Jack Stollsteimer has devoted his entire legal career to public service in Pennsylvania, focusing on gun violence reduction, school safety, prison reform, and educational opportunity for all citizens of the commonwealth. His background has given him unique preparation for the reform issues on the table in 2019: even-handed prosecution across townships, reforming cash bail system, reducing incarceration and recidivism by increasing offenders’ treatment for mental health and substance abuse treatment, and expanding job training in a de-privatized county prison.
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Professional Background: The year Jack graduated from Temple University’s Beasley School of Law and passed the bar, he was appointed Assistant Delaware County District Attorney. Just one year later, in 2001, the U.S. Department of Justice recruited him to serve as Special Assistant U.S. Attorney for Project Safe Neighborhood, a gun violence reduction initiative in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
In 2004, Jack was appointed Assistant United States Attorney and earned a 100% conviction rate in his four and a half years as a federal prosecutor while leading a gun violence task force in the “Badlands” of North Central Philadelphia. His subsequent work as Pennsylvania’s Safe Schools Advocate for Philadelphia resulted in policy reforms to better protect children and teachers from violent crime.
Since 2017, Jack has served as Deputy State Treasurer for Consumer Programs, working with State Treasurer Joe Torsella on these opportunity-creating initiatives:
- PA ABLE savings program for individuals with disabilities
- Keystone Scholars grant program seeding a “529” higher education saving account for every child born or adopted in Pennsylvania
In addition, Jack is a founding member and active participant in the Delco Coalition for Prison Reform and serves on the Board of Directors of the Delaware County Bar Association.
Personal Background: Jack’s professional background alone would make him an ideal candidate for District Attorney in Delco. But his personal background has prepared him in more subtle ways to serve as a thoughtful, respectful leader for the powerful prosecutor’s office.
His father Fred dropped out of Upper Darby High to join the U.S. Army during the Korean War. Jack saw his father work hard as a SEPTA driver and saw his father move the family into Havertown’s middle class because he was a member of the United Transportation Union. Jack doesn’t just talk union; he has lived union. He will work with unions as D.A.
His mother Henrietta, a native of Soviet Ukraine, immigrated to America as a World War II refugee from a Nazi slave labor camp. Jack grew up understanding what hatred and war can do to ordinary people’s lives. He will combat prejudice and gun violence as D.A. Nothing was handed to Jack. After attending St. Denis in Havertown and Archbishop Carroll High, he graduated from Ridley High School. Jack then worked his way through college for 16 years, taking classes at night and on weekends, graduating at age 34. When he talks about giving Pennsylvania kids real educational opportunities, he brings personal experience to that conversation. His own children, John and Sarah, are students at Haverford Middle School, near where Jack and his wife Judi live in Havertown.
Experience, both professional and personal, will inform Jack’s priorities and policies as Delaware County’s D.A. We need a leader in the prosecutors’ office who understands what it means to struggle in life and what a difference government can make by providing encouragement and opportunity to citizens. Visit Jack’s website to read his Ten-Point Smart on Crime Agenda.