CEO of Chester County Chamber of Business and Industry to Run for Governor: ‘We Gotta Fix This Economy’

Guy Ciarrocchi, CEO of the Chester County Chamber of Business and Industry, is running for Governor of Pennsylvania, writes Andrew Seidman for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Ciarrocchi, a Republican from Paoli, said his main priority would be the economy.

“We gotta fix this economy,” he said. “The economy is issue No. 1, 2, and 3.”

His plan is to overhaul the Department of Labor to “remove barriers to people getting into the workforce.”

As a charter school advocate, he would also make education reform his other priority.

Ciarrocchi joins an already crowded Republican primary that includes former U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta, former U.S. Attorney Bill McSwain, and State Sen. Doug Mastriano.

Meanwhile, Democrats are mostly rallying behind state Attorney General Josh Shapiro, who has yet to announce his candidacy.

Ciarrocchi served during the Tom Corbett Administration as chief of staff to Lt. Gov. Jim Cawley. Before that, he held the same role for U.S. Rep. Jim Gerlach.

In 2004, he led President George W. Bush’s re-election campaign in Pennsylvania and was appointed the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development regional director.

Read more about Guy Ciarrocchi in The Philadelphia Inquirer.