Wednesday, November 15, 2017

A Rarity As He Bows Out Cracefully . . .

Lancaster (PA) County District Attorney Craig Stedman released the following statement regarding his campaign for Superior Court:

I want to thank the many supporters and especially Lancaster County. It means a great deal to me that the people who know me the most came through with tremendous numbers.

Even though this race is extremely close, and many have encouraged me to allow the mandatory recount, I simply cannot justify costing the taxpayers $500,000+.

I was honored to be one of the few candidates to receive a Highly Recommended rating from the Pennsylvania Bar Association, as well as endorsements from so many highly respected organizations and associations, but this was always going to be an uphill battle given voter registration and the challenge of getting your qualifications, message, and endorsements to the voters. 

The simple truth is that most people know very little about most of the candidates.  I continue to hear from people that they had no idea who had what rating from the PBA, who was vetted, and who did or did not participate in the candidate forums/debates, let alone what positions they took. 

Particularly now that I have gone through the process, I am concerned that qualifications for the appellate courts, which should matter most, will continue to be at risk of being marginalized.  Thus, I urge the legislature to use this as an opportunity to take a hard look at improving the way the state selects our appellate judges.

We are one of only eight states in the country which selects appellate judges based on partisan elections and our citizens deserve the most qualified jurists.

Although I fell just short, I will never regret having stepped into the arena to try and make Pennsylvania a safer and better place for everyone and I could never truly lose.  It is an honor to serve as District Attorney of Lancaster County and I will continue to fight each day to protect the innocent, give victims a voice, and bring offenders to justice.

No comments: