In his quest to become the next attorney general, Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer received some major union support.
Stollsteimer, 60, who was just reelected as DA in November, recently announced he is running for state attorney general in 2024.
His campaign sent a press release saying Stollsteimer was endorsed by:
The Pennsylvania Building & Construction Trades Council, representing 92 separate construction unions in Pennsylvania;
The Philadelphia Building Trades Council, representing more than 50 separate building trades unions in Southeastern Pennsylvania;
The Eastern Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters, representing two local carpenters unions, including in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Allentown, Scranton, and Lebanon;
and Teamsters Joint Council 53, located in Philadelphia, which represents more than 53,000 members.
Robert S. Bair, president of The Pennsylvania Building Trades Council, said Stollsteimer was the first DA in the state to prosecute big construction contractors for wage theft successfully.
“Jack’s support for construction workers has distinguished him from among his colleagues and saved millions for countless workers in Pennsylvania,” said Bair.
Sproule said, “Jack’s never forgotten his working-class roots. He’s a true champion for our members, and we’re proud to support him for attorney general. We know he’ll keep fighting to protect good union jobs in Pennsylvania.”
“My dad was a union bus driver, so I know how a good union job can support a family,” said Stollsteimer. “That’s why I am so thankful to have received all of this incredible support from within Pennsylvania’s labor community because they fight for good union jobs every single day.”
“When I’m attorney general of Pennsylvania, I will make damn sure that an honest day’s work results in an honest day’s pay for Pennsylvania workers,” Stollsteimer said.
Stollsteimer’s campaign listed his accomplishments as district attorney, including forming the Chester Partnership for Safe Neighborhoods. Three years in, it has helped reduce the gun violence homicide rate in the City of Chester by nearly 70 percent, Stollsteimer said.
He also pushed to put the for-profit Delaware County jail under government management and created diversionary programs for low-level offenders, reducing the number of inmates by 30 percent.
Stollsteimer touts the creation of an environmental crimes unit, and he sued opioid distributors to win millions to help those with substance abuse addiction.
Other Democrats running for the office include former Auditor General Eugene DePasquale; Joe Khan, the former Bucks County solicitor; Kier Bradford-Grey, a former public defender; and state Rep. Jared Solomon (D-Philadelphia). The state Democratic Party meets this weekend to vote on its 2024 endorsements.
On the Republican side, Kat Copeland, former Delaware County DA and federal prosecutor, York County DA Dave Sunday, and state Rep. Craig Williams (R-Chester/Delaware), previously a federal prosecutor and a military prosecutor, are vying for votes in the April 23, 2024 primary.
Copeland and Stollsteimer faced off for the Delaware County District Attorney job in 2019.
Stollsteimer worked his way through college and law school. His dad was a SEPTA driver, and his mother was born in Soviet-held Ukraine. His maternal grandparents were Ukrainians who were captured by the Germans during World War II and forced into slave labor camps. After the war, they immigrated to the U.S.
Stollsteimer was hired as an assistant district attorney in 2000 before becoming a policy analyst and special assistant U.S. attorney for the Project Safe Neighborhoods gun violence initiative in 2001. In 2004, he was appointed assistant U.S. attorney and assigned to lead a gun violence task force.
In 2006, Gov. Ed Rendell appointed Stollsteimer as the state’s safe schools advocate for the Philadelphia School District. In that position, he publicly reported the school district’s failure to properly report violent crimes. He was appointed deputy state treasurer for consumer programs in 2017.
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