Laurel: To a life lived in service to others. On the last day of 2020, Pennsylvania lost a bedrock political figure.

Dick Thornburgh, a two-term governor of Pennsylvania and U.S. attorney general under President George H.W. Bush, died at the age of 88.

He left behind a legacy of work for justice, fair treatment and steady leadership. It is an example that anyone in government and everyone in his Republican Party should aspire to meet.

“In a day when true bipartisanship is needed, Gov. Thornburgh’s example of working together, crossing aisles and placing his efforts and passions into making our world a better place,” said Allegehny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald, a Democrat.

Lance: To confusion in communication. In 2020, Gov. Tom Wolf was a near constant focus of controversy. His coronavirus pandemic measures were heralded by some as saving lives. Others were troubled by what they saw as an overreach of power.

The issues prompted a number of Tribune- Review editorials that took the administration to task. While some acknowledged understandable caution or criticized a broad action, there was another recurring theme.

Time and again, the state has ping-ponged back and forth from making a decision to revising it to reacting to protest. The governor’s officials issue guidelines and recommendations that have left communities, schools and businesses foundering for real direction.

Laurel: To a spirit of innovation. The coronavirus pandemic stifled much in 2020. What it did not handcuff was creativity.

From scientists working on vaccines to the technology that traces disease contact, from a family raising money for food banks with cork Christmas ornaments to an elderly lady from Latrobe becoming an internet cooking sensation, the last year has been proof that necessity is not just the mother of invention.

It also can be the safety net that saves us from disaster or the spoonful of sugar that makes bitter medicine more palatable.

Lance: To a political spotlight. Pennsylvania spent much of 2020 under the blinding glare of the national political attention. It played out in rallies and polls and courtrooms, and it was exhausting.

But we cannot blame it all on the candidates and cameras that came from out of town. There was plenty of partisan drama that played out in our own backyards. The governor and the Legislature were, as ever, at odds. So were friends and neighbors.

Let us hope the four years until the next presidential election is enough time to recover from this one.

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