Gov. Tom Corbett will be in the political crosshairs even more starting in January as a pair of newly elected Democratic officials aim investigations his way.
Attorney General-elect Kathleen Kane plans to review the Jerry Sandusky investigation and determine whether it took too long for the serial pedophile to be arrested.
The investigation started in 2009 when Corbett was attorney general, but Sandusky was not charged until last November. Sandusky was convicted this summer of 45 of the 48 charges placed before the jury.
The length of the time it took before charges were brought has been a frequent point of contention, especially given the penalties faced by Penn State for its handling of the matter.
Kane clearly tapped into that undercurrent during her campaign, stressing her experience as a child abuse prosecutor and questioning why it took 33 months before Sandusky's arrest during her campaign.
Corbett and others have said there was no attempt to delay the case, but it simply took that long to uncover the evidence and find the victims to build the case that would result in a conviction.
Corbett also is likely to feel some heat from Auditor General-elect Eugene DePasquale's plan to evaluate the Department of Environmental Protection's effort to monitor Marcellus Shale drilling and to test and protect the groundwater.
DePasquale wants to know whether DEP has enough staffing assigned to the job. DEP is budgeted for 202 positions in its oil and gas division, The Associated Press reports.
Pennsylvania has been a focal point for Marcellus Shale drilling, with 6,091 wells using hydraulic fracturing being drilled in the state since 2005, a DEP website shows.
In the same time frame, 20,331 conventional gas wells were drilled.
It's impossible to know precisely what the results of the reviews from the newly elected Democratic row officers will conclude.
But since the oversight will be conducted with the benefit of hindsight, it won't be surprising if some recommendations are made.
And whatever real or perceived deficiencies might be uncovered, they are sure to be fodder for the 2014 gubernatorial election, when Corbett will have a big target on his back as he runs for a second term.
That's just the nature of politics. No investigation is needed to know that.
