Republican candidates for governor pledge to get tougher on crime
HARRISBURG (KDKA) - How to combat the loss of life in our cities is one of the most serious issues on the campaign trail.
It's one of the key questions that KDKA political editor Jon Delano asked when he interviewed eight Republican candidates for governor in next week's Republican primary.
Whether it's a big city or smaller town, ending the violence and the shootings are a top priority, candidates insist.
As a former city mayor, former U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta says he knows how to combat crime and back local police.
"Make sure they have the tools that they need and the funding that they need, and again the backing from their governor. I'll bring every resource I can to Pittsburgh, to Philadelphia, to any area in Pennsylvania where crime is overtaking our neighborhoods," says Barletta.
Former federal prosecutor Bill McSwain says restore respect for police.
"I would make sure the police are funded. They're supported. I would use my bully pulpit to make sure that I am contributing to the narrative that the police are heroes. They are not the villains," says McSwain.
Businessman Dave White wants the governor to appoint special prosecutors as district attorneys.
"That would give me the ability if a district attorney such as [DA Larry] Krasner in Philadelphia, who refuses to prosecute criminals, if he doesn't want to do it, I will make sure we do it," says White.
GOP candidates say they won't defund the police or associate with those who attack all police.
"We're seeing the ranks, especially in our cities, of men and women who want to be police officers shrinking. Why is that? Because the government and the policies and the rhetoric have not been supportive," says former U.S. Rep. Melissa Hart.
"Not only defending them, but promoting them, and honoring them, and respecting them because we've had a governor that walked next to a sign that said, 'Blue Lives Murder,'" says public relations consultant Charlie Gerow.
One candidate blames Black Lives Matter.
"What I saw was a pattern all across our nation where cities experienced a Black Lives Matter protest, followed by looting, riots, arson and violence," claims Montgomery County Commissioner Joe Gale.
"When you stop holding people accountable, then their crimes are going to continue to grow," notes Pennsylvania Sen. Jake Corman.
But Dr. Nche Zama says it's not more police but better resources that will reduce crime.
"There are so many geniuses languishing and rotting in those neighborhoods in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. I want to be the governor that inspires them," says Zama.
One candidate, Pennsylvania Sen. Doug Mastriano, declined to participate, saying he did not have the time. The Democratic candidate, Attorney General Josh Shapiro, is unopposed in the primary.