Tom Wolf prepares to take Pa.'s highest office

HARRISBURG - The halls of the Capitol were dark Monday, and most offices were locked. The only signs inside of a looming change were bags of shredded paper.

Outside, workers readied grandstands. At noon Tuesday, Democrat Tom Wolf, the York businessman and former state revenue secretary, will become the state's 47th governor.

He arrives facing a projected $2.3 billion budget shortfall and a Republican-dominated legislature that has shown no signs it will quickly embrace his priorities. But Wolf takes office riding the burst of goodwill that Pennsylvania voters traditionally extend to new governors.

A Mercyhurst University poll released Monday found most voters optimistic about his chances of success, with majorities supporting key items in his policy agenda, such as a tax on natural gas production and increased state funding of education.

Sixty-nine percent of registered voters have confidence in Wolf's leadership ability, and 65 percent believe he can solve problems the state faces, according to the poll. Nearly two-thirds support the gas tax and a bump in the minimum wage, as Wolf does.

"Most new governors experience a honeymoon period, when the public is upbeat about their potential and lawmakers from the opposition party are more forgiving," said Joseph Morris, a political science professor at the Erie-based university, who oversees polling.

A smaller majority, 52 percent, predicted that Wolf would be able to effectively work with the Republicans who control the legislature.

But the poll shows that not all of his plans are popular. Slightly more than half the voters favor "reform" of the pension system for public employees and privatizing state liquor stores. Both were priorities of the outgoing GOP administration but ones Wolf has not endorsed.

One change is certain: Upon taking office, Wolf has said, he will sign an executive order banning gifts for employees of the executive branch.

On Monday, the governor-in-waiting joined a Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service event at a Harrisburg elementary school and swung by the Capitol in the Jeep that he made famous - or made him famous - in his campaign commercials. He also issued his final cabinet nominations, naming two nominees with deep Philadelphia ties.

Wolf tapped former State Rep. Kathy Manderino as secretary of the Department of Labor and Industry. And he picked Pedro Rivera, who spent 13 years with the Philadelphia School District before becoming superintendent of the Lancaster City School District, to lead the Department of Education.

Philadelphia Superintendent William R. Hite Jr., who knows Rivera, said Rivera's experience as an urban teacher, principal, and superintendent gives him important perspective.

"I think he's going to be a tremendous asset - not just for us here in Philly, but for all of the distressed school districts, and the whole commonwealth," Hite said.

The new governor plans to start Tuesday in his hometown of Mount Wolf (named for his ancestors) in rural York County with a pancake breakfast send-off at the VFW hall before heading to Harrisburg.

After the swearing-in and an open house at the governor's mansion, the day will end with an inaugural ball in Hershey.

Speaking to reporters Monday, Wolf tried to tamp down controversy brewing over which beer will be served - or not served - at his party.

Wolf said he was not behind the decision to exclude Pennsylvania's iconic Yuengling beer from the offerings of suds at his inaugural gala. "I did not organize the inauguration," he said.

Wolf explained that by the time Yuengling approached his team about having its beer served, "we basically already had our fill of beer."

Asked whether union considerations played into the decision - brewery president Richard Yuengling, a Republican, has clashed with organized labor - Wolf responded: "I don't know what it is. I'm new at this game."

Wolf said he has nothing against Yuengling beer. He said he bought a case of it over the weekend.

For the record, on tap Tuesday night at the Hershey Lodge will be a selection from Pennsylvania microbreweries, including Appalachian Brewing Co. in Harrisburg, Church Brew Works in Pittsburgh, and Yards Brewing in Philadelphia.

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Inquirer staff writers Angela Couloumbis and Kristen A. Graham contributed to this article.