When Republican gubernatorial candidate Stacy Garrity was in charge of Camp Bucca, the largest U.S. military internment center in Iraq, she would get calls from the gate \u201call the time\u201d about people asking for humanitarian assistance.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But she was running an internment facility, not a refugee camp, and she had to say no.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut the Marines dropped off a woman and her three kids,\u201d said Garrity. \u201cI came to the gate. Jamilla is there with a split lip, a black eye. Her three kids had distended belly buttons. They were just little kids. One of her sons had cigarette burns. We brought them in.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was the first person in Iraq to get somebody divorced,\u201d she said. \u201cIt was not so frequent over there. Jamilla wanted to get divorced. You have to announce in the paper three times. So, her husband\u2019s lawyer comes to family visitation and said if I didn\u2019t release her [the husband] was going to come and kill me, and a bunch of soldiers.\u201d<\/p>\n
She told the lawyer to tell the husband to come and \u201che will be in Compound 5.\u201d The husband didn\u2019t show up, and he didn\u2019t contest the divorce. Garrity \u201ctraveled with a convoy into the city of Basra, met with an Iraqi judge, and we were able to get her divorced.\u201d<\/p>\n
When they were ready to redeploy, Garrity was worried about leaving Jamilla, that it was \u201cnot going to end well.\u201d But Jamilla\u2019s family called and said they\u2019d take her back. Garrity called Jamilla and checked on her every week for months to be sure she was safe.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, there\u2019s somebody running for governor who says they support women, and me, who really does,\u201d said Garrity. \u201cAnd I have a real track record.\u201dGarrity was called the \u201cAngel of the Desert\u201d by the inmates for her fairness. \u201cAnd I have a real track record, and I\u2019m proud of that record.\u201d<\/p>\n
Garrity told that anecdote at a Veterans for Garrity rally at the American Legion in Fort Washington on Oct. 29.\u00a0 About 50 people came to support her, but 700,000 veterans live in the commonwealth.<\/p>\n
Retired Army Major General Wesley E. Craig, an Oreland resident who was selected by former Gov. Tom Corbett to serve as the 51st Adjutant General of Pennsylvania, said he respects Garrity\u2019s 30 years of service.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He noted that, as the state treasurer, Garrity knows how to handle the state budget, which has grown from $30 billion to $50 billion now.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019ll make an excellent governor,\u201d said John McGlumphy, of Abington, another supporter. He noted that as well as being a veteran, Garrity was successful in business. She rose to become one of the first female vice presidents at Global Tungsten + Powders Corporation, a manufacturer.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Veterans \u201cdeserve a governor who will fight as hard for them as they fought for us,\u201d said Garrity, who retired from the U.S. Army Reserve as a colonel, having been awarded two Bronze Stars and the Legion of Merit.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe should be a hiring destination for veterans,\u201d said Garrity. \u201cWe should offer businesses a $2,000 tax credit for hiring full-time veterans, $1,500 for a part-time veteran.\u201d<\/p>\n
Veterans come back from service with \u201cworld-class skills,\u201d she said. She wants to make it easier for those skills to be recognized, such as a licensed practical nurse (LPN) training or veterans who have operated heavy equipment to get their commercial driver\u2019s license (CDL).<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need a constitutional amendment to give property tax reductions to disabled veterans or their surviving spouse,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need a Gold Star registry,\u201d she added. Gold Star families have given their \u201cfullest measure,\u201d she said. \u201cWe need to have a program to recognize them every single year.\u201d<\/p>\n
Garrity said as treasurer her \u201cfavorite thing is giving back military decorations that we get from abandoned safe deposit boxes.\u201d She\u2019s returned nearly 600 medals, including 13 Purple Hearts and four Bronze Stars.<\/p>\n
She asked the veterans for their support and for them to tell their families and friends to vote.<\/p>\n
\u201cLeadership matters. Accountability matters and putting Pennsylvania families first matters,\u201d said Garrity.<\/p>\n
Montgomery County GOP Chair Liz Ferry, a Navy veteran, slammed the Democratic Socialists in the state House for various bills. One would allow apartments to be built in areas zoned for single-family houses, causing homes to lose value.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThey want to allow illegal immigrants, which they call \u2018never-resided citizens,\u2019 to vote in our state and local elections,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd they want to increase taxes on wealth\u201d so people\u2019s houses would become part of their state tax bills.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd they want to allow the homeless to live in public spaces. There goes your local park,\u201d said Ferry. \u201cWe know Josh Shapiro will sign these bills and we can count on Stacy Garrity to stop them.\u201d<\/p>\n
State Sen. Tracy Pennycuick (R-Berks\/Montgomery) said they both were veterans of the 1980s, when it was hard for women, and they were told they\u2019d never see combat and limited career fields.<\/p>\n
\u201cFast forward to Desert Storm,\u201d said Pennycuick. \u201cWe both saw combat.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cStacy cares about every Pennsylvanian,\u201d said Pennycuick. With Garrity as governor, there won\u2019t be just photo-ops but \u201creal work. Roll up the sleeves and get the job done. And get Pennsylvania back on track.\u201d<\/p>\n
State Rep. Donna Schueren (R-Gilbertsville) also touted Garrity as a strong leader.<\/p>\n
\u201cHaving a chance to address our veterans and thank them for their service is always an honor,\u201d Schueren said later. \u201cReassuring them that I will always fight to protect the Constitution and our God-given rights, inclusive to all personal and religious freedoms, is a promise that I take very seriously. I also vow to attack any and all legislation that attempts to steer our commonwealth or our country towards socialism in any way, shape or form. For as long as I am blessed to serve in Harrisburg, I will never forget the oath I took.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
At the close of the evening, Garrity answered questions from reporters.<\/p>\n