PA Press Club Luncheon – Monday, October 28, 2024

Dave Sunday

Republican Candidate for PA Attorney General

District Attorney Sunday’s collaborative approach to public safety resulted in a 30% decrease in crime during his first term; reductions in the prison population by almost 40% since its peak; a reduced supervision caseload; and a recent study conducted by IUP indicates that offenders in York have the lowest recidivism rate over a 5-year period as compared to seven other counties. Additionally, since the implementation of York’s Early Termination of Probation Program, only 5% of the cases submitted recidivated within two years, resulting in a 95% success rate, now serving as a statewide model.

Dave is also a top litigator, a United States Navy Veteran and a dynamic leader who put himself through college and law school while working at UPS. Dave leads an office of prosecutors and detectives who together investigate and prosecute approximately 9,000 criminal cases annually.

After high school, Dave joined the Navy as an enlisted recruit and was deployed to the Persian Gulf, where he participated in Operation Desert Strike. Dave was also deployed to South America and conducted numerous counter-narcotics operations in the Caribbean. Those four years changed his life forever. While serving, Dave learned what it takes to be an effective leader under tremendous pressure. He proudly carries on the Navy’s core principles of honor, commitment, and courage to this day.

Dave received his undergraduate degree in Finance from Penn State University in 2002 and graduated from Widener Law School in 2007. During Law School, Dave worked as a legal intern at the United Nations Office of the Secretariat in New York, where he was assigned to the Department of Peacekeeping Operations.

After graduation from law school, he worked as Law Clerk for the Honorable Joseph C. Adams, former President Judge of the York County Court of Common Pleas. For the last fifteen years, Dave has been a prosecutor with the York County District Attorney’s Office and prior to being sworn in as the elected District Attorney, served as the Chief Deputy Prosecutor of Litigation. In that capacity, Dave supervised Major Crime cases and the Felony Narcotics Unit. Additionally, Dave served as the Legal Advisor to the District Attorney’s Drug Task Force and York County Quick Response (a.k.a. SWAT) Team.

In 2013, Dave was appointed by the United States Department of Justice as a Special Assistant United States Attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, where he assisted in prosecuting gang, illegal gun, and drug cases in Federal Court. During this time, Dave led the prosecution of Operation Sunrise, a large-scale multi-jurisdictional arrest and prosecution of over 100 members and affiliates of the “Latin Kings,” a violent criminal gang operating in York County.

Dave is leading York County’s fight against the heroin/fentanyl epidemic. He and the York County Coroner co-founded the York County Heroin Task Force, now the York County Opioid Collaborative, where Dave served as board chair. Dave’s leadership was also instrumental in the expansion of the District Attorney’s Drug Task Force to fight the heroin/fentanyl trade throughout the entirety of York County.

Dave protects our seniors through his role on the Elder Abuse Task Force. In addition to conducting numerous Scam Prevention seminars throughout the county, Dave has successfully prosecuted scam artists targeting senior citizens. Since taking office, Dave further strengthened this priority by appointing an elder abuse special prosecutor that collaborates with strategic partners, including the York County Area Agency of Aging.

Dave is a career litigator and has personally tried approximately fifty felony jury trials to verdict, including the successful prosecutions of over ten of the most high-profile York County murders in recent memory. Dave has obtained many First Degree Murder Convictions, including a multi-defendant gang murder, a targeted multi-victim shooting, and a domestic violence killing.

In addition to homicides, Dave has successfully tried to verdict Murder Conspiracies, multiple Attempted Murders of Police Officers, multiple Murders for Hire, Felony Narcotics Deliveries, a complex Embezzlement, Aggravated Assaults, Burglaries, Armed Robberies, Bank Robberies, Insurance Fraud Cases, Thefts and Elder Fraud Scams to name a few.

Beyond trial work, Dave is the Immediate Past President of the York County Bar Association and serves on the Board of the York County Children’s Advocacy Center. He also chairs the Education and Training Committee of the Pennsylvania District Attorney’s Association (PDAA) and was elected by his colleagues to the Board of Directors for both the PDAA and the Pennsylvania District Attorney’s Institute. Also, Dave previously served on behalf of the PDAA on the Pennsylvania Commission for Crime and Delinquency’s (PCCD) statewide Mental Health and Justice Advisory Committee.

Nationally, Dave serves on the American Conservative Union’s prosecutor advisory board and has spoken across the country on effective public safety initiatives.

Additionally, Dave was a founding member of the York Group Violence Initiative (GVI) and now serves on the governance committee. He is a key leader with the Community Action for Recovery and Diversion (CARD) initiative and his office co-chairs the York County Reentry Coalition.

In January 2020, Dave was appointed by Speaker of the House Mike Turzai to the Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing and was subsequently re-appointed by Speaker Bryan Cutler. DA Sunday is the only prosecutor on the commission, comprising state judges, members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and State Senate, legal professors, and a criminal defense attorney.

Since he was elected District Attorney, Dave has been called upon to provide expert testimony on the heroin epidemic and human trafficking before the York County State House Delegation Public Hearing on Human Trafficking; the US House of Representatives – Committee on Homeland Security – Subcommittee on Oversight and Management Efficiency; the Pennsylvania Senate Judiciary Committee and Senate Law & Justice Committee; and the Pennsylvania State House Majority Police Committee.

Dave has received multiple awards recognizing his dedication to public service including:

  • Widener University Commonwealth Law School Excellence in Public Service Award – 2018
  • York County Economic Alliance: Spirit of York County Awards – Elected Official of the Year – 2019
  • US Department of Justice: Middle District of Pennsylvania – Cooperative Law Enforcement Award – 2020

Dave is a member of the Pennsylvania Bar Association, American Legion, and the VFW.
Dave lives with his wife and son in Spring Garden Township, York County.

 

PA Press Club Luncheon – Monday, September 23, 2024

Tom Corbett

Former Governor of Pennsylvania 

Thomas Wingett Corbett Jr. is an American politician, lobbyist, and former prosecutor who served as the 46th governor of Pennsylvania from 2011 to 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he was also attorney general of Pennsylvania.

Born in Philadelphia, Corbett is a graduate of Lebanon Valley College and St. Mary’s University School of Law and served as a captain in the Pennsylvania Army National Guard. Corbett began his career as an assistant district attorney in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, in 1976. Corbett then joined the U.S. Department of Justice as an assistant U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania, serving from 1980 to 1983, upon entering private practice. In 1988 Corbett was first elected to public office as a Commissioner in the Pittsburgh suburb of Shaler, before serving as the United States Attorney for Western Pennsylvania from 1989 to 1993 in the George H. W. Bush administration.

In 1995, Corbett was appointed to fill the remainder of Ernie Preate‘s term as Attorney General of Pennsylvania, until 1997. Corbett then reentered private practice and worked as the general counsel for Waste Management, Inc before being elected Attorney General of Pennsylvania in 2004. Corbett was then elected to a second term in 2008, serving a total of two non-consecutive tenures as attorney general from 1995 to 1997, and 2005 to 2011.

Corbett was elected Governor of Pennsylvania when he defeated Democratic nominee Dan Onorato in the 2010 general election. He was the second Pennsylvania attorney general to win the state’s highest office. Corbett lost his bid for a second term to Democrat Tom Wolf in the 2014 general election.  After his defeat he returned to private life and registered as a lobbyist in 2021.[2] As of 2024, he is the last Republican governor of Pennsylvania.

 

PA Press Club Luncheon – Monday, August 19, 2024

Eugene DePasquale

Candidate, PA Attorney General

Just like any Pennsylvanian, Eugene doesn’t back down from a tough fight. 
 
Whether it’s standing up for women’s reproductive freedoms, taking on police bureaucracy to reduce backlogs in untested rape kits, or holding polluters accountable for dirtying our air and water, Eugene has your back.

Born and raised in the blue-collar city of Pittsburgh, Eugene knows the value of hard work, putting himself through law school at night.  

Eugene is a lifetime Democrat and principled leader who will stand up to both parties to   protect Pennsylvanians.

He’s earned a reputation as a transparent, independent watchdog of the taxpayer’s money.

As former state legislator and two-term Auditor General with a record of protecting Pennsylvanians by taking on tough challenges and holding each party accountable, Eugene asks for your support in his campaign for Attorney General.

PA Press Club Luncheon – Monday, July 22

Senator Jay Costa

Democratic Leader

State Senator Jay Costa represents portions of the City of Pittsburgh, East Hills communities, areas of the Mon Valley and South Hills (43rd District).

As a lifelong resident of Allegheny County, Sen. Costa was born and raised in Pittsburgh and now lives with his wife Roxanne in Forest Hills. He has three children – two sons and one daughter. He is the son of the late Allegheny County Treasurer Jay Costa Sr. A graduate of Taylor Allderdice Hi​gh School, Community College of Allegheny County, and Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and holds a Juris Doctorate from Duquesne University.

Before his election to the Senate, Sen. Costa was a deputy sheriff in Allegheny County and Allegheny County Register of Wills. He is currently a Principal in the downtown Pittsburgh law firm Dickie McCamey & Chilcote P.C.

Sen. Costa was elected Senate Democratic leader in 2010. Previously, he served as Democratic chair of the Senate Appropriations and Judiciary Committees and was Caucus chair. He now chairs the Rules & Executive Nominations Committee and co-chairs the General Assembly’s Arts and Culture Caucus.

Sen. Costa’s legislative record of accomplishment is long and features signature laws in the areas of education, family law, judicial reform, public safety, job creation and health care. Early in his career, Sen. Costa prime sponsored the plan (FAIRx) to leverage rebates to lower drug costs for seniors – a concept later signed into law by Gov. Ed Rendell. He was a strong supporter of expanding the nationally-recognized CHIP program and Medicaid. He also authored legislation to direct cooperative agreements between insurers and providers as a means to resolve the Highmark/UPMC coverage dispute.

Over the course of his legislative career, Sen. Costa has been a strong, effective promoter of education. From seeking additional funding for K-12 education, higher education and pre-school he is recognized as one of the General Assembly’s leaders for education. In addition to accessing more funding for schools, he sought new state-of-the-art technologies for the classroom, in addition to sponsoring far-reaching property tax relief proposals.

Beyond his legislative work, Sen. Costa serves on board of trustees of both the University of Pittsburgh and Duquesne University and is treasurer of the Community College of Allegheny County board. He also is on the boards of the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, Sen. John Heinz History Center, 3 Rivers Wet Weather, Pittsburgh Regional Health Initiative, Forest Hills Community Association, SEA Sports Commission, and a life trustee of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh.