DV Journal

The Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office has had an unusual amount of turnover since 2016, when then-Attorney General Kathleen Kane was convicted on criminal felony charges and forced to resign.

Solicitor General Bruce Castor then assumed the office as Acting Attorney General until Gov. Tom Wolf nominated Bruce Beemer to serve out Kane’s remaining term.

Josh Shapiro was elected attorney general in 2016, reelected in 2020, then left the office to become governor after the 2022 election, creating yet another vacancy. He appointed Michelle Henry as his successor. Pennsylvania voters will now choose their own top cop in the November 5 general election.

Two men vying for the post, Democrat Eugene DePasquale and Republican Dave Sunday, recently took part in a televised debate, and both men spoke with the DVJournal.

Sunday, now serving his second term as York County district attorney, said public safety is the primary reason he’s in the race.

“If communities aren’t safe, nothing else matters,” said Sunday.

DePasquale, 53, served two terms as auditor general and represented part of York County in the Pennsylvania House from 2007 to 2013. He also ran unsuccessfully for Congress against Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.) in 2020.

“Number one, we must make sure we will protect our democracy. We must protect everyone’s right to vote and make sure the vote is counted accurately,” he said.

Eugene DePasquale

DePasquale told DVJournal that while serving as auditor general, he held “bad actors accountable no matter who they are,” and he is “the right fit to be the Pennsylvania attorney general.”

“I have a record of protecting the community, protecting voting rights, protecting reproductive freedom, and doing it in a balanced way that holds anyone who messes up accountable.”

As auditor general, his investigations uncovered over 3,000 untested rape kits and 58,000 unanswered calls to the child abuse hotline.

“I will always protect a woman’s right to choose,” he said during the debate.

He told DVJournal, “I am very concerned about all these scammers trying to scam our seniors. I’m very worried about prescription drug prices and these pharmacy benefit managers…jacking up prescription drug prices.”

Sunday insists the attorney general needs a prosecutorial and criminal law background. Even before he was elected York County District Attorney in 2017, Sunday, 41, a Navy veteran, worked as a prosecutor.

Sunday says his emphasis is not only on putting criminals in jail but finding ways to rehabilitate those who’ve committed minor offenses. He does that through working with community and church groups, as well as mental health and addiction treatment, seeking “accountability and redemption.”

Under his watch in York County, there’s been a 30 percent crime reduction, an 80 percent drop in gang-related gun violence, a 26 percent decline in drug overdoses, and a 75 percent reduction in the homicide rate.

Sunday said he’ll fight to end human trafficking, and he will have “zero tolerance” for fentanyl suppliers.

“Our children are facing a brutal epidemic of fentanyl where 15 Pennsylvanians are killed every day,” said Sunday.  He noted fentanyl is often laced into marijuana and various pills, so someone might not even realize they’d taken it.

During the debate, DePasquale attacked Sunday for “going soft on sexual predators and having failed convictions on the gang rape case.”

Sunday said DePasquale picked a couple of cases to criticize out of the 40,000 his office handled in the last 15 years.

“I’d like to compare those [cases] with my opponent’s, but he’s literally never even prosecuted one,” said Sunday.

“He would need a tutorial on day one on how to find a courtroom, what it means to have an adversarial system, what it means to work through defense attorneys, what it means to advocate in front of a judge, what it does mean to work in front of a jury. Pennsylvanians deserve better. This isn’t about political advancement. This is about public safety.”

Sunday said DePasquale’s investigations as auditor general were civil, not criminal.

“I’m the only one who’s run a complicated state agency. That’s the leadership we’ll need on day one,” said DePasquale.

Both Sunday and DePasquale say they will protect senior citizens from scammers. Sunday noted that using artificial intelligence (AI), scammers have become more sophisticated. He put together a computer forensics team in York to target them. “The average amount of money stolen from a senior is $38,000.”

DePasquale said many scammers call seniors from out of state.

“So you’ve got to work with attorney generals in other states. You’ve got to bring lawsuits, sometimes multistate work, sometimes even with the Justice Department. That’s why I think my experience of already running a complicated state agency and having the ability to put together teams across the state and across the country, I think it’s an asset.”

DePasquale added that when he was auditor general, he “routed out over $2 billion being wasted in Harrisburg.”

“My experience is more in line with what the job of the attorney general is,” said DePasquale.

While campaigning, DePasquale said many people talk about their concerns over abortion rights, “even a lot of suburban Republicans.” DePasquale promised never to prosecute a woman for having an abortion or a doctor for performing one.

Sunday said abortion is legal in Pennsylvania up until six months, and after that, there are exceptions for rape, incest and the mother’s life. Sunday said he would follow the law.

“My opponent, a professional politician, is throwing out words to scare people, like [debunked] Project 2025…There’s no scenario that exists where I would ever prosecute a woman for having an abortion. Period. He’s trying to scare you because he’s never done the job. He’s never been a prosecutor. He’s never even been in a courtroom to try a case. He’s saying things to scare people. I will not do that,” Sunday said.

Also on the ballot are Robert Cowburn (Libertarian), Richard Weiss (Green), Justin Magill (Constitution) and Eric Settle (Forward).

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Pennsylvania attorney general candidates York County District Attorney Dave Sunday and state Rep. Craig Williams traded barbs during a televised debate Thursday.

Williams (R-Chester/Delaware) hammered Sunday on various matters, including that he was a Democrat until he changed parties at age 37, while Williams has been a  lifelong Republican. Williams also called him out over his handling of a murder case where a person was wrongly convicted and for the crime rate in York.

As far as the murder case, Sunday told Williams, “Serious lawyers read things called transcripts.” Regarding crime, Sunday said he’d reduced crime. Sunday, who has been the DA for 15 years, was chief deputy prosecutor before being elected. He blamed the city’s proximity to Baltimore for its high crime.

District Attorney Dave Sunday

The state GOP has endorsed Sunday in the race. Asked why Republicans should back him over the party’s pick, Williams replied, “I’m not worried about endorsements because qualifications and winning elections are what matters.”

Williams touted his military experience, both in combat as a JAG officer. He spent 28 years in the Marine Corps, flew 56 combat missions in Desert Storm, and later was deputy legal counsel to the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the War on Terror.

“I’ve been fighting for my country my whole life,” said Williams. “Fighting for my community my whole life. Fighting for my state my whole life.”

Asked about Williams’ accusation that Sunday runs the district attorney’s office like a progressive Democrat, Sunday said a group effort with the York police reduced gang violence by 80 percent and homicides by 75 percent.

“I’m a twice-elected DA. I’m a longtime prosecutor, a longtime courtroom prosecutor,” said Sunday. “So, this isn’t for me just coming up with numbers. I have stood in courtrooms, and I have looked at juries, and I have repeatedly asked them to return verdicts that put people in prison for the rest of their lives.”

Wiliams noted the crime problem in Sunday’s jurisdiction. “York is leading the state in murders per 100,000 people. More than Philadelphia, more than Pittsburgh, more than New York City, more than Chicago.”

Asked about a gang shootout at a car wash in York in December and FBI crime statistics showing York is one of the most dangerous small cities in the nation, Sunday said, “York is directly north of Baltimore, and as such, we face challenges that other cities don’t face.”

Both Williams and Sunday would appoint a special prosecutor to fight crime around SEPTA under a law that Williams voted for and Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) signed.

However, Sunday does not support impeaching Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner and suggested instead working with Philadelphia residents to “elect a real prosecutor into that role.”

Williams was a House impeachment manager and led the charge against Krasner. He said he has no regrets.

“Philadelphia is under siege, and we’ve got a district attorney there who’s not prosecuting crime,” said Williams. “He’s also committed misbehavior in office,” he said, mentioning a case where a police officer was involved in a “lawful shooting,” but Krasner prosecuted the cop in an effort to overturn the law that protects officers for “the lawful use of force.” Krasner appealed his impeachment. The case is pending in the state Supreme Court.

Asked about violent crime in the state, Williams cited the crime and gun task force in Philadelphia formed from his legislation to authorize the police state and federal officials to work together to go after felons with guns. It could be expanded statewide, he said.

“Overwhelmingly, violent crime is committed by a prior felon in possession of a gun,” said Williams.

Sunday said one of the top causes of crime is the lack of prosecution, “That laws that are on the books are currently not being prosecuted.” He said he works with community leaders, the faith-based community, and the police to bring criminals with guns to justice. He has the endorsement of the Fraternal Order of Police in York County.

Sunday has worked on racial disparities in the justice system.

“During the summer of George Floyd, I spent as much time as was humanly possible to talk to people in my community and not just talk to people, but listen,” he said. “But listening is really the key. “And through that listening, I discovered we have a community that they firmly believe there are disparities in the criminal justice system. And the only way to fix that is by working together and showing them the true outcomes and why things are done the way they (are).”

Asked about election integrity and tweets by Shapiro, the attorney general in 2020, Sunday said a large part of society believes the state’s elections aren’t free and fair. “I assigned detectives to investigate every criminal election complaint,” he said.

Williams said he found Shapiro “uniquely unserious” in his tweets, mannerisms, and treatment of half of Pennsylvania’s voters who disagreed with the election outcome.

Both candidates would use the death penalty and promised to protect consumers against fraud.

If elected, Williams would focus on gun violence, addiction, and fraud against seniors. Sunday said he would fight the scourge of fentanyl, gang violence, and the mental health crisis and protect seniors.

Williams would tackle “official oppression” or government officials who deny people’s constitutional or statutory rights. Sunday would work on the mental health crisis because many people charged with crimes need treatment for mental illness.

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(This article first appeared in Broad + Liberty.)

Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer is running for Pennsylvania attorney general, according to social media postings related to his recent attendance at a political breakfast in the southwest corner of the commonwealth.

A Facebook post from the Westmoreland County Democrats’ page for its “Committee Appreciation Breakfast” earlier this month noted that “Jack Stollsteimer for Attorney General” was a “Gold Star Sponsor.”

A photo from the group also shows Stollsteimer at the event, sitting at a banquet table that is appropriately close to the podium for a “gold” sponsor.

Although the attorney general’s race won’t appear on the ballot until next year, the reverberations could be felt as early as this November. Stollsteimer is currently running to keep his job as Delco’s district attorney, but he hasn’t yet made his intentions about future ambitions known to his constituents. In essence, Stollsteimer hasn’t told Delaware County residents that if things go the way he hopes, he’ll only be back on the job for about another year.

Requests for comment were not returned. Broad + Liberty emailed requests for comment to Stollsteimer’s spokesperson at his government office, and also to an email associated with his campaign website. In addition, Broad + Liberty texted its request for comment to Stollsteimer, his campaign chair, and treasurer, using phone numbers taken from a recent campaign finance report.

Stollsteimer’s sponsorship of the breakfast on the other side of the state also raises reporting issues.

According to a Department of State FAQ, someone’s candidacy is officially triggered when the person “makes an expenditure…to influence his/her nomination or election to office.” Assuming that the breakfast sponsorships required monetary donations, his candidacy is official with or without an announcement.

Stollsteimer faces Republican Beth Stefanide-Miscichowski in the election now just nineteen days away.

Stefanide-Mischichowski, a former assistant district attorney in Delaware County, has been hammering Stollsteimer on the county’s homicide rate. And in the wake of an inmate escape in neighboring Chester County earlier this year that captivated the nation, she’s raising other criminal justice issues, such as calling for an investigation into the February death of an inmate at the county prison.

The race for the Democratic attorney general nomination was already crowded even before the knowledge that Stollsteimer will eventually join the fray.

Jared Solomon and Keir Bradford-Gray, Democrats with Philadelphia ties, have already announced. Eugene DePasquale, the former auditor general and also state representative, is also an announced candidate and was listed as a silver-level sponsor at the Westmoreland breakfast.

Stollsteimer came into office in January 2020 after winning in the 2019 election. His was one of several campaigns that sometimes caught national attention because liberal billionaire George Soros spent a six-figure sum to boost Stollsteimer.

Stollsteimer also ran for attorney general for the 2016 election. Governor Josh Shapiro went on to eventually win that contest.