In a series of events that brought the criticism of America’s leading not-for-profit scholars, the current MHS Board Chairman, Roy Zimmerman, a former two-term Republican Pennsylvania Attorney General, was forced onto the board at the beginning of 2003.
This was despite his lack of any residential childcare qualifications and the long-time failure of Pennsylvania Attorneys General to protect the interests of needy children as concerns the Hershey Trust.
Zimmerman gained this appointment due to the efforts, primarily, of his fellow Republican Mike Fisher, the Attorney General at the time.
Since Zimmerman gained his appointment, he and other leading Pennsylvania Republicans have profited handsomely while the charity has become highly involved in politics. For instance, since 2003:
- GOP governor candidate Lynn Swann was named to a lucrative HERCO board seat;
- Prominent Republican and Zimmerman crony Jim Nevels was named to the MHS Board and to lucrative related company boards, including the Hershey Company;
- GOP former Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge was named to the Hershey Company board;
- Ridge’s former General Counsel, Republican Jim Sheehan, was named as the MHS General Counsel;
- A GOP fund-raising dinner honoring Karl Rove was held on Hershey Trust property;
- Money was reportedly funneled to the Pennsylvania Republican Party via controlled company Hershey Entertainment and Resorts Company.
Whatever childcare losses the Hershey Trust may have faced since Pennsylvania Republicans took control, the interests of the Republican party have not suffered.
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