Note: On Tuesday, PA 3rd District State Representative Ryan Bizzarro (D-Erie) announced his campaign for State Treasurer in the 2024 statewide race. The following is the news release from the campaign.
State Representative Ryan Bizzarro (D-Erie) today launched his campaign for State Treasurer in a video that blasted incumbent Republican treasurer Stacy Garrity as Pennsylvania’s “highest ranking extremistoffice holder” and “the state leader of a national agenda so radical that it threatens our democracy as it strips away our rights.” Bizzarro announced he will also run for re-election as state representative.
“Stacy Garrity is the state’s highest-ranking extremist office holder. And in our state legislature, there is only a one-seat buffer protecting us from more radical right-wing extremism. I’m going to fight like hell to make sure Stacy Garrity fails and to prevent the spread of more extremism from Harrisburg to Erie,” said Bizzarro.
“I’m running for State Treasurer to protect taxpayer assets, protect pensions, and to protect you from Stacy Garrity,” Bizzarro said in his campaign announcement video. “But this is more than a campaign for State Treasurer. It’s a battle to stop the spread of extremism here in Pennsylvania.”
Bizzarro launched a website at http://www.teambizzpa.com/. The video is embedded on the website and may also be viewed here.
A precursor to the next day’s January 6th United States Capitol insurrection, Garrity encouraged and supported participants at a January 5, 2021 Harrisburg Capitol protest who openly sought to decertify Pennsylvania’s votes in the 2020 election. Garrity was recorded on video imploring people to “question the integrity of the election”.
When the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Garrity, an anti-choice crusader, issued a statement that said “What’s really dangerous to families and freedom is aborting babies.”
“Stacy Garrity supports the criminalization of a woman’s right to make her own healthcare choices, and she celebrated the Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade,” said Bizzarro. “I will always be an advocate for women to make their own healthcare choices and to have access to the medical services they need.”
Earlier this year Garrity played politics with state taxpayer resources when the treasurer threatened to withhold money meant for schools, hospitals, child mental health services and to keep ambulances in service. Just last week, a news investigation uncovered evidence that Garrity had been working directly with an extreme right-wing group to create and promote education policy in Pennsylvania.
“Stacy Garrity has already proven that she is more dedicated to extreme agendas than she is to working for Pennsylvanians,” said Bizzarro. “Now we have learned she is working directly and behind closed doors with right-wing extremists and their lobbyists. We need to stomp out extremism in Pennsylvania and that means it’s time for Stacy Garrity to go.”
“As State Treasurer, I’ll strengthen programs that protect seniors, help families save for college, provide low-interest loans for our farmers, non-profits, cities and towns,” said Bizzarro. “I will defend Pennsylvanians from extremists like Stacy Garrity who are only making things harder for people by spreading lies, creating chaos, and preventing progress.”
