The Chester County District Attorney’s Office is a crucial county service, but it struggles to meet its responsibilities. Recruiting and retention difficulties have degraded the office’s capabilities and being short-staffed has led to an exodus of competent Assistant District Attorneys and an overwhelming burden on those who remain. Our taxes fund forty attorney positions but our turnover is high, and vacancies are growing. This has real-world consequences; for example, our DA’s office used to have three drugs and guns specialists, but we are now down to just one ADA serving this crucial role.
The District Attorney is our lead prosecutor. That description conjures up flashy TV and movie images but the most important thing the DA does is to lead and manage their office. It is universally true that Assistant District Attorneys are underpaid, overworked, and unappreciated but it falls on their management – the District Attorney -- to keep them motivated and to develop the kind of supportive camaraderie that binds them together as a team.
Good people who feel like they are part of something bigger than themselves stick around to accomplish great things but that doesn’t happen in a vacuum. That’s what’s missing in Deb Ryan’s District Attorney’s Office and the dispirited staff she leads are voting with their feet. The remedy? Elect a District Attorney who understands that they cannot be successful unless they lead and manage effectively.
This election cycle, we have an experienced candidate for this critical role, Ryan Hyde. He'll address the increase in crime with clear guidance and useful prosecution standards and will restructure the District Attorney’s Office, assigning cases in ways that give prosecutors perspective into the communities they serve.
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