Monday, September 08, 2003

By James O'Toole, Post-Gazette Politics Editor

Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. is considering a run for the Democratic nomination for state attorney general.

While Zappala said he is reluctant to leave his current post, he is weighing the 2004 race for what will be an open seat as the state's chief law enforcement officer. Zappala said Gov. Ed Rendell was among the Democrats who have encouraged him to consider the statewide race. He said he told Rendell last week that he would make a decision "sooner rather than later," in deference to the handful of other Democrats who have expressed some interest in the race.

Kate Philips, Rendell's press secretary, said she had no comment on any conversations that might have taken place between the two Democrats, and she cautioned that Rendell had made no endorsement in that race. Emphasizing that she was speaking generally, however, she said, "The governor is the titular head of the party and it's his role to go across the state and talk to good Democratic candidates about running for a variety of offices."

Incumbent Attorney General Mike Fisher, who is barred from seeking a third term, has been nominated to a seat on the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Rendell has agreed to nominate Fisher's deputy, Jerry Pappert, to replace him once he is confirmed for the federal bench. Pappert, in turn, has agreed not to run for a full term in the job next year.

Zappala is on the Allegheny County ballot in November, unopposed for re-election to a second full term as the county's chief prosecutor. He first assumed the post in 1998, when the county's judges chose him to fill the vacancy created when his predecessor, Robert Colville, was elected to Common Pleas Court.

Zappala described his conversation with Rendell after the two Democrats met at former city Councilman Bob O'Connor's annual boat ride last week.

Zappala's name is one on a fairly lengthy list of potential candidates for the office. No Democrat has been elected to the post since it became an elected office in 1981. Before that, the attorney general was an appointed member of the governor's Cabinet.

The Democratic roster is led by James Eisenhower, the party's unsuccessful challenger against Fisher in 2000. Eisenhower, a member of Rendell's old law firm, is close to the governor. Rendell named him chairman of the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency.

John Morganelli, the district attorney of Northampton County has also expressed interest in the post. Also mentioned as potential Democratic contenders are Lawrence County District Attorney Matt Mangino and David Barasch, a former U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.

Likely Republican contenders include Montgomery County District Attorney Bruce Castor, Joe Peters, a former federal prosecutor from Scranton, and Thomas Corbett, who held the post by appointment after the forced resignation of former Attorney General Ernie Preate. Before that, Corbett was U.S. attorney for the Western District of the state.

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