Is Pa. Attorney General Dave Sunday putting politics over Pennsylvanians? | Editorial
Sunday's failure to join a suit to stop federal funding cuts impacting Pa. research institutions and the resignation of the state consumer advocate have cast doubt on the Republican's independence.
New Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday campaigned for office last year with a pledge to act as a commonsense Republican willing to engage with criminal justice reformers and work with Democrats to advance the public interest. In an endorsement interview with the Editorial Board — an invitation few of his GOP brethren accepted — he decisively distanced himself from Donald Trump’s claims of a stolen 2020 election.
While his Democratic opponent was more experienced, and ultimately earned this board’s recommendation, voters elected Sunday and trusted he would do what’s best for the commonwealth and all Pennsylvanians.
Unfortunately, two high-profile decisions during his first two months in office have already cast doubt on his independence.
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After the Trump administration announced its legally dubious plan to cut research funding across the board without review, 22 state attorneys general filed suit Monday to protect their research institutions. Despite Philadelphia’s and Pittsburgh’s presence in the Top 10 list of cities receiving National Institutes of Health grants, Sunday was not among them.
All the attorneys general who filed suit are Democrats, but five of the states they represent went for Trump in November’s election.
Given the University of Pennsylvania alone is slated to lose a quarter of a billion dollars — money that has helped support trailblazing cancer research and mRNA technology responsible for the rapid development of COVID-19 vaccines — Sunday’s inaction is a shameful display of putting party over people.
Also concerning is Sunday’s clash with the state’s consumer advocate, Patrick Cicero, whose office reports to the attorney general.
After Sunday was sworn in last month, Cicero was asked to reapply for his position or resign. He chose the latter.
Cicero, who was initially appointed by then-Attorney General Josh Shapiro in December 2021 and confirmed by the Republican-controlled state Senate, had already established himself as a champion of ratepayers by taking on water privatization that has raised costs for residents.
Sunday has cast the move as simply choosing the members of his own team, but the consumer advocate is a nonpartisan position, traditionally works independently from the attorney general, and previous advocates have not been asked to leave by incoming attorneys general.
The longest-serving advocate, Irwin “Sonny” Popowski, held the position for 22 years under four different administrations. Adding uncertainty to the position will only make it harder to find strong and independent advocates in the future. Especially given the advocate must sometimes take positions that diverge from the attorney general’s interests.
The primary role of the consumer advocate is to stand up for the people at hearings held by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission. While big businesses behind utility companies can afford lawyers, researchers, and other experts to advance their cause, the average resident typically cannot. Instead, they rely on the consumer advocate to defend their interests at utility commission hearings and in other forums.
Those looking for the motivations behind Cicero’s removal may find it in the most recent Office of Consumer Advocate report, which noted the office helped residents save more than $153 million per year from utility-proposed rate and fee increases.
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Among the luminaries named to Sunday’s transition committee are lobbyists for such private entities as Essential Utilities; that company and others stand to benefit from a weak consumer advocate. A request for comment sent to Chris Franklin, the company’s CEO, went unanswered.
Cicero, who has been called a “thorn in the side of investor-owned water companies,” pointed to the outsize influence of utility companies in his resignation letter.
Cicero’s ouster may lead to future advocates looking over their shoulders when they represent the interests of everyday Pennsylvanians, knowing they could be shoved aside if they score too many wins. That’s the exact opposite of what the role was designed for.
Voters did not elect Sunday to be a right-wing ideologue or as a servant to corporate interests. For the sake of the commonwealth, Sunday should rise above petty politics and focus on protecting the people of Pennsylvania.