Stacy Garrity Pitches Veteran Plan During Local Campaign Stop

State Treasurer and the Republican nominee for governor Stacy Garrity brought her campaign to Bucks County Monday evening.

Speaking in Warrington Township, Garrity laid out her plans to help Pennsylvania’s roughly 700,000 veterans ahead of the November election.

“Serving was and is the honor of my lifetime,” Garrity, a U.S. Army veteran, said to the crowd. “And now out of uniform, I do my best to live my life following the Army’s seven principles — loyalty, duty, respect, service, honor, integrity, personal courage. Those are the values that I bring to the treasurer’s office in Harrisburg every day. And those are the values that I will bring to the governor’s office next January.” 

Among the policies that Garrity spoke about while at the event was the plan for a $3,000 annual tax credit for businesses that hire veterans on a full-time basis. There would also be a credit for part-time hires that would also renew each year. 

The state’s treasurer also gave examples as to how she would change the professional licensing system, which she said could save veterans over $18,000.

Garrity also made it a priority to speak about how important it is for veterans to have a home and how she would support efforts to keep them off the streets.

“Pennsylvania’s veterans deserve a governor who will fight for them as hard as they have fought for us,” she said. 

Something that other states have that Pennsylvania does not is a Gold Star registry, a database that tracks U.S. service members from the state who were killed in combat from World War II to today. 

“We’re not recognizing families of those who gave their full measure of devotion to our nation. So we’re going to change that,” Garrity said. 

Garrity said she also plans to create a Veterans Ambassador Program that would help veterans returning back to the state. 

At the rally, which contained a crowd of mainly veterans, David Christian, a highly-awarded Vietnam War veteran raised in Levittown, threw his support behind Garrity.

Christian compared Garrity to Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro and mentioned how Garrity being a veteran meant something to the military community. 

“Having a veteran versus a non-veteran means a whole lot to the veterans community, the Gold Star mothers, to the spouses of veterans,” Christian said. 

Former Lt. Gov. Jim Cawley, a Levittown native, told the crowd Garrity has what is takes to be governor in a time of rising prices.

Garrity, who has been in her current role as state Treasurer since January 2021, won her party’s primary on May 19. She served during Operation Desert Storm as well as other campaigns. Garrity was also awarded two Bronze Stars due to her service. 

Garrity is looking to unseat Shapiro. Recent polling by Quinnipiac University shows that the former attorney general from Montgomery County has a double-digit lead over Garrity. Shapiro also has a positive job approval, with 56 percent of respondents approving of his job as governor, while 34 percent disapprove.

The governor serves as the state’s commander in chief of the Pennsylvania National Guard. The Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs also falls under their purview.

Publisher Tom Sofield contributed to this report.