BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Candidates seeking the Democratic nomination in the race for Northampton County district attorney met in a contentious debate Wednesday night moderated by LehighValleyNews.com.
As throughout the campaign so far, challenger Stephen Baratta attacked incumbent District Attorney Terry Houck for what he called incompetence and unethical behavior.
- Incumbent District Attorney Terry Houck is seeking a second term in office
- He's challenged by fellow Democrat Stephen Baratta, a retired Northampton County judge
- They debated in a forum organized by LehighValleyNews.com
Houck hit back time and time again, defending his time in office and calling Baratta’s claims “lies,” “falsehoods,” “fallacies” and “fictional.”
“You set no agenda, have no platform, but just spread false attacks,” said Houck, in the final year of his first term in office. “For my 45 years in law enforcement, I have fiercely guarded my reputation by being transparent and endeavoring to uphold the highest ethics.”
Said Baratta: “He can call me a liar all he wants, but the facts don’t lie. As for my candidacy, I rest on the facts presented to you.”
“For my 45 years in law enforcement, I have fiercely guarded my reputation by being transparent and endeavoring to uphold the highest ethics.”District Attorney Terry Houck
Houck began his career as a police officer in Philadelphia, before getting his law degree and becoming a prosecutor in Bucks County. In 2006, he was appointed as Northampton County’s first full-time first assistant district attorney under then-District Attorney John Morganelli.
Baratta served as a Northampton County judge for 25 years, resigning the position near the end of last year specifically to run against Houck, he said. Before his 1997 election to the bench, Baratta also served as first assistant district attorney under Morganelli.
The primary will be held Tuesday, May 16. Only registered Democrats will be able to vote in the primary between Houck and Baratta.
As no Republican challenger filed for the race, the primary will likely determine who takes office come next year.
Houck’s oversight of DA's office
Baratta began his opening statement by attacking Houck’s running of the office, as has been the backbone of the campaign from the beginning.
Baratta placed blame for turnover in the DA’s office squarely at Houck’s feet, saying mismanagement and a toxic workplace culture have driven away employees.
“He can call me a liar all he wants, but the facts don’t lie. As for my candidacy, I rest on the facts presented to you.”Stephen Baratta, candidate for district attorney
He also criticized Houck for the rate of cases brought to trial that ultimately ended in acquittals, saying it was a “coin flip” that defendants would walk out of the courthouse free.
Houck Called Baratta’s claims regarding the number of cases his office has won and lost “absolutely false.” He said that under his direction, the DA’s office has seen 90% overall conviction rates, which he described as consistent with the years before his term began.
He went on to say that Baratta doesn’t know how the DA’s office operates, as he hasn’t “stepped foot” there since his time as first assistant district attorney in the mid-1990s.
Death penalty
Perhaps the widest policy gap between the candidates emerged over their differing opinions of whether to seek the death penalty.
Houck described capital punishment as a tool made available to him under the law, which he intends to use if necessary. He went on to characterize Baratta’s opposition as “failing to follow the law.”
“It’s part of the law I will follow,” he said, distancing himself from Baratta. “We have this law available, and I will use it.”
Despite his criticism of the practice, Baratta declined to rule out using it absolutely. When asked how he would handle the cases of two Northampton County men sentenced to death, Baratta said he would “Exercise [his] discretion responsibly,” rather than committing outright to drop pursuit of capital punishment.
“If the law in effect is unfair like it is now,” he added, “I’m not going to impose the death penalty.”
New Gov. Josh Shapiro has said he plans to continue former governor Tom Wolf's moratorium on executions. Shapiro declared he will not issue any execution warrants during his term and called on the General Assembly to outlaw the death penalty.
Cash bail
Baratta also took the offensive on cash bail; Houck himself ran on reducing the use of cash bail for nonviolent offenders.
He defended his office’s bail policies by pointing to a program which predates his term in office that gives defendants accused of 24 types of crimes non-cash bail.
“Grandstanding about no cash bail is all nonsense,” Houck said. “There are no poor people that are kept in jail.”
Baratta disagreed, pointing to the 2021 case of Robert Gregory, who was held in jail ahead of his trial on DUI and other charges for more than a year because he couldn’t afford his $35,000 bail.
“Cash bail discriminates against the economically disadvantaged,” Baratta said. “Even small amounts of bail sometimes are impossible for people who live from paycheck to paycheck or don't have a job. And they have to sit until their case is resolved – hundreds of cases every year.”
Ultimately, decisions regarding bail rest with the judge overseeing the case, potentially limiting any district attorney’s impact.
The debate was co-moderated by LehighValleyNews.com News Director Jen Rehill and politics reporter Tom Shortell. It aired live on PBS39 and on 91.3 WLVR, which like LehighValleyNews.com are part of Lehigh Valley Public Media.
