Pattye Benson

Community Matters

Chester County DA Race . . . Steve Kelly to Withdraw, & then there were 2!

As a follow-up to my recent post concerning the Chester County DA race — Steve Kelly has notified all the Republican committee members via email that he will be withdrawing his name from the nomination process tomorrow night at the convention.

A true gentlemen, Kelly had kind words for both of the remaining candidates, Pat Carmody and Tom Hogan, including ” . . . I know that each shares a great passion in seeking justice for victims in our community. Yours is not an easy decision. . . “

Kelly goes on to explain his long association and friendship with Carmody and the decision to go public with his support was difficult. However, in the end, Kelly says, ” . . . as a committeeman, an Area Chair and as a career prosecutor, I know I have a duty that transcends my personal life – a duty to see that the best leader takes the helm in the DA’s Office. Consequently, I would urge you to support Tom Hogan. . . “

The District Attorney race just got more interesting . . . will Kelly’s supporters give their vote to Hogan? Would those votes be enough for Hogan to get the needed 60% for endorsement? Has Carmody managed to change some minds of committee people since the straw polls? Will either candidate stay in the race without party endorsement?

I think that there are around 400 committee votes at stake and pre-Kelly’s withdrawing, only 2 votes separating Carmody and Hogan.

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  1. Is Skip pulling strings so there is no “primary” in May? Candidates are dropping like flies.

    Wonder what will happen by tomorrow night when the voting begins. Hopefully if the numbers are close after teh 1st ballot; they will remain so thorugh the 3rd & the candidates will fight it out in the primary as recommended.

    1. John,

      Well aware primaries cost $$$; but other counties have primaries & it does no harm. As a matter of fact, it sometimes does the candiate good to be “bloodied” prior to the general.

      I didn’t know Kelly threw his support to Hogan; so Tom will be the next DA unless his supporters were going w/Pat on 2nd ballot had he not pulled out.

      I’ve seen stranger things happen @ the convention.

    2. In the post that Pattie put up, this is what it said:

      Kelly goes on to explain his long association and friendship with Carmody and the decision to go public with his support was difficult. However, in the end, Kelly says, ” . . . as a committeeman, an Area Chair and as a career prosecutor, I know I have a duty that transcends my personal life – a duty to see that the best leader takes the helm in the DA’s Office. Consequently, I would urge you to support Tom Hogan. . . “

      So congrats to John P for reading it and then speculating that Kelly would endorse Hogan.

  2. I don’t think Skip is pulling strings. Mr. Kelly did not have enough votes to make it past a first ballot and his withdrawing from the race is not unusual b/c of this. I would not be surprised to see the same happen in the judicial endorsement race as well.

  3. Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness, by Tom Hogan, candidate for DA:

    “…As a criminal prosecutor, I take the commitment to ensuring the public safety with single-minded determination. That is why I successfully prosecuted criminals of every kind, from violent criminals to drug dealers, from corrupt politicians to white collar swindlers, and even terrorists who threatened our very freedom. Every one of those prosecutions provided life, liberty, and happiness to the law-abiding citizens of this County and nation.

    “Today, the police have asked me to step forward again to join them and fight for our ability to pursue our rights. I am also driven to fight for our core principle of limited government by leading a fiscally-responsible office that helps return money to taxpayers instead of simply asking for more.

    “Having worked in the very DA’s office for which I now run, as well as with prosecutors’ offices across the nation as a federal prosecutor, I have seen programs and practices that will modernize the office, improve criminal prosecutions, and save tax dollars. More importantly, I propose nothing that I have not successfully and personally administered in my career as a prosecutor.”

    http://paconservativecouncil.com/2011/02/11/life-liberty-and-the-pursuit-of-happiness/

    Fighting for Freedom, by Pat Carmody, candidate for DA:

    “…I have spent 27 years as a DA fighting for the little guy. On my website http://www.carmody4da.com under “In the Press- video” there is a TV show called “It’s Your Call” where I argue against judges stepping outside their role and legislating. We elect legislators to write our laws, judges to interpret them and DAs, like me, to enforce them.

    “What becomes the problem is when a branch of Government oversteps its role. Government must represent the will of the people. As District Attorney, I will prioritize our fight on crime. We will put the violent criminals in jail for as long as possible. There is no excuse for deliberately harming another person. At the same time, we will use diversionary programs such as Drug Court, Mental Health Court and Veterans Court to address the underlying problems of nonviolent offenders to try to make these people productive members of society again. If we are successful, we save money by lowering the crime rate. Through the hard work of the police and our DA’s office, we now have the lowest crime rate of any County, our size, in the state, including all the Philadelphia suburbs….”
    http://paconservativecouncil.com/2011/02/08/fighting-for-freedom-by-pat-carmody/

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