This week’s biggest Winners & Losers

Public commenters deemed the Central Bucks school board’s latest moves part of their “revenge agenda” after the Republican-controlled board voted to give its departing superintendent a nearly $700,000 payout just before Democrats take over next month. The separation agreement for Superintendent Abram Lucabaugh, who wasn’t at this week’s meeting, drew outrage from community members who have called it “stealing” and “corruption.”

This bipartisan quartet of state senators joined forces this week to introduce a timely two-bill package that would reform how sexual harassment claims are handled in state government. The introduction of this bill package, as well as a separate set of bills introduced in the House, comes on the heels of two sexual harassment scandals in Harrisburg this year – one in the state House, and one in the governor’s office.

York County District Attorney David Sunday picked up a big endorsement this week in his quest to become the state’s next attorney general. Sunday, who is running in the GOP primary, earned the support of the Republican Attorneys General Association this week. RAGA Chair Sean Reyes said that Pennsylvania provides the GOP with an “excellent opportunity” to flip the AG’s office, adding that Sunday “put in the tough work to protect the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the freedoms we all love as Americans.”

Pennsylvania’s four-state-related universities are set to finally receive state funding that was the subject of a months-long impasse. Gov. Josh Shapiro signed an appropriations bill for the state-related institutions bill on Thursday after the legislation was amended and approved by the state Senate. With the amendment, Temple, Pitt and Penn State will receive the same funding levels as last year despite attempts to send increases to each university, ending legislative friction, for now, over state-related university funding.

An agent with the state’s chief legal authority is accused of possessing child pornography. Lehigh County District Attorney Jim Martin said this week that Joshua Steven Gonzalez, an agent with the attorney general’s office living in South Whitehall, was charged with a felony offense after he allegedly uploaded child pornography online between Oct. 28, 2022, and April 12, 2023. An AG’s office spokesperson said the conduct involved in the allegations is “disturbing,” and said the office continues to cooperate with law enforcement.

A county in the southwest corner of the commonwealth is dealing with a revolving door within its elections office. Greene County Elections Director Eric Finch, who took over the position on Oct. 23, announced he will be leaving the office just a month after taking over. County officials will begin searching for their sixth elections director since August 2020. While Finch didn’t share why he was leaving the position, election officials have become targets for harassment and threats since debunked election fraud claims were born out of the 2020 presidential election.