Tom Wolf | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Wolf in 2022 | |
| 47thGovernor of Pennsylvania | |
| In office January 20, 2015 (2015-1-20) – January 17, 2023 (2023-1-17) | |
| Lieutenant |
|
| Preceded by | Tom Corbett |
| Succeeded by | Josh Shapiro |
| Secretary of Revenue of Pennsylvania | |
| In office April 25, 2007 (2007-04-25) – November 30, 2008 (2008-11-30) | |
| Governor | Ed Rendell |
| Preceded by | Gregory Fajt |
| Succeeded by | Stephen Stetler |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Thomas Westerman Wolf (1948-11-17)November 17, 1948 (age 76) Mount Wolf, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | |
| Signature |  |
Thomas Westerman Wolf (born November 17, 1948) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 47thgovernor of Pennsylvania from 2015 to 2023.[1] He previously served as chairman andCEO of his business, The Wolf Organization, and later as secretary of thePennsylvania Department of Revenue from April 2007 to November 2008.
A member of theDemocratic Party, Wolf won his party's nomination for governor of Pennsylvania in 2014 and defeatedRepublican incumbentTom Corbett in thegeneral election by a margin of almost 10 percentage points. He was reelected in2018. Wolf was succeeded by fellow DemocratJosh Shapiro in 2023.
Wolf was born and raised inMount Wolf, Pennsylvania, the son of Cornelia Rohlman (née Westerman) (1923–2018) and William Trout Wolf (1921–2016), a business executive.[2][3][4] His hometown was named after his ancestor, who was the town's postmaster.[5]
Wolf attended his local public school through 10th grade and graduated fromThe Hill School, inPottstown, Pennsylvania, in 1967.[7] He went on to receive aB.A. in government,[8]magna cum laude, fromDartmouth College in 1972, anM.Phil. from theUniversity of London in 1978,[9] and aPh.D. inpolitical science[10] from theMassachusetts Institute of Technology in 1981.[11] While a student at Dartmouth, Wolf took a leave of absence and joined thePeace Corps, with which he spent over two years in India.[12][13][14]
After earning his Ph.D., his dissertation on theUnited States House of Representatives was named the best of 1981 by theAmerican Political Science Association.[15] Wolf turned down an opportunity to interview for atenure-track faculty position atHarvard University to begin his career at The Wolf Organization as manager of aTrue Value store owned by the company.[15]
He met his wife, Frances, in London, when they were both students. They married in 1975 and have two adult daughters.[16]
Wolf purchased The Wolf Organization in 1985 with two partners. During the administration of GovernorRobert P. Casey, Wolf served on an economic development board and on the Pennsylvania Legislative Commission on Urban Schools.[17]
After selling his company to a private equity firm in 2006, Wolf was nominated by then-governorEd Rendell in January 2007 to be thesecretary of revenue of Pennsylvania. He served in that position in Rendell's cabinet from his April 2007 confirmation by thePennsylvania State Senate until he resigned in November 2008.[10][11][13] He had planned to run for governor of Pennsylvania in the2010 election, but ultimately did not in order to repurchase the Wolf Organization, which was facing bankruptcy.[10][13][17] Wolf continued to serve as an executive in The Wolf Organization until his election as governor. He served as chairman and chief executive officer until stepping down from the latter position in December 2013 to focus on his gubernatorial campaign[18] and from the board altogether in December 2014 after his election.[19]
Wolf chaired theYork CountyUnited Way, the York County Community Foundation, theYork College board of trustees, and the York County Chamber of Commerce, WITF, the regional public television system, Better York, Historic York, the Housing Council of York, and the Administrative Board of Otterbein United Methodist Church. He has also served on the boards of the York Jewish Community Center, Memorial Hospital of York and Crispus Attucks of York.[20]
On April 2, 2013, Wolf announced his candidacy for governor of Pennsylvania in the2014 election. He pledged $10 million of his own money toward the primary election, with an intent to raise at least $5 million from supporters. He was the third person to announce candidacy, afterJohn Hanger of thePennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and Max Meyers, a minister fromCumberland County, but at least four others were expected to join the race.[21]
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By March 2014, several polls suggested Wolf was the front-runner in the race for the Democratic nomination after an extensive television campaign.[22][23] A February 2014Franklin & Marshall College poll showed him with a 27-point lead over his nearest competitor,Allyson Schwartz,[24] and a Harper poll showed him leading Schwartz by 26 points,[25] as did a late March 2014 Franklin & Marshall poll.[26]
In late April and early May, Wolf faced attacks from fellow candidateRob McCord over his association with controversial former York, Pennsylvania, mayorCharlie Robertson.[27] Schwartz accused Wolf's campaign of plagiarizing his "Fresh Start" plan from an energy equipment company.[28] Despite the attacks, aMuhlenberg College/Morning Call poll suggested Wolf continued to lead with 38% to Schwartz's 13% and McCord's 11%.[29]
In the May 20 primary, Wolf defeated Schwartz, McCord, andKatie McGinty to win the Democratic nomination. He faced incumbent Republican GovernorTom Corbett in the November general election.[30] Heading into the final two months of the campaign, a number of polls indicated a varying but consistent advantage for Wolf over Corbett. Although Corbett slightly narrowed the deficit as the election approached, Wolf maintained a lead in the race.[31][32][33][34] On November 4, Wolf was elected governor with 54.9% of the vote.[35][36] His victory was notable for engaging traditionally Republican areas of the state. Insiders have attributed this phenomenon to Regional Field Director Brendan Murray and his extensive relationship network in north-central Pennsylvania.[37] Wolf is the first challenger to oust a sitting governor of Pennsylvania since the state's governors became eligible for immediate reelection in 1968.[citation needed]
Wolf ran for reelection in 2018 and was unopposed in the Democratic primary.[38] He defeated Republican State SenatorScott Wagner in the November 8 general election with about 57% of the vote.[39] He is the first Pennsylvania governor to win election twice while losing both times in his home county (since 1968, when a newstate constitution permitted governors to run for consecutive terms).[40]
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Wolf took office as Pennsylvania's 47th governor upon the expiration of Corbett's term on January 20, 2015, with the inaugural ceremony occurring in front of thePennsylvania State Capitol inHarrisburg.[41] Upon taking office, he opted not to move into thePennsylvania Governor's Residence but instead commute from his home in York. A spokesman for Wolf said the residence would still be used for official events and other functions.[42]
Shortly after being sworn in, Wolf signed two executive orders banning gifts to state employees and requiring a bidding process for outside legal contracts.[43] Wolf also restored a ban onhydraulic fracturing, or "fracking", in state parks[44] and placed amoratorium on the death penalty in Pennsylvania.[45] The most significant executive action in his first days in office was his move to fully expandMedicaid under theAffordable Care Act.[citation needed]
Wolf proposed his first budget in March 2015, which included an increase in education spending, reductions inproperty taxes and thecorporate tax, and a newseverance tax onnatural gas.[46] Six months into his tenure, in July 2015, the websitesOnTheIssues and InsideGov named Wolf the most liberal incumbent governor in the nation, based on a rating of public statements and press releases among other measures; Wolf rejected this assessment, arguing that his policies were directed by practicality rather than ideology.[47][48]
On July 1, 2015, Wolf vetoed a budget thePennsylvania General Assembly submitted to him, causing a budget dispute between the governor's office and the legislature. This marked the first time a Pennsylvania governor vetoed a budget bill in its entirety sinceMilton Shapp did so in 1976.[49] Wolf argued the budget was not balanced, disputing Republicans' claim that it would provide increased funding in certain areas without raising taxes.[50][51] A point of dispute in the budget process was the proposed privatization of Pennsylvania'swine and liquor sales, which Wolf opposed.[52] The state operated without a full budget for 267 days—the longest period without a full budget in Pennsylvania history—until the 2015–2016 budget became law without Wolf's signature in March 2016.[53][54]
In January 2016, atElizabethtown College, Wolf announced the launch of the "It's On Us PA" campaign, which aims to expand awareness ofsexual assault in schools and on college campuses.[55] Pennsylvania was the first state to implement a statewide campaign that called for a collaboration of schools, law enforcement, victim services organizations, and other community members to promote awareness, education, and bystander intervention of sexual violence specifically on school campuses.[56] Several schools, includingFranklin and Marshall College andButler County Community College, andPennsylvania State System of Higher Education ChancellorFrank Brogan signed on to the initiative.[citation needed]
On November 30, 2016, Wolf announced the awarding of "It's On Us PA" grants of $1 million to 36 post-secondary schools in the state to combat sexual violence on their campuses. Programs considered for funding included but were not limited to those that enhanced awareness of available resources as well as the rights of students and, most importantly, to increase mechanisms for anonymous reporting.[57]
In November 2016, Wolf signed several laws addressing theopioid crisis in the state.[58] In January 2018, Wolf declared Pennsylvania's heroin and opioid addiction crisis a statewide emergency. Pennsylvania became the eighth state to do so. Such a declaration lets Pennsylvania officials "override any current rules or regulations they perceive as hampering the state's ability to address the opioid epidemic".[59] On November 3, 2022, signed 66 new laws sent to him by the legislature addressing a range of issues, including new initiatives designed to curb the opioid epidemic along withclean energy tax credits[60] and cracking down on turnpike toll scofflaws.[61]
Wolf signed into law bills thatlegalized medical marijuana in Pennsylvania, reformed pensions, and expanded the number of offenses former criminal defendants could get sealed, among other legislation. In September and October 2020, Wolf held a series of press conferences making the case forlegalizing recreational cannabis in Pennsylvania, arguing that the reform was particularly needed in light of the economic downturn caused by COVID-19 and the prospect of losing revenue to New Jersey, which had recently legalized cannabis.[62][63][64] Wolf first came out for legalization in 2019 after a statewide listening tour by Lieutenant GovernorJohn Fetterman showed broad support for legalization.[65]
On March 6, 2020, Wolf confirmed there were two known cases ofCOVID-19 inDelaware County and inWayne County.[66] As the cases grew over the next several days, Wolf ordered all public schools and parks close until further notice.[67] Later that month he ordered a closure of all non-life-sustaining businesses in the state to close physical locations in order to slow the spread of the virus.[68] On April 9, Wolf officially ordered the closing of all schools through the end of the school year, stating that they will resume all classes through means ofGoogle Classroom and other online classroom tools.[69]
On June 23, State RepresentativeDaryl Metcalfe and 24 co-sponsors introduced five articles ofimpeachment in House Resolution 915 against Wolf based on charges that the mandates he imposed amid the pandemic damaged Pennsylvania's economy and exceeded his authority by unilaterally and unlawfully.[70][71] The bill was referred to the House Judiciary Committee but moved no further.[72] On September 14, 2020, District Court JudgeWilliam S. Stickman IV ruled that the restrictions Wolf imposed during the pandemic were unconstitutional, violating the right to freedom of assembly guaranteed by theFirst Amendment.[73][74] State officials asked Stickman to delay his ruling by while they appealed, but he declined.[75] TheUnited States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit laterstayed the decision, allowing the restrictions to resume.[76]
Republican lawmakers brought two questions limiting Wolf's gubernatorial powers to a statewide vote on May 18, 2021, limiting disaster declarations from 90 to 21 days, transferring power to extend emergency orders from the governor to thestate legislature and permitting a simple majority of the legislature to terminate such a declaration at any time. Both passed, with publications declaring the measures victorious with 52% of the vote on May 19, making Pennsylvania the first state to approve a curb on a governor's emergency powers since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.[77][78]
In March 2021, Wolf announced the state would start rolling out the one-doseJanssen COVID-19 vaccine in order to get students back into the classroom for in-person instruction.[79] In August, Wolf announced that students, teachers, and staff in all public and private K-12 schools and child care facilities would be required to wear masks amid a rise in cases caused by theSARS-CoV-2 Delta variant.[80]
In 2019, Wolf signed reforms into law that would allow no-excuse mail-in ballot voting.[81] After the2020 presidential election, Wolf signed thecertificate of ascertainment for theBiden/Harris slate of electors and sent it to theArchivist of the United States.[82][83] Wolf fought against claims the electionwas fraudulent and criticized politicians who supported those claims.[84] In June 2021, Wolf vetoed a bill that would have mandatedvoter identification in statewide elections.[85]
Wolf has expressed his opposition to targeting countries with economic sanctions or boycotts, saying, "We ... will not encourage economic punishment in place of peaceful solutions to challenging conflicts"[86] He later singled out Russia as an exception to this policy and immediately declared his support for sanctions and divestment from Russia after the2022 invasion of Ukraine.[87]
During his eight years as governor, Wolf issued 2,540pardons, the most for any governor in the state's history.[88] Nearly 400 of them were individuals who had been convicted of marijuana-related offenses.[89] In January 2023, he pardoned rapperMeek Mill for his 2008 conviction on drug and gun offenses.[90][91]
In 1975, Wolf marriedFrances Donnelly, an oil painter.[92] The couple have two children and resided inYork, Pennsylvania. In 2023, he announced that he and his wife were moving to Philadelphia.[93][citation needed]
On February 24, 2016, Wolf announced that he had been diagnosed withprostate cancer. Because it was diagnosed early, he said it would not hinder his ability to work.[94] After treatment, Wolf's spokesperson announced in January 2017 that Wolf's physician had given him a "clean bill of health".[95]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Tom Wolf | 488,917 | 57.86 | |
| Democratic | Allyson Schwartz | 149,027 | 17.64 | |
| Democratic | Rob McCord | 142,311 | 16.84 | |
| Democratic | Kathleen McGinty | 64,754 | 7.66 | |
| Total votes | 845,009 | 100 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Tom Wolf | 1,920,355 | 54.93 | |
| Republican | Tom Corbett (incumbent) | 1,575,511 | 45.07 | |
| Total votes | 3,495,866 | 100 | ||
| Democraticgain fromRepublican | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Tom Wolf (incumbent) John Fetterman | 2,895,652 | 57.77% | +2.84% | |
| Republican | Scott Wagner Jeff Bartos | 2,039,882 | 40.70% | −4.37% | |
| Libertarian | Ken Krawchuk Kathleen Smith | 49,229 | 0.98% | N/A | |
| Green | Paul Glover Jocolyn Bowser-Bostick | 27,792 | 0.55% | N/A | |
| Total votes | 5,012,555 | 100.00% | N/A | ||
| Democratichold | |||||
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Secretary of Revenue of Pennsylvania 2007–2008 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Governor of Pennsylvania 2015–2023 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Democratic nominee forGovernor of Pennsylvania 2014,2018 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded byas Former Governor | Order of precedence of the United States Within Pennsylvania | Succeeded byas Former Governor |
| Order of precedence of the United States Outside Pennsylvania | Succeeded byas Former Governor | |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
