ISSUES -
Holding Criminals Accountable
I do not believe it is an overstatement to say that our community is at a crossroads. For while I believe that we are on the verge of accomplishing great things, I am also deeply troubled by the increase we have seen in violent crime.
Some suggest that the increase in crime that we have experienced is simply similar to what is being faced by other small communities in Pennsylvania--- as if we should take comfort in the fact that this is all somehow inevitable or beyond our control. I will not accept that. I refuse to believe or accept that an increase in crime or a decrease in public safety is ever acceptable, ever inevitable or ever beyond our control.
Our future is what we make it.
Supporting Our Police
If we fail to ensure our public safety, then everything else that we are attempting to do as a community will fail. Families who feel unsafe will move. If our crime rates increase to unacceptable levels, businesses will leave and new ones will not come. Th e fi rst question every parent asks before sending their child to Penn College or Lycoming College is how safe is the neighborhood around your campus? Our hospital is preparing to invest $250 million dollars in its expansion. Th ey should not have to worry whether their employees, their patients or their patients’ families are safe as they walk from the parking lot to their building. Members of the public have a direct interest in how well the District Attorney’s Offi ce performs its role because public safety affects all of us. As District Attorney I will impose swift and just punishment against those who choose to endanger our community by engaging in criminal behavior.
As District Attorney I will be ever mindful of our primary responsibility to be a voice for the innocent victim. As District Attorney I will work in close partnership with our law enforcement agencies to see that they have all of the equipment, resources, training and support they require to do their jobs. Quality professional investigations are the foundation of every successful prosecution. Our police and our community deserve nothing less. As District Attorney I will assume a position of leadership among our government and law enforcement agencies, and our community and business leaders to find ways in which we can be more proactive in fi nding real solutions to issues of public safety. We must spend at least as much time preventing crime as we do prosecuting it.
Protecting Our Children
I was raised in a family that taught me the importance of faith and family, of courage and loyalty, of honesty and integrity, of perseverance and private charity. To me, these are not just words, but values I carry with me that eff ect every decision I make and how I live my life. Benjamin Franklin said that the noblest question in the world is what good may I do in it. I am not running for District Attorney because I have long envisioned myself in politics. I am not running for District Attorney because I see this as a stepping stone to other things. I am running for District Attorney because as I talk to family and friends, people in the community and police offi cers, I find that they share my concerns about the future direction of the District Attorney’s Offi ce, and our community. I am running for District Attorney because I want Lycoming County to remain a safe place to live and work and raise a family. I am running for District Attorney because it is an opportunity for me to give back to the community that has given me and my family so much.
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