Shapiro taps Pat Browne for revenue secretary among four more cabinet nominees

Gov.-elect Josh Shapiro has nominated two former lawmakers and two university administrators to lead his administration’s Revenue, Transportation, Community and Economic Development and Banking and Securities departments.

• Former state Sen. Pat Browne, R-Lehigh, is nominated to serve as revenue secretary; 
• Former state Rep. Michael Carroll, D-Luzerne, is nominated to serve as transportation secretary; 
• Mike Siger, a top aide to the president of Carnegie Mellon University, is nominated to serve as secretary of community and economic development; and
• Sarah Hammer, a finance and investment expert at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School is nominated to serve as secretary of banking and securities. 

Shapiro said the bipartisan team, including two Republicans and two Democrats, would lead the effort to jumpstart Pennsylvania’s economy by cutting red tape, lowering taxes and making the commonwealth more attractive to businesses.

“At a time where Pennsylvania families are being crushed under a mountain of rising prices, we need leaders who will focus on reigniting Pennsylvania’s economy and providing relief for working families across the Commonwealth,” Shapiro said in a statement.

Browne served as a state lawmaker for nearly 30 years and as chairperson of the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee for the last four sessions. 

An Allentown native, Browne is credited with enabling the rebirth of the city’s once struggling downtown with legislation that created the Neighborhood Improvement Zone. Encompassing 130-acres, the zone drew more than $1 billion in real estate investment to the city by allowing developers to use taxes collected at their properties to borrow for construction.

Browne’s legislation served as a model for redevelopment plans in other distressed areas.

Carroll, of Pittston, was elected to the state House in 2006 and served eight terms, including two as the ranking Democrat on the House Transportation Committee. He also worked as legislative liaison for PennDOT under Gov. Robert Casey; served as chief of staff for former state Rep. John Yudichak, and was the district office director for former U.S. Rep. Paul Kanjorski.

Siger is chief of staff and senior advisor to Carnegie Mellon University President Farnam Jahanian, guiding the administration on economic and community development issues, its budget, and the leadership of more than 5,000 staff and faculty.

Under President Barack Obama, Siger served as chief of staff in the White House Office of Science and

Technology, and deputy chief of staff in the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Hammer is managing director of the Stevens Center for Innovation in Finance and senior fellow at the Harris Alternative Investments Program at Wharton. She is also an adjunct professor at the University of Pennsylvania Law School where she teaches a course on financial regulation.

Previously she served in the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Financial Institutions Policy, and in roles related to insurance, cybersecurity, investor protection and the U.S. financial regulatory framework.