Dawkins calls on legislature to focus on budget, not personal politics

Rep. Jason Dawkins June 29, 2022 | 6:08 PM

HARRISBURG, June 29 – Rather than focusing on delivering a state budget that invests in schools and communities, the House Republican majority used the legislative voting day to try to overturn yet another election and undermine the votes of Philadelphians, according to state Rep. Jason Dawkins, chairman of the PA House Democratic Philadelphia Delegation.

House lawmakers today were forced to vote on legislation (H.R. 216) that would establish a select committee whose express purpose would be to draft articles of impeachment against Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner for failing to adequately address crime in the city.

Dawkins said the move by House Republicans shows their arrogance on the issue of gun violence and gun proliferation in Philadelphia and across the state and nation. He said that while people and public officials may have their differences over the way in which any district attorney does his or her job, the decision to remove them should be made by voters at the ballot box and not by an act of the state legislature.

“District attorneys who abuse their power and commit crimes should be prosecuted and impeached,” Dawkins said. “However, a district attorney with a 90% arrest rate and no other scandals should be allowed to keep his job until the voters decide he should not have it.

“We have a state budget due in one day. Let’s focus on that. Let’s focus on getting money to our schools and to our communities. We must end this absurd political theater that’s meant to distract from the real issue – which is that the legislature must do something about gun proliferation and gun violence and not tie the hands of cities like Philadelphia when it comes to enacting sensible gun reforms.”

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