This book provides a comprehensive examination of the Keystone State’s formal and informal political institutions and players, past and present, and elucidates the place each holds in governing the commonwealth today. Covering a period of more than three hundred years, this volume presents a clear and succinct overview of the commonwealth’s political history, culture, and geography; interactions between office holders, civil servants, special interest groups, and the media; policy development and implementation; how laws are created, enacted, and enforced; hierarchy and interaction among state, county, local, and special district government bodies and officials; tax collection and disbursement; and the political upheaval in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2020 presidential election.

Thomas J. Baldino taught courses in American politics and governmental institutions for more than forty years, retiring as Emeritus Professor of Political Science at Wilkes University. He coauthored three books on voting behavior, campaigns, and elections, as well as articles and papers on Pennsylvania state and local politics.

Paula A. Duda Holoviak has been Professor and Graduate Coordinator of the Master of Public Administration program at Kutztown University for thirty years. She has taught courses in state and local government, public policy, and public administration. She specializes in economic and community development in rural Pennsylvania, and she has published numerous research studies in collaboration with the Center for Rural Pennsylvania. She has also authored several articles on Pennsylvania government and politics.

Description courtesy of Penn State Press.