Pennsylvania statewide row officers sworn for 4-year terms

Pennsylvania’s top prosecutor, its elected fiscal watchdog and the official who handles billions in state money were sworn in on Tuesday to serve for the next four years.

In separate ceremonies at sites around Harrisburg, the attorney general, auditor general and treasurer took their oaths of office.

Democratic Attorney General Josh Shapiro was elected to a second term in November and took the oath in the Pennsylvania Judicial Center. Shapiro issued a report on his own first term Tuesday.

Republican Timothy L. DeFoor was elected auditor general, succeeding Democrat Eugene DePasquale, who is term-limited. DeFoor was sworn in at the King Mansion, near the governor’s official residence along the Susquehanna River.

DeFoor, most recently the Dauphin County controller, called his elevation to the job “one of God’s blessings” and thanked DePasquale for attending the ceremony.

DeFoor promised accountability, integrity and transparency.

“While you can’t run government like it’s a business, you can watch how government spends its money like it’s a business,” DeFoor said, promising to root out waste, fraud and abuse “to ensure that state government lives within its means and that every taxpayer dollar is spent wisely.”

Republican Stacy Garrity, who retired as a colonel in 2016 after 30 years with the Army Reserves and has been a vice president of a tungsten smelting plant, unseated Democratic incumbent Treasurer Joe Torsella.

“It is now my job to be the steward of taxpayer money, and to make certain that government is open, honest, and accountable,” Garrity said, in a ceremony in the Forum Building, behind the Capitol. “There are many arcane and technical aspects to the new task before me. I am ready to confront them.”

She said her goals include cutting waste and needless fees, helping families save for schooling and other needs, and increased transparency.

Her event included a presentation of her military colors by the First Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry, the Bloomsburg University choir, an address by Torsella and her own inaugural address.