Shapiro’s Super Bowl appearance highlights his lack of transparency

Gov. Josh Shapiro spent the weekend cheering on the Philadelphia Eagles at Super Bowl LIX.

How he scored tickets to the event, however, has been a sore subject for the governor. Despite promising transparency as a candidate, Shapiro regularly accepts free event tickets from the Team PA Foundation, a nonprofit organization that accepts both public and private money and doesn’t disclose its donors. In 2023 alone, the governor received more than $12,000 in tickets.

Such gifts seemingly violate Pennsylvania’s gift ban for public officials, which Shapiro loosened when he took office. And while the governor plays fast and loose with the rules, the optics of Shapiro rubbing elbows with his biggest donors aren’t a good look, either.

But that’s not the only shady business conducted by the governor. He also:

• Refuses to publish his daily calendar.
• Kept an important policy working group secret from the public.
• Blocked efforts to reveal why his office has spent more than $350,000 in taxpayer funds to hire private law firms.
• Withheld inauguration donor information and exploited campaign finance loopholes.
• Secretly negotiated with a top campaign donor to provide a 22 percent pay raise for government unions.

Though Pennsylvanians celebrate the Eagles’ momentous victory, nobody wins when political leaders lack transparency and accountability.