Attorney General – About the Office & Democratic Nominee
DEMOCRATIC NOMINEE
FOR ATTORNEY GENERAL
Eugene DePASQUALE
If elected Attorney General, Eugene DePasquale pledges to address violent crime by focusing on mental health in addition to removing guns from people predisposed to violence. “I’ve got the spine to take on big corporations, big insurance companies, and to run complex investigations,” says DePasquale, adding that his experience as Auditor General is “the kind of leadership that Pennsylvania needs [in] its next attorney general.” He supports a red flag law for Pennsylvania, which would allow law enforcement or family members to petition a judge to temporarily take away an individual’s firearms if it appears that person may harm themselves or others.
Before running for Attorney General, DePasquale won two terms as our Democratic Auditor General of Pennsylvania, where he earned a strong record of winning statewide elections and protecting Pennsylvanians by taking on tough challenges, and holding parties accountable to the people. While Auditor General — an independent, elected fiscal watchdog for the state — DePasquale identified roughly $103 million “in misspent or recoverable state funds.” His fierce efforts brought attention to backlogged rape kits and found the state’s child abuse reporting hotline had failed to answer 58,000 calls in 2.5 years. He also laid out 12 recommendations for reducing deaths from gun violence.
Prior to winning statewide office, DePasquale served three terms in the General Assembly as a State Representative (2007 to 2012). As a legislator, DePasquale won large increases in public school investments and prioritized reductions in distracted driving.
DePasquale earned his Law Degree from Widener University School of Law, and a Master’s in Public Administration from the University of Pittsburgh. Before seeking elected office, DePasquale worked in an economic development role in York, Pennsylvania before taking a top post in former Governor Ed Rendell’s Department of Environmental Protection.
A Pittsburgh native, DePasquale lived in central Pennsylvania for 25 years before returning to his home town, where he now teaches and practices law.
About the Office*
It is CRUCIAL we elect a Democratic Attorney General in 2024. To WIN in November, we MUST nominate a Democratic Primary Candidate who can BEAT the Republicans STATEWIDE in November.
The Attorney General is the chief law enforcement officer and prosecutor for the Commonwealth.
The Attorney General leads a staff of several hundred prosecutors, attorneys, investigators, agents, and support staff in offices across the state. Currently, the AG’s Office has 4 main Divisions, described below.
- Criminal Division: investigates and prosecutes drug crime, gun violence, child predators, organized crime, public corruption, insurance and Medicare fraud, environmental crimes, and other criminal violations. The AG can also investigate and prosecute indictments obtained from their statewide investigating grand juries. The AG also prosecutes criminal charges referred by Commonwealth agencies. The AG is often appointed to investigate and prosecute local DA’s with prosecuting criminal charges brought in county courts. Finally, the AG’s office, upon request by county District Attorneys, may take over pending criminal matters where the local DA does not have sufficient resources to prosecute the case(s), or when the DA’s office may have a potential conflict of interest. Most of the criminal matters handled by the AG’s Office are referrals from county DA’s or Commonwealth agencies.
- Public Protection Division: prosecutes the perpetrators of scams and deceptive business practices to enforce Pennsylvania law and protect consumers from being ripped off. This Division also enforces Pennsylvania law around labor protections, civil rights & anti-discrimination, fair business practices, and antitrust matters.
- Civil Division: represents the Commonwealth, its agencies, and officials, in civil cases brought by or against them. These can include defending the constitutionality of Pennsylvania laws, enforcing or defending contract rights, collecting debts owed to the Commonwealth, and more. Civil Division also reviews state contracts and agency regulations to counsel agencies and other state actors to ensure compliance and constitutionality.
- Operations & Public Engagement: assists in crime prevention through education and outreach to the people across Pennsylvania. Sample topics include drug addiction, personal safety and bullying, avoiding and reporting sexual abuse, how to protect against financial scams and fraud, and more.
*Includes content adapted from other sources.