Good morning and welcome to Broad + Liberty's Weekly Reads.

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1. After two years in office, Shapiro fails to fill key vacancies on state commission

By Beth Ann Rosica
 

When Josh Shapiro was sworn in as governor in 2023, there were four commissioner vacancies on the eleven-person Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission (PHRC). Over two years later, the four vacancies remain unfilled.

Shapiro, who likes to boast about “getting s*** done,” has not appointed a single person to fill those vacancies.

While it’s certainly possible the governor’s failure to make any appointments is just laziness or a matter of priorities, there’s a good argument to be made that the seats are empty as part of a political strategy.

Why It Matters. Our analysis reveals six of the commissioners are registered Democrats and one is a registered Republican.

Under the leadership of these same commissioners in 2023, the PHRC enacted new regulations changing the definition of sex to include gender identity and gender expression.

Is it conceivable Shapiro wanted to keep the commission unbalanced with only one Republican commissioner? Perhaps, a heavily Democratic commission would be more likely to push through the 2023 regulation changes?

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2. Are Pennsylvania’s Democratic Supreme Court Justices acting like politicians?

By Stephen Eustis, Jr.
 

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court wields significant authority over the state’s legal framework, shaping policies on election laws, emergency powers, and more. Since 2015, its 5-2 Democratic majority, including Justices Christine Donohue, Kevin Dougherty, and David Wecht, has driven decisions that, while often legally defensible, frequently align with one political perspective.

An examination of three pivotal 2020 rulings — on Covid-19 emergency powers, mail-in ballot deadlines, and the exclusion of the Green Party from the presidential ballot — reveals a concerning pattern. These decisions raise questions about whether Democratic justices are acting more like politicians than impartial arbiters, a trend that risks undermining public trust in the judiciary.

Why It Matters. When a court’s rulings consistently produce outcomes that benefit one political perspective, it risks being seen as an extension of that agenda rather than a fair interpreter of the law. 

Public trust in the judiciary hinges on its ability to remain above partisan fray, serving as a check on governmental power without appearing to favor one side. The current 5-2 Democratic majority, with its history of rulings that align with one party’s interests, risks undermining that trust, creating a perception of bias that could have lasting consequences for the court’s legitimacy.

A judiciary that reflects a broader range of perspectives is better equipped to interpret the Constitution and laws in a way that serves all Pennsylvanians, not just one segment of the political spectrum. Achieving this balance doesn’t necessarily mean rejecting qualified justices, but it does require acknowledging when a court’s trajectory seems to mirror political priorities rather than impartial justice.
 

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3. Lightning Round

• Simon Webber: The case for abolishing zoning

• Stu Bykofsky: Predictably, the soda tax failed to deliver

• Conservative group files suit over Biden-era documents related to Franklin County project

• Thom Nickels: 19th-century Philadelphia’s macabre, union-organizing novelist

• Kyle Sammin: Could we just be normal?

• Beth Ann Rosica: The inevitable federal-state showdown on education

• Jonathan Russell: Hubris is not a leadership virtue

• Michael Thomas Leibrandt: Philadelphia’s college basketball team that might have won it all

4. New Podcast

5. What we're reading

A new report this week from BlueStateRed breaks down the 2024 election in Pennsylvania and makes for fascinating reading for anyone interested in the massive shifts in voter sentiment and the emerging party realignment. BlueStateRed principal (and Broad + Liberty co-founder) Albert Eisenberg breaks it all down, showing how racial, religious, and ethnic minority voters shifted rightward like never before, delivering the presidency and Congress to Republicans in 2024.