Kathleen Granahan Kane, a career prosecutor and former Assistant District Attorney in Lackawanna County, plans to announce her candidacy for state Attorney General on Wednesday, according to a press announcement obtained Tuesday afternoon by PoliticsPA.
It will be the Temple Law graduate’s first foray into elected politics, and she indicates in her announcement that she would not emulate Tom Corbett’s path to the governorship should she become the Keystone State’s first Democratic AG since it became an elected position in 1980.
“As a prosecutor, I was on the front line in fighting crime and understand what works and what needs to be fixed,” Kane says in the statement. “What we don’t need is an Attorney General seeking to use the office as a personal stepping-stone for higher office. In the coming months, I will detail my plans for public protection and safety, which includes intervention and smarter approaches to law enforcement.”
Kane, whose family has longstanding political ties to both United States Senator Bob Casey and his late father, will be the first to make her intention to run for AG official. Other rumored candidates on the Democratic side include former Congressman Patrick Murphy and former Philadelphia District Attorney Lynne Abraham. The latter has said as recently as this week she’s considering a run.
The job will be open. Corbett deputy William Ryan is filling the position in the interim and Linda Kelly, nominated in February by Governor Corbett to serve out his term as the state’s top law enforcement official, has said she will not run for re-election if confirmed.
Kane, whose husband Chris is an executive with the Scranton-based “Kane is Able” third party logistics coordinator, served as Hillary Clinton’s Northeast Pennsylvania campaign coordinator in 2008. The career highlights cited in the press announcement obtained Tuesday by PoliticsPA stick to her prosecutorial accomplishments, including:
Fighting alongside the family of a young girl brutally stabbed to death to ensure a jury’s verdict imposing a penalty of death was upheld; co-prosecuting a caretaker resulting in conviction under the Neglect of Care Dependent Person Act where an elderly victim died from infected bedsores; contributing to the arrest, apprehension and bringing to justice a murderer who killed a police officer in New Jersey. The case was previously unsolved for 40 years.
Check back with PoliticsPA on Wednesday for more on Kane’s announcement.
7 Responses
I’m looking for referral to a high end prosecutor to take a look at a situation that where I was molested in 1974 at the age of 13, for 5 yrs, I’m 50 yrs old now,but the individual has a network still operating across the USA,molesting young boys as I was yrs ago, looking to take dowm this bastard and all who still participate with him,this offence has happened in NYC NY and nationwide
Mrs. Kane has the credentials and appears to be an excellent choice for AG. Clearly, she is not a lifelong politician with a hidden agenda in seeking this office. I agree with PghMan above regarding the political nature of the position.
As a lifelong Republican, I intend on putting my support behind this candidate.
If anyone believes that Kane would not use the office to seek the Gov’s office or Senate someday you are the most politically naive person alive. Further, I don’t understand the comment that Zapalla is a no-go. And who cares if the prosecutor is male or female as long as they get the job done. Quite frankly, this is not really a political position, so it’d be interesting for a state to pass a law that (D) or (R) will not appear next to the name on the ballot for non-political positions such as AG, Comptroller, etc. I mean, does one party like criminals more than the other? No. This way People would actually have to research the candidates and decide for themselves. That, or the AG should be an appointed position again.
Here’s my take on the race so far: Kathleen Granahan Kane appears to have the credentials to serve as Attorney General. Her name has been poppoing up in circles in ‘the large population centers’ more each day. I give her this – she’s doing her work. What i find refreshing about her candidcacy is not only is she qualified; she’s not your average politican who will use the office as a means to achieve another office. Kudos to her…so far, i am interested.
Good to see a female prosecutor running. Sounds like she has the credentials.
Zappala is a no go because of his family history, Abraham is just throwing her name out there but has no intention of doing the heavy campaign lifting. Don’t count Kane out. She has alot of money and from what I hear, has some heavy-hitters in her camp. I don’t think Seth will make a go of it. Word is he is eyeing something a little farther up the ladder.
This is a joke. The Dems haunt figured out that their only hope is to run a well known prosecutor from a major population center. Here they are: Lynne Abraham, Seth Williams, Steve Zappala. That’s it. Period, end of story. Otherwise we end up with John Morganelli who, while capable, was little more than a speed bump on the road to the governor’s mansion for Corbett. The Republians enjoy a feeling among voters that they are tougher on crime (irrelevant, of course in truth, but not in the land of Oz which is PA Politics). So they don’t need someone from a huge population center. They have Dave Freed from Cumberland County, Ed Marsico from Dauphin County and Risa Ferman from Montgomery County. They even have Bruce Castor (former DA of Montgomery County) who by far is best known of the three who’s political skills killing off his fellow commissioners (who tried to kill him) are whispered widely in state GOP circles. This idea of Kane from the NE would be just another sacrificial lamb.