PITTSBURGH – Ray Mikesell was serving breakfast in his restaurant in the Strip District here when he first met Josh Shapiro while he was running for governor two years ago. Although Mikesell is a conservative Republican from western Pennsylvania and Shapiro is a liberal Democrat from the Philadelphia suburbs, Shapiro made a good first impression. Mikesell shared his concerns as a small businessman dealing with rising crime in the city, inflationary costs, and difficulty finding workers. Shapiro listened carefully and outlined some of his policy solutions.
