HARRISBURG (Oct. 22) – Republican attorney general nominee David Freed says voters should pick him over Democrat Kathleen Kane because of his experience as a district attorney.
But Kane kept the Cumberland County District Attorney on the defensive much of the night by saying the real issues are independence and integrity, and she comes out ahead in both measures.
“We knew the questions she has raised all campaign and tonight we brought the answers,” said Freed.
Kane, a former Lackawanna County prosecutor, repeatedly blasted Freed for just saying an ad a group allied with Freed aired against her was “disappointing” rather than inaccurate and unfair.
She said he had 17 opportunities to condemn the ad after the father of the victim of the prosecutorial error blamed on Kane said she had nothing to do with the case. Kane said Freed never spoke up to condemn an ad widely condemned as inaccurate.
“I want an attorney general as a citizen of this commonwealth who speaks up for the truth. Every single time – I don’t want politics playing a role in it any longer,” Kane said. “How a person runs their candidacy shows you how they are going to run the office of attorney general. I say enough is enough.”
“I’ve said very clearly that I had no connection to the ad. … It’s not the ad I would have run, I’m very disappointed by the ad. It’s not the kind of campaign that I want to run,” Freed said.
He continued, “Frankly, it’s taken away from our opportunity to talk about the issues, such as our experience and our plans for the office,” noting his experience running a prosecutor’s office compared to Kane’s zero years experience.
Kane said Freed gave $900 to the group who aired that ad, and Gov. Tom Corbett helped raise funds for the group, the Republican State Leadership Committee, so they bore responsibility for the ad.
Freed said he could not stop the group from airing ads.
But he also dealt directly with Kane saying he could not be trusted to be honest and independent of Gov. Tom Corbett, who cleared the GOP primary field for Freed.
“If you want to know if I’ll speak the truth, look at my record,” Freed said, going on to list tough prosecutions he waged and won.
“And if you wanna know if I’ll be independent and take on the tough cases, go ask the deputy secretary for Labor and Industry, ask the attorney for PennDOT, ask the township treasurer, ask the popular fire chief, ask all the popular teachers I have prosecuted, ask the county commissioner, the count coroner, and the chief operating officer of the county, if I’ll speak up for the truth and take on the tough cases,” he said.
Both also discussed a potential ongoing review of the Hershey Trust, since the attorney general’s office oversees charities, and the Hershey Trust was formerly headed by Freed’s father-in-law, the first elected attorney general of Pennsylvania, LeRoy Zimmerman.
Freed said if the investigation was ongoing when he was in office, “I will bring in a special counsel. … Going forward, I don’t think I would have a conflict handling the Hershey Trust.”
Kane bridled at those who compared her potential conflict of interest, since the office would review contracts like held by Kane Is Able, her husband’s trucking and logistics company, to that of Zimmerman.
She noted Hershey is one of the largest charity organizations in the nation, while “my husband’s company only has a contract. There is no comparison between Mr. Freed’s conflict and my lack of conflict.”
“I am an independent prosecutor and Mr. Freed would have to hire one,” she said.
