Governor Josh Shapiro of Abington Township was featured today in a story by The Philadelphia Inquirer titled “Gov. Josh Shapiro nearly doubles the number of staffers dedicated to communicating his agenda“.
Their coverage focuses on his growing staff and his use of social media accounts which include “short clips in which he touts his support for raising the minimum wage and preserving abortion rights to videos in which he reacts to residents’ messages.”
His staff—which includes a communications director, a press secretary, a press staff, and digital strategists—has nearly doubled in size since 2023 and costs taxpayers nearly $3 million per year, according to the story. Twelve staff members make more than $100,000 per year, with some earning as much as $190,000.
“21 employees are dedicated to promoting Shapiro’s image, touting his achievements, and communicating his views as governor,” The Inquirer wrote, noting more than 120 videos on Shapiro’s Instagram have been posted since June 1.
Examples within the last 48 hours include:
The state-funded strategy and its associated costs have been criticized.
“The Governor should not be using tax dollars to promote his image and run for president,” Eric Epstein, founder of government watchdog group Rock the Capital, told The Inquirer. “The Governor should spend more time on the ground communicating to the legislature and get a budget done on time.”
In March, Senator Kristin Phillips-Hill characterized Shapiro’s social media use as “frivolous” and said it provides “little value” to taxpayers. That same month, the Harrisburg-based Commonwealth Foundation began promoting “Shapiro’s Self-Promotion Madness” (a parody of the NCAA’s March Madness) which “[pits] the governor’s top eight cringiest videos against one another. Each round, two videos will face off, and voters on Twitter/X can vote for the ‘cringiest’ of the two.”
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Photo: Instagram