After scandals, new Pa. office-holders vow integrity, 'accountability'

HARRISBURG - In a state hit hard by political scandal in recent years, Tuesday's swearing-in ceremonies for the leaders of three key offices echoed with promises of accountability and integrity.

Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro pledged to restore public confidence and help his embattled agency refocus its work on protecting the elderly and children and battling public corruption.

"I will not let you down," the 43-year-old Democrat from Montgomery County told the standing-room-only audience at his swearing-in at a performing arts center down the street from the state Capitol.

He later added: "No Pennsylvanian should ever again have to question the integrity of our office."

Hours later, another Democrat from Montgomery County, Joe Torsella, told supporters who gathered at a Harrisburg public school for his inauguration as state treasurer that he would take a "hard look at each and every expenditure of taxpayer money that comes across my desk."

"I'm calling for a new standard of accountability," said Torsella, a former Philadelphia deputy mayor under Ed Rendell and the onetime head of the National Constitution Center. "Let's use the power of technology to open up our state's finances so that everyone can see how our money is being spent, and so that wrongdoing has nowhere to hide."

Also hitting on the importance of accountability Tuesday was Auditor General Eugene DePasquale, a Democrat from York County who was sworn in for a second four-year term.

But unlike DePasquale, both Shapiro and Torsella are inheriting offices with troubled histories.

Shapiro, a former Montgomery County commissioner, is taking over an agency battered by low morale and negative headlines because of the actions of its former top prosecutor, Kathleen G. Kane.

Kane, a Scranton Democrat, was convicted last year of abusing her office to get revenge on a perceived enemy and resigned from the office.

During her tenure, Kane discovered that the Attorney General's Office had become a hub for the exchange of pornography and offensive content over government computers. Her handling of the scandal eventually tarnished the office's reputation and deflected attention from much of its other work.

The state Treasurer's Office, too, has been plagued by corruption.

The last elected treasurer, Rob McCord, resigned shortly before pleading guilty in 2015 to federal charges that he attempted to shake down contractors during his failed gubernatorial run.

Last year, federal authorities charged one of McCord's predecessors, former state Treasurer Barbara Hafer, with lying to federal authorities about hefty consulting fees that she was paid after leaving office by a millionaire businessman who did business with Treasury.

Federal officials also charged the businessman, Richard Ireland, with orchestrating a bribery scheme to influence McCord while he was treasurer. Ireland was paid millions by asset-management firms for helping them get contracts with the Treasury Department.

Torsella has said he supports eliminating the use of such third-party firms.

At his swearing-in Tuesday morning, DePasquale said he was optimistic about Shapiro's and Torsella's tenures.

"I'm looking forward to my partnership with them," he said. "I haven't talked a lot about this, but it has been challenging, without that partnership, to get some of the things that need to be done."

DePasquale said that when the auditor general finds wrongdoing, it is critical to have a solid working relationship with the attorney general.

Looking ahead to his second term, DePasquale said he will focus on the effectiveness of programs involving child abuse, untested rape kits, and drug addiction.

acouloumbis@phillynews.com

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