After more than a decade as a Centre County Commissioner, Michael Pipe is resigning from the board to take a job in Governor-elect Josh Shapiro’s administration.
Pipe has been appointed as deputy chief of staff for public safety, according to a release from Shapiro’s transition team on Thursday. A Democrat who was first elected county commissioner in 2011, Pipe has been chair of the board since 2016.
“It really comes down to being humbled by the confidence and trust of the governor-elect and the incoming chief of staff, Dana Fritz, with them extending the opportunity to me,” Pipe told StateCollege.com. “It’s really an honor. The focus really is about public safety, community safety and I’m looking forward to working with everybody with the Shapiro-Davis administration to carry out those tasks.”
Pipe’s resignation will be effective Jan. 14 and current Vice-Chair Mark Higgins will take over the chair position. According to Pennsylvania’s County Code, the Court of Common Pleas is tasked with appointing a registered elector of the county from the same party to fill the unexpired term of a departing commissioner. Pipe’s term expires at the end of 2023.
“My understanding is that President Judge Ruest has been talking with the leadership of the Centre County Democratic Committee and they’ve been talking about a potential candidate,” Pipe said.
Shapiro’s transition team cited Pipe’s work in public safety as a commissioner, including his role in upgrades to the county 9-1-1 system, expansion of the Public Safety Training Center, increased funding to the Central Booking Center and efforts that resulted in “a 50% reduction in returning citizens at the Centre County Correctional Facility,” according to the release.
“As a county commissioner, public safety is one of our main tasks when it comes to our correctional facility, our emergency management agency, 9-1-1, working with our sheriff, local law enforcement, our central booking center,” Pipe said. “A lot of the things we do, obviously they’re at a smaller level than the commonwealth but there’s a lot of partnerships we have with state entities. Having partnered with a lot of the state entities within that space, I felt really interested in being able to move forward the focus of the governor-elect in public safety.”
Pipe is one of five deputy chiefs of staff named by Shapiro’s team on Thursday. The others include Joseph Lee, deputy chief of staff for administration and opportunity; Lindsey Mauldin, deputy chief of staff for health and human services; Danielle Okai, deputy chief of staff for economic development; Sam Robinson, deputy chief of staff for consumers and the environment; and Tori Shriver, deputy chief of staff for education and workforce development.
“Governor-elect Shapiro and I are ready to get to work with this diverse and experienced group to build an economy that works for everyone, improve our schools to ensure our children receive a quality education and make communities across the commonwealth safer for our families,” Fritz said in a statement.
“Joseph, Lindsey, Danielle, Michael, Sam and Tori are accomplished individuals and I’m proud they’re joining my team as Deputy Chiefs of Staff,” Shapiro wrote on Twitter. “I’m confident they’ll bring people together and represent our entire Commonwealth. They’ll be ready on Day One.”
Pipe, meanwhile, said he is looking forward to the new opportunity and is proud of the work the county has been able to accomplish through collaborative efforts.
“The things I’m most proud of and will look back on with fond memories are the things we accomplished working together, working as a team and the collaboration and partnerships that came together to get this thing done,” Pipe said. “Everything from the 9-1-1 radio system upgrade to expanding the public safety training center site. We’ve really been working with our criminal justice advisory board to get a reentry coalition started here. It took a lot of people, a lot of different perspectives to come together and accomplish things that were really important.
“I’m really proud of the people I work with, the opportunities they gave me and for us to find new ways to solve problems. It’s going to be something I truly miss and will never forget, but I feel like this opportunity that was offered to me is something where I really felt it was time to pass the baton to incoming chairman Higgins and the rest of the team here at Centre County.”
He also thanked the voters of Centre County for placing trust in him as a commissioner for three elected terms.
“I want to express a big thank you to the voters and residents of Centre County for entrusting me for the last 11 years as their commissioner,” Pipe said. “It’s been amazing to get to know so many of them. I hope to be able to serve them in this new role, just in a different way. I’ll forever be grateful to them.”
