PENNSYLVANIA – As we approach Pennsylvania’s primary election on May 19th, Lieutenant Governor Austin Davis joined local radio stations to discuss the stakes of the midterms, highlighting how the Shapiro-Davis Administration has shown up, listened, and gotten stuff done for hard working families across the Commonwealth.

From creating safe communities by investing in public safety, to making childcare more affordable, and strengthening our economy by securing business investments that create good-paying jobs, Lt. Governor Davis and Governor Josh Shapiro are delivering real results for Pennsylvanians

The stakes of the midterms could not be higher — and Governor Shapiro and Lt. Governor Davis are committed to helping elect leaders who will stand up to Donald Trump’s disastrous agenda that is hurting Pennsylvanians and keep moving the Commonwealth forward.

Listen to and read excerpts below of the Lieutenant Governor Austin Davis on local radio stations ahead of the primary election.

La Mega’s El Relajo de la Mañana:

Victor Martinez: This morning, we were talking about how meat is up, you know, 16%, how vegetables are up, how coffee is up, how gas is up. Can you give us more details on how this is going to work. What are some of the specifics on how you’re trying to make sure that we get some of our money, we get to keep some of our money?

Austin Davis: I talked about the Working Pennsylvanians Tax Credit that we started last year, that Pennsylvanians are just taking advantage of. That’s putting more money back in their pockets when they file their taxes. Expanding the Child Care Tax Credit. So if you have a child, we’re giving you more money back in your pockets in terms of your tax return, but also trying to make childcare more affordable. I have a two year old daughter. I dropped her off at daycare this morning, and I can tell you that bill rivals a lot of people’s mortgage or rent payments. It’s unsustainable. So what we’ve done was we created a Childcare Recruitment and Retention bonus program to help pay childcare workers, but also to recruit more childcare workers into the field. Because if we do create more spots and more workers, it will bring down costs and we’ll have more spaces for our most precious resource, our young people.

Victor Martinez: Talk to us about the securing of the $25 million. I was reading up about the fact that you’ve been working on securing $25 million for new childcare recruitment, and you were just mentioning that. So how is that going to work? How are you going to implement and utilize those $25 million?

Austin Davis: Yeah, so we got it, and it’s already being driven out across the state in the forms of bonuses and retention grants for childcare workers. We know one of the reasons that childcare is so expensive is because we don’t have enough spaces and we don’t have enough workers, and we’re not paying those workers enough. So one, we’re giving them this bonus to show that their work has dignity, that we respect and value their work here in Pennsylvania, but to also attract new workers, to create more spaces for young people. If we can—that is just what the Governor and I view as the beginning. We need to grow that fund to really see us and make it sustainable, to continue to see the types of space optimization we want, but also to see the cost go down.

Talk Erie’s The Joel Natalie Show:

Joel Natalie: Could Pennsylvania play a strong role of who’s in control of the US House of Representatives in January?

Austin Davis: Pennsylvania is going to play a huge role in who is in control in the United States Congress in January. There are four, what I would say, toss up or swing seats here in Pennsylvania that are up for grabs. They are currently occupied by Republicans, but Democrats are competing heavily for them. And so if we, if Democrats flip those four seats in Pennsylvania, we will flip the United States Congress and finally kind of put a check on the chaos that we see coming out of Washington. I can tell you, the Governor and I are committed to helping those Democrats that are running to make sure that we elect people to Congress who are going to stand up for Pennsylvanians and their and our rights and fundamental freedoms, and we’re going to work to bring down the cost for working families here in Pennsylvania, and not tax breaks for billionaires and millionaires like we’ve currently seen out of this current congress.

Joel Natalie: What are your thoughts about this fall and the Shapiro-Davis ticket here versus the Garrity ticket?

Austin Davis: The Governor and I have constantly showed up in Erie. We’ve listened to the concerns of the folks in northwestern Pennsylvania, and we’ve delivered for Erie. We’ve increased funding for Erie County schools by nearly 30% since before we took office to make sure teachers have the resources and classrooms for their students to succeed. We’ve secured over a million dollars in private sector investments to grow the local economy in Erie and make Pennsylvania more competitive. We’ve also cut taxes seven times, putting more money back into the pockets of folks in Erie, including by creating the Working Pennsylvanians Tax Credit, which alone is expected to deliver a little over $5 million in tax relief to over 25,000 hard working Pennsylvanians in Erie County. And so we’ve worked really hard to deliver real, tangible results for the good people in Erie, and I think at the end of the day, that’s going to pay off on election day, because they know that the Governor and I have constantly shown up and we’ve delivered.

WWDB-AM’s Jewish Perspectives on Politics And The News with Burt Siegel:

Burt Siegel: What are the priorities that you and the Governor, hopefully, when you get reelected, and I know the two of you are people who hit the ground running, what are going to be the first [priorities] when you start running?

Austin Davis: First, let me just say, serving as Lieutenant Governor has been one of the highest honors of my life, to serve the people of Pennsylvania, that they’ve given me this trust and this faith to serve them. And every day, I’ve been, you know, laser focused on what really matters, our families, our communities, and the responsibility that we have to one another. I’ve stayed in this fight, and I’m seeking re-election with Governor Shapiro, because safety, opportunity and a fair shot at life should never depend on one’s ZIP code or how they grew up. And I mentioned, you know that I became a dad for the first time two years ago, and it really gave new meaning to every decision that I make as Lieutenant Governor in my life, because every decision I make doesn’t just affect my daughter’s future, it affects the future of the next generation of Pennsylvanians. And that’s something that I keep in mind every single day. You know, the governor and I have gotten a lot done, but we know that there’s still so much more work to be done.

Burt Siegel: I don’t think there’s any harm in somebody’s ability to be reelected by saying, “Well, I work with the other party on something that helped you.” And I see coming out of the Republican Party a sense of demonizing our party. And I think, to some degree, perhaps we may do it as well. And it really doesn’t help the nation. It doesn’t help individuals. So I know that’s not your style of politics.

Austin Davis: I’ve crisscrossed Pennsylvania, and you know, I have heard from folks, you know, basically universally, that Pennsylvanians want us to take off our red jerseys and our blue jerseys and to put on the Pennsylvania jersey and to try to work together with folks to get something done and to move our Commonwealth forward. And I can tell you, that is what Governor Shapiro and I have done every single day that we’ve been in office, to bring people together. You know, every bipartisan program that we’ve passed has had to be bipartisan. We are one of the unique governors and lieutenant governors in the country that presides over a divided legislature, so nothing gets done without Democrats and Republicans coming together. And we’re going to keep working to make sure that we can bring people together at a moment where there is a lot of division.

Burt Siegel: I always say to people, “well, you know what, if there’s bad weather or you’re not feeling well, at least you still have the opportunity to cast your vote.” And I think that we should encourage people, particularly senior citizens, to avail themselves of that opportunity.

Austin Davis: Every vote counts, and every vote matters, and Pennsylvania has seen elections that have been razor thin. I want to encourage every person who’s listening to get out there and to let their voice be heard. Make a plan to vote whether you’re going to vote by mail, which is safe and secure, which I’ve done a number of times, whether you’re going to go to the polling place on Election Day. Make a plan to vote in the primary on May 19, a plan to vote in November. These elections are critical. They’re not just going to decide, you know, who’s leading in these respective offices for the next two or four years. It’s really going to decide what our trajectory is for the next 10 to 20 years. And so I hope everybody gets out and exercises their civic responsibility, and I want to personally ask everyone who’s listening to consider casting a vote for Governor Shapiro and I for re-election.

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