylvania’s divided state legislature, it required bipartisan cooperation. “We are proving that we can bring Republicans and Democrats together to get meaningful things done,” Shapiro said.

When asked about the support from the likes of Brady and McClinton, Shapiro told NBC News, “While I am, of course, grateful for the kindness that Speaker McClinton and Congressman Brady shared, this is a process that the vice president needs to go through and make her decision based upon factors that she lays forward.” 

Brady does not view his and others’ push for Shapiro as putting political pressure on Harris, emphasizing it is “110%” her decision. 

“If it’s not Josh Shapiro, whoever it may be, we will rally around them,” Brady said. 

While pro-Shapiro voices have been particularly outspoken backing him in his state, there are similar efforts heating up elsewhere. In North Carolina, where Cooper is under consideration, state Democratic Party Chair Anderson Clayton and Rep. Deborah Ross both posted pictures with their governor on X, writing, “I know who I would pick for VP 👀”

In Arizona, members of the state Democratic Party executive board endorsed Kelly for Harris’ running mate on Thursday, touting his ability to “help working families, boost our economy, and ensure our communities are safe and secure.”

“We are confident that with Senator Kelly on the ballot, Vice President Harris can build a winning coalition that defeats Donald Trump and J.D. Vance in November,” the state party announced, adding that “the road to the White House runs through Arizona in this election.”

It’s unclear whether such public displays have any effect on vice presidential decisions past or present. But they can be useful displays of loyalty. Just hours before the Arizona party put out its statement supporting Kelly, Arizona Democratic Party Chair Yolanda Bejarano initially stopped short of endorsing Kelly at a news conference in Phoenix, telling NBC News, “This is something that we’re going to trust the vice president’s judgment.”

And of course, not everyone is lined up behind their home-state VP hopeful.

Erin McClelland, the Democratic candidate for Pennsylvania state treasurer who beat the state party’s endorsed candidate in a primary earlier this year, posted on X against Shapiro, making reference to a sexual harassment case against a former Shapiro aide.

“I want a VP pick that’s secure enough to be second under a woman, is content to be VP & won’t undermine the President to maneuver his own election & doesn’t sweep sexual harassment under the rug.  I want someone that can speak to rural voters. That is @RoyCooperNC,” McClelland posted.

Brady called McClelland “nuts” in response and said he thinks she is making a “major mistake.” “I think she just sunk herself and I’m not too happy with her at all,” he added.

Pennsylvania state Sen. Sharif Street, the state Democratic Party chair, stopped short of fully endorsing Shapiro in an interview, citing deference to Harris. “As a state party, I don’t presume to tell the vice president, our nominee for president, who she should pick. I’m not doing that,” he said.

But Street added: “What I am telling you is I think Josh would do a great job.” 

Like others, Street noted that Shapiro has been the top vote-getter in Pennsylvania in past elections, including years when he shared the ticket with presidential hopefuls Biden and Hillary Clinton. And Street noted “he’s been effective” while working with a GOP state Senate and a Democratic state House in Harrisburg.

“My job is to make sure we win the state,” Street said. “I think Kamala Harris is gonna win Pennsylvania no matter which vice presidential pick she picks. But gee, I mean, if I could go around and have our governor be the pick, I mean, I’d be being disingenuous to say that wouldn’t make it easier.”