Sewickley lawyer joins Pennsylvania's 2022 Republican gubernatorial primary

May 20—Make it three and counting in the 2022 Pennsylvania gubernatorial primary after Sewickley lawyer Jason Richey threw his hat into the ring Thursday.

Richey, 49, joins a growing field of Republicans, including former Rep. Lou Barletta and Montgomery County Commissioner Joe Gale. State Sen. Doug Mastriano, R-Franklin County, is expected to add his name to the mix any day now.

Richey, an Aliquippa native and political outsider, is the first Western Pennsylvanian to announce a GOP gubernatorial bid. His decision follows an exploratory tour, during which he said he visited half of the state's 67 counties and spoke with Democrats, Republicans and Independents over the last six months.

While he is a partner in K&L Gates, the storied law firm that lists the late Gov. Dick Thornburgh and former Sen. Rick Santorum among its alumni, Richey points to his blue-collar background. He noted he worked as a roofer, busboy and McDonald's cook as a youth and worked his way through law school in an Aliquippa steel mill.

"Growing up in Aliquippa, I witnessed firsthand the impact that economic downturn and lack of opportunity can have on our residents," Richey said. "The consequences of punitive taxation have inhibited growth and destroyed some of our hardest-working communities. For 40 years, too many communities have faced similar struggles as we've watched the state's mismanagement lead to nothing but the growth of more government and the continued decline of our state's economy. We need a change now."

Richey said he's developed a broad perspective on different types of state government representing businesses and contractors, in cases involving issues like bid rigging in 40 states. He'd like to bring those ideas to Harrisburg.

The father of three teenage sons and the son of a public school teacher mother and a mechanic father, he said his campaign will focus on providing a platform for change through his "Contract with Pennsylvanians."

Among proposals in the contract: ending the personal income tax on individuals and businesses and replacing them with a consumption tax; eliminating the Turnpike Commission and the Liquor Control Board; repealing the state's universal mail-in voting law and enacting changes to ensure election security; providing choice options for K-12 education while ensuring that all public schools are the best schools in the mix by enhancing teacher pay and restructuring public education with an emphasis on providing training tracks for students who are interested in pursuing occupations in the trades or the military; encouraging municipal consolidation and the development of regional police forces and ending gerrymandering.

Although Richey is harshly critical of Gov. Tom Wolf and says the Democrat's partnership with Attorney General Josh Shapiro resulted in a set of draconian covid restrictions that killed businesses in many areas, he wants to focus on policy.

"We've got to quit bashing each other. 'Wolf stinks. Shapiro stinks,' that is easy to do, but what about solutions to problems?" he said.

Unlike Barletta and Mastriano, both of whom hope to trade on their close association with former President Donald Trump, Richey stopped short of invoking the former president's name.

"I would take anybody's endorsement. I know Trump likes winners and I am a winner and we are going to win this campaign. I am looking for support from all corners of Pennsylvania," he said.

Others still believed to be mulling bids in what could become a crowded field include: Bill McSwain, a former U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, who formed an exploratory committee last month; U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser, who succeeded Barletta in Congress; and Rep. Mike Kelly of Butler, who filed several lawsuits against Pennsylvania's mail-in election law.

The presumed Democratic front runner is Shapiro, the attorney general who gained national attention for his statewide investigation of child sexual abuse in the Catholic Church.

Deb Erdley is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Deb at 724-850-1209, derdley@triblive.com or via Twitter .