Throughout this week we will be printing information about candidates for office.

Today, we begin with the Pennsylvania statewide offices, courtesy of the League of Women Voters of Monroe County:

Attorney general

To serve as the commonwealth’s chief law enforcement officer; collect all debts, taxes and accounts; represent the commonwealth and all its agencies in any action brought by or against the commonwealth; administer the provision relating to consumer protection laws; and represent the commonwealth and its citizens in any action brought about for violation of the antitrust laws.

Term: 4 years

Salary: $167,838

Josh Shapiro

Democrat incumbent

Residence: Philadelphia

Education: Bachelor of Arts in political science from University of Rochester, Class of 1995. Juris Doctor’s degree, Georgetown Law, 2002.

Online: http://www.joshshapiro.org, http://www.facebook.com/JoshShapiroPA/, http://twitter.com/JoshShapiroPA

Q: What are your top three priorities to address as attorney general?

A: We must continue battling the heroin and opioid crisis that is taking 12 Pennsylvanians’ lives each day. Our efforts must focus on a multipronged approach of prosecuting high-level drug dealers, holding pharmaceutical companies accountable and making treatment more accessible and affordable. We must stand up for consumers against predatory lending companies, scammers, and others trying to take advantage of Pennsylvanians. That includes ensuring Pennsylvanians have access to affordable, quality health care. We must keep our communities safe, by collaborating effectively across law enforcement, reforming our criminal justice system to ensure equal enforcement, taking crime guns off our streets, and much more.

Heather Heidelbaugh

Republican

Residence: Pittsburgh

Education: J.D., University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law; B.A. in economics and political science, University of Missouri-Columbia

Qualifications: Experienced trial lawyer with more than 35 years of courtroom experience who understands the complexities of the law, the intersection between policy and law, and how the law impacts the lives of citizens.

Online: http://heatherheidelbaugh.com/, http://facebook.com/HeatherforAG/, Twitter: http://twitter.com/heidelbaugh4ag

Q: What are your top three priorities to address as attorney general?

A: 1. Keep PA Safe: The Commonwealth Attorneys Act states one of the main roles of the AG is criminal prosecutions. This would be my top priority. The AG works with local DAs and law enforcement to keep PA residents safe, including a strong commitment to addressing drug trafficking and the opioid crisis. 2. Put people before politics. Restore the AG’s office to following mandates set forth in the Commonwealth Attorneys Act and perform lawyering for the people of PA versus using the office for political gain. 3. protect the mentally ill. Establish a blue-ribbon panel of experts from PA to examine the treatment of the mentally ill, address the current state of mental illness, and more. The panel would issue a report suggesting structural changes.

Daniel Wassmer

Libertarian

Residence: Hawley

Education: BA, Adelphi University, 1983; MBA, Adelphi University, 1986; JD, New York Law School, 1989

Qualifications: Educator, government attorney and someone with actual knowledge from courtrooms, not a self-aggrandized aspirational political office seat warmer.

Online: http://www.facebook.com/groups/2705423013115791

Q: What are your top three priorities to address as attorney general?

A: Major criminal justice police reform; decriminalize marijuana (and other drugs) shifting to a medical treatment options (someone with a state authorized “license” can sell drugs, reaping a huge profit, but a person selling a nickel bag of marijuana is charged with a crime - shouldn’t be!); stopping the threat of antitrust litigation by both old parties which is used simply as a ploy to leverage “campaign contributions” as a form of legalized extortion against our competitive big tech firms and permitting a real “free market” to pick winners and losers. (Note: This is the only time in modern history where companies delivering “convenience” and “lower prices for consumers” have been shaken down allegedly to protect consumers, what nonsense.)

Richard L. Weiss

Green party

Residence: Bethel Park

Education: B.A. University of Pittsburgh; J.D. University of Denver; LL.M. American University; M.B.A. University of Chicago

Qualifications: Admitted to the Attorney Bar in Pennsylvania and New York.

Online: http://www.greenslate2020.org/attorney_general, http://www.facebook.com/richard.weiss.1485537, http://@RichardLWeiss

Q: What are your top three priorities to address as attorney general?

A: 1. Save the taxpayers’ money. Reduce prison population by 50%, by not seeking cash bail, not bringing charges merely for drug possession or consensual relations between adults. Only those who are actually a threat to the community should be incarcerated. Others should be diverted from the prison system to programs designed to help them pay their debt to society and reintegrate into the community. Prosecutorial resources can then be directed to addressing violent crime, combating corruption and consumer protection. 2. Reformation of the system of policing. Citizen Review Boards are only a start. Community and police must establish standards of conduct and need special prosecutors for police misconduct. 3. Promote Restorative Justice.

Auditor general

The principal role of the auditor general is to determine whether state funds are being used in accordance with the purpose and guidelines that govern each use of the commonwealth’s dollars. The auditor general conducts financial and performance audits of individuals, state agencies, and organizations that receive state funds, including school districts, state liquor stores, and public employee pension funds. These audits are designed to measure how effectively government programs are using public money to meet their stated goals and objectives. The office performs more than 6,000 audits each year and is responsible for auditing all Pennsylvania state programs that are allocated federal funds.

Term: 4 years

Salary: $167,838

Nina Ahmad

Democrat

County: Philadelphia

Education: Ph.D. in chemistry, postdoctoral training in molecular genetics

Qualifications: policymaker (deputy mayor and adviser to President Obama on AAPI) co-owner-community development finance business trustee of foundation, grantmaking chair, $40 million in grants and Investment committee: oversight on half-billion-dollar endowment. Board member, National Organization for Women

Online: http://www.ninaforpa.com; http://www.facebook.com/NinaforPA/; http://twitter.com/NinaAhmadPHL

Q: What are your top three priorities in office?

A: Health care, education and jobs: To reduce health care costs I will find efficiencies in reimbursements to pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), third-party administrators of prescription drug programs. I will lead the design of an audit to assess pandemic preparedness incorporating the lessons learned from the current COVID-19 pandemic on all fronts including health care, education, and the economy. Developing data-driven analyses to identify funding gaps in education, I will advocate for equitable funding, universal pre-K, and affordable postsecondary education. I will harness science and technology to create family sustaining jobs of the future and will advocate for work force development dollars to be invested in this sector.

Timothy Defoor

Republican

County: Dauphin

Education: Harrisburg Area Community College, Associates of Arts, paralegal studies; University of Pittsburgh, Bachelor of Arts, general studies (concentration sociology and history); Harrisburg University, Master of Science, project management

Qualifications: Former Special Investigator, Pennsylvania, Office of Inspector General; Retired Special Agent, Pennsylvania, Office of Attorney General; Dauphin County Controller (2016 to present); Former Certified Internal Auditor with the International Organization for Standards

Online: http://www.defoor4pa.com/; http://www.facebook.com/DeFoor4PA

Q: What are your top three priorities in office?

A: 1) We are in a COVID-19 world. Both the federal and state governments are distributing grants and other COVID-19 funding to individuals, small business, and large businesses. My first priority as auditor general is to make sure those funds were allocated to those individuals and businesses for who they were intended. 2) Work to have a more transparent government. For example, I will work to end political loopholes like the “honor system” that allows state agencies to keep high-dollar, taxpayer funded contracts hidden from the public. 3) Bring in subject matter experts to audit the progress and performance of any new and expensive initiatives and projects to determine how and if tax payer dollars are being spent wisely.

Jennifer Moore

Libertarian

County: Montgomery

Education: Master of Business Administration, Grand Valley State University; Bachelor of Business Administration-Management, Grand Valley State University

Qualifications: Chair of the Board of Auditors, Upper Providence Township

Q: What are your top three priorities in office?

A: 1. Transparency: How many times have you heard a fellow Pennsylvanian joke about the “temporary” Johnsontown flood tax that we have been paying since 1936? How about the gas tax, or turnpike tolls that are consistently repurposed for other projects? Taxpayers deserve to know where their money is going. Funds should be spent on what they were appropriated for. 2. COVID-19 has significantly impacted our state. Areas like education, health care, small business and unemployment have all been affected. It will be very important to audit the performance of related programs as well as ensuring that funds were properly allocated. 3. Combat government waste and inefficiency. I will work to ensure effective use of taxpayer dollars.

Olivia Faison

Green party

County: Philadelphia

Education: Queens College, Flushing, NY, BA, 1985, major, biology; University of Nebraska Medical Center, Minority Health Careers Opportunity Baccalaureate Program, 1983.

Qualifications: I am a mother, a grandmother and a great-grandmother (my most impressive qualifications). I have worked as a receptionist, a legal secretary, and a medical secretary, a lab technician, a computer, math and science teacher, an analytical chemist and a scientist at the time of my retirement.

Q: What are your top three priorities in office?

A: 1) There is a desperate need for a third party. I welcome the values that the Green Party Pillars describe - grassroots democracy, ecological wisdom, social justice, and peace. (I would like to throw in honesty and respect). 2) Racist laws like the Supreme Court’s Dred Scott decision show how deep racism is ingrained in our society. Unfair laws and practices like voter suppression, purging voters off lists, and long voting lines must end. 3) Quality education and climate change - Growing up, I remember the fog being so thick, you could not see down the street. Upon my return, no one can recall the last time they have seen fog hit the streets of Philly. We have lost a very important regular occurring weather pattern without anyone noticing!

State treasurer

The duty of the Pennsylvania treasurer is to safeguard the commonwealth’s financial assets, which total more than $120 billion in public moneys. The office manages several programs in order to better serve the financial needs of Pennsylvanians. The Treasury Department is also responsible for: reuniting unclaimed property with its rightful owner; investigating loss, theft, and fraud involving commonwealth checks; reviewing real estate leases and contracts entered into by commonwealth agencies; and maintaining the Pennsylvania contracts electronic library. The treasurer has specific duties in addition to the oversight of the department: serves as chair of the Board of Finance and Revenue, which selects banks to serve as depositories for state money; setting interest rates paid on commonwealth deposits; and hearing and deciding state tax appeals.

Term: 4 years

Salary: $167,838

Joe Torsella

Democrat incumbent

County: Montgomery

Education: University of Pennsylvania (B.A.); New College, Oxford University

Qualifications: Current treasurer of Pennsylvania; former ambassador to the U.N. for Management and Reform; former president and CEO of the National Constitution Center; former Philadelphia deputy mayor for policy and planning

Online: http://www.joetorsella.com; http://www.facebook.com/JoeTorsellaforTreasurer; http://www.twitter.com/JoeTorsella

Q: What is the most important duty of the state treasurer? If elected, how would you carry out that duty?

A: From day one, my most important duty has been restoring integrity to an office too often marred by scandal: three of the last five elected treasurers have been indicted. Upon taking office, I immediately banned the use of middlemen to win investment contracts and introduced Treasury’s first conflict-of-interest policy and Chief Integrity Officer. My top priority now is building solutions to help Pennsylvanians recover from COVID-19 on solid financial ground. We created the Keystone Scholars program, which gives at-birth college and career savings accounts to every child born or adopted in Pennsylvania, and we fight to hold Wall Street accountable to taxpayers, as trustees for our public pension systems and through legal action when necessary.

Stacy L. Garrity

Republican

Residence: Athens, Pa.

No response to questions

Joe Soloski

Libertarian

County: Centre

Education: Indiana University of Pennsylvania - Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration - accounting major, passed the CPA examination in 1985

Qualifications: I’m a Libertarian that advocates for small government. I also operated my own accounting practice for more than 30 years.

Online: http://joesoloski.com; http://www.facebook.com/SoloskiForLiberty

Q: What is the most important duty of the state treasurer? If elected, how would you carry out that duty?

A: The state treasurer must monitor the revenue inflows and disbursement outflows of the commonwealth, as well as managing the invested funds of the state of Pennsylvania. My years of background as a Certified Public Accountant lend themselves well toward those responsibilities. Managing and working with people within the Treasurer’s Office is also an important requirement. Having worked with hundreds of clients, over the years, as well as working with my clients’ employees, I will take that operating experience with me to the Office of the Treasurer to make that office a great place to work as well as operating the office at the lowest cost and most efficient way possible.

Timothy Runkle

Green party

County: Lancaster

Education: BS Geology, Millersville University

Qualifications: EcoDistricts Accredited Professional, Green Party of Pennsylvania Treasurer (2017-present)

Online: http://www.greenslate2020.org/; http://www.facebook.com/Tim4ElectedOffice; http://twitter.com/LancasterGreens

Q: What is the most important duty of the state treasurer? If elected, how would you carry out that duty?

A: Through the many boards on which the state treasurer serves, they function as the head investor of the commonwealth’s financial investments. The state treasurer has the ability to direct sustainable and ethical investments including which banks hold your tax dollars or how the state pension funds are managed. The duty of transparency, through right-to-know legislation requires the state treasurer to be clear about the state’s business. I will take the office beyond transparency and to a place of responsible management of your investments.