welcome to nbc 10. on tuesday april 26th pennsylvania people will head to the polls and one of the key decisions to make is for attorney general. on the democratic side north hampton county. and allegheny county district attorney. today we'll hear in the republican candidates. john raferty junior and joe peters. i sat down both of them and we begin in alphabetical order with

joe peters. thank you for being here. >> thank you. >> why do you want to be the attorney general of the state of pennsylvania? >> whether i intended it or not i was built for this job. if you were to create an attorney general for yourself, wouldn't you want a street tcop? i decided to go to law school and began working at the attorney general's office under the first elected ag as a law clerk and rose through the ranks having served each one in a senior capacity either as the top drug prosecutor, crime prosecutor or chief of police of the under cover operations. i was asked to be a prosecutor and my team and i convicted a mafia boss, and after that wouldn't you want to ice the cake with a person who has

worked for two presidents? i spent two years in the clinton and george bush white house working on the poisons of our day, drugs and terrorism. >> what would you try to do to tackle the heroin problem in our state? >> that's an excellent point, and it's gripping our state. it's every corner, and you need to be tough on crime. you need to be smart on crime. the tough part is almost the easiest. i have so many police officers and prosecutor friends and firefighters here in philadelphia, first responders who deal with the issue every day. having done what they do, i know all the innovative methods. the more challenging part, front end and back end is the part i call smart on crime. it's working with youth and physicians in this case because the opioid problem is legitimate pharmaceuticals people are

getting addicted to first. the single mom in the inner city here in west philadelphia who is an addict isn't a criminal. we don't condone her decisions  to get to the point of being an addict, but we deal with her. she has a health problem. if we can diminish her drug taking problem, we help her and her children and keep her out of the e.r. keep her out of the criminal justice system, she's not missing work. >> how does that fit into the mission of an attorney general? >> well, it's the chief law enforcement officer. we get the investigative part against the violent drug cartels, but as an attorney general you have a the ability to be the moving force attorney the district attorneys and the courts of pennsylvania to create drug courts and expand them. when i was in the bush and clinton white houses, drug

courts were brand new. they were part of my agenda to advance. if we can deal with getting people into drug courts and facing them to get treatment, also dealing with the intersecting issues of mental health, homelessness and veterans. you know, relatedly, i want to establish a veteran's advocate. >> is that a function of the attorney general's office? >> half of the office is not criminal. actually, two-thirds is public protection and it's civil. there already exists a consumer advocate in the office whose job it is to advocate for consumers. i want to do the same for our vets. >> much has been made about restoring credibility and integrity of the attorney general's office in the wake of kathleen cane administration scandal, if you will. what's job one? >> well, no one knows the office better than i know. my opponent, senator, is a fine

person. he had less experience than kathleen, and we saw how that ended up. we need someone experienced and respected. i grew up in that office over 17 years. i know what a restroom is on day one. >> also is press secretary for kathleen cane. >> she asked me as did all of her predecessors. when every single attorney general asks you to serve them in a major position, she asked me would i help her with communications, outreach to kids and citizens in the inner city and our seniors who protect them. i said i would do that. she also asked me to be a senior executive deputy attorney general to advise the staff at the highest levels on complex investigations. the kind that i want to do like the die ocese.

we spent $200 million in the wake of san dusky. did the board do the right thing? were there people smeared that shouldn't have been or people that got off the hook that shouldn't have. >> let's talk about the administration and the e-mail scandal and where she sits in terms of facing criminal charges. how would you have handled things differently? >> the e-mail scandal, i hope would not have happened because in my years in justice department and in other positions and the white house, and even now in conjunction in government, we have to take training on workplace ethics and diversity and sexual harassment and sexual discrimination and codes of conduct. i would impose those kinds of things immediately in the office

so the tone is set. and then ensure that the balance of our professional relationships aren't crossed. if you saw most of the e-mails were between prosecutors and judges who were former prosecutors, not that people can't be friends outside of the courtroom, but there has to be a line of demarcation, and i would have exposed the mails, get it out there, clean it up, be done with it and ensure it never happens again. >> the inquirer endorsed your rival, as you well know. but they did take note of your extensive background, some of which you've talked about. why isn't that seen as a positive as far as the inquirer, enough of a positive as far as the inquirer is concerned to endorse you instead? >> if you look, and i had great meeting and the inquirer is a great publication, and we had a good meeting. everyone expected them to endorse senator rafferty.

he's probably the most liberal of the republican senator. he funneled union money to republicans, so john is part of this system here. i don't begrudge him the endorsement, but if you read it, it said he was being endorsed because he's been willing to raise taxes and he's been kind of a career politician. i don't see those as positive things. i think if you ask -- look at the trump or barnernie sanders supporters, people want people who aren't part of the system. i'm not going to change today. >> who are you supporting for president? >> i haven't decided. i've been so focussed on joe peters for attorney general. >> but if trump is the nominee as a republican, would you vote for him, support that candidate? >> absolutely.

and there are pluses and minuses to each of the presidential candidates on the republican side or on the democratic side for that matter. you know, my life is one of nonpartisanship. and you don't get asked by two presidents if you're not the best out there to do a job, and there are no republican terrorists or democratic heroin needles. i'm just there to do the job. i'm the best one built to do it on day one. >> interesting as a law enforcement guy when you hear about donald trump talk about building a wall at the border with mexico and having mexico build it. >> we need a wall, and a wall takes different forms. a lot of it is technology and cameras and sensors and night visi vision, but what sane country doesn't protect its own borders? and i have an issue and people say you can't say this, but i am going to say it. i have an issue with mayor

kenny. to take an oath to defend this state and the united states and whose job it is to ensure law and order and the safety of our citizens, to have the mayor of this beautiful city where our constitution started stand up and in effect advocate the breaking of the law, i have a problem with that. >> you're talking act not cooperating -- >> sanctuary cities. >> how do you say let's ignore federal law in our constitution? what does that say? this is a beautiful city of ethnicity, and whether you're italian or african american or islamic or jewish, everybody has pride in that, and our ancestors, mine, my grandparents, came following the rules. it is an insult to them to say to people, some of whom are criminals, just come on in. ignore the law and we'll take care of you and our taxpayers will pay for it. that's not right.

as attorney general, i'll sit down with the mayor and talk about this and how this is wrong and illegal and then do what i have to do in terms of civil actions if need be, but i think he's a reasonable guy and i think we can have that conversation. >> medical marijuana looks like it's going to be law by the time this airs in pennsylvania. do you support that, and do you foresee any problems in enforcing any provisions that will be part of that law? >> in many of the states these have been a stocking horse for the full legalizers. the legislation has tried to ensure it's not the case. that medical marijuana here not be an excuse just to legalize marijuana. if you look at the law, you can't smoke it. you have to take it in certain forms. there are certain diseases. my whole problem with it is -- i

want the best medicine for everybody. if that's marijuana and if it has a proven efficacy through fda processes, great. but the part that troubles me is we don't vote for our heart medicine at the ballot box. we don't have the legislature passing laws as to which cancer drugs we use. so we need to think about that and have marijuana go through the same medical efficacy protocols as any other drug to ensure it's good, legitimate medicine. >> do you have doubts that it is, that it is effective? >> no, i believe the doctors. if the doctors and the fda say form of marijuana is the best medicine for this malady, i'm all for it. i just don't want it to be an excuse to legalize marijuana and we end up with a society like many around the world that have gone down this course and it's been a disaster, all out

legalization. >> thank you for joining me today. >> great to be with you. >> you'll hear from the other man hoping to capture the position of attorney general when we come back. (male #1) it's a little something i've done every night since i was a kid, empty my pocket change into this old jar. it's never much, just what's left after i break a dollar. and i never thought i could get quality life insurance with my spare change. neither did i. until i saw a commercial for the colonial penn program. imagine people our age getting life insurance at such an affordable rate. it's true. if you're 50 to 85, you can get guaranteed acceptance life insurance

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discussion with the republicans running for pennsylvania attorney general. earlier this week i sat down with john rafferty junior. thanks so much for being here on at issue. i want to start with the basics. why do you want to be attorney general of the state of pennsylvania? >> as a sitting state senator and having the opportunity to work with the attorney general's office, the d.a.'s offices, i see the critical need in harrisberg today for a leader to take over the office of attorney general someone with a

reputation of integrity. someone who has the drive and commitment to make sure that that office is pointing in the right direction, working for the people of the commonwealth of a pennsylvania, and i've done that with legislation in harrisburg. i've done it in practicing civil law and criminal law, and i ran a business for ten years. with that blend and background, i'm the best to run the office and restore the integrity in that office. >> what do you see that needs to be done to restore the integrity? >> someone has to be in there who is respected for his word. someone who will not make decisions based on political agenda. someone who is going to go in and be mindful he's chief law enforcement officer for the commonwealth and the chief lawyer for the commonwealth, and someone who will instill that same integrity and professional responsibility throughout the entire operation of the office

of the attorney general. that's been lacking in the past three years in the office of attorney general. you have 750 employees, 20 locations. they have to know there's someone there who is going to say this is what we're doing and this is how. get the job done and i'll work with you. >> what about your experience makes you think you can run that office efficiently with that many employees not having done that before? >> i had with the business. i had to fire and hire and meet payroll. for ten years i ran as general manager. when i went to law school i was a deputy attorney in the criminal law division. then civil practice i worked in a law firm and did sol lo practice myself, so i had those commitments to make, and then as a senator i'm known for managing complex legislation throughout the process. i know i have a unique background and one that fits the

needs of the office of attorney general. >> when it comes to serving as senator, you see that as an asset. >> i think it's a real asset for us. especially this time. i for the 13 years have been the go to guy for the law enforcement in the senate. i've written legislation which today are laws and prosecutors are using to put bad guys behind bars, plus the fact that i have that kind of relationship with the house and the senate, rs and ds to go forward and work with changes to the law that i want to institute and also for appropriations for the office going forward. >> you have the endorsement of the state republican party but counter to most members of your party understand you've refused to support legislation that stops unions from automatically deducting union dues from their paychecks of public employees. has that stopped you from getting the degree of support you feel you need from republicans? >> no. in fact, to set the record

clear, i did not want to vote for that legislation because of the police and the firefighters. we already per statute in the commonwealth of pennsylvania treat our professional firefighters and police officers as a different striclass. they can't strike. the only way to get their message out is through the political process, so they can't strike. in many areas they can't work the polls. by allowing them to do that, they can continue to get their message out. i could not get assurances that i could have them excluded so finally when we did get an amendment that a number of organizations involved sign off on, i offered the amendment on the floor. it lost. once it lost, i turned to the sponsor of the bill and said i'll give you my vote on the bill. the bill is in the house of representatives now. >> let's talk about kathleen cane who is not running for

reelection amid controversy as we know. she's fighting these alleged perjury and an instruction charges as we sit here. troubles that began with an e-mail scandal. how would you have handled that e-mail scandal differently involving several high ranking government officials? >> first of all, we already have n now an ethics policy on our attorney general website based on both the governors' ethics and the u.s. department of justice that really spells out the proper use of government property and communications through that government property. i would have handled it very differently. when this information became available, if you're going to make it public, make it all public. if you're going to do it, you don't piecemeal it. you see here's the information, here's what's wrong and here's how we're handling the situation. being careful to look at the e-mails to make sure if you

release any, you don't release confidential information as well. >> you're saying this was done sloppily? >> i think her original intent was to get the information out there, but it was so piecemealed that it began to look more like personal venn dedatas. >> you've been critical of your rival on the republican side, joe peters, for having worked with kathleen cain, a democrat. >> yes. he was not hired as a prosecutor. he was hired as her spokesperson. so he was there in that office, that executive office, part of her administrative team while things began to unravel, and now he wants to back and clean it up. you were part of the problem. you served as the press secretary an advisor to her. yes, i am critical of him for

now wanting to reinvent his position there. >> what should he have done differently in that role, do you think? >> i think for one thing i question why he took the job if he claims to be a great prosecutor, why he took that job. >> not that there's anything wrong with that. >> and then doing that, and then number two going to work in an office that was beginning to unravel at that time. i know the motives in that regard. >> the inquirer, the philadelphia inquirer has endorsed now. the inquirer said its only concern is your place in the political establishment which could slow your ability to take on political corruption. the that a valid concern? >> no. anyone who knows me and when the protem of the senate announced support for my candidacy, he said john rafferty is not afraid to criticize me publicly or the

governor. and i have stood against the flow when i felt that it was not right and in the best interest of the people. also in addition to that, the superior court gave us a bright line test and said this is where you can offer and participate in politics. over here is where you can only participate in government. you cannot mix them. you have to have that separate line, and if anyone crosses that line, i will prosecutor them. anyone who knows me in the house or senate say he's a man of his word. if he says he's going to do it, he'll do it. you're going to have to look at corruption at all levels of government. >> it sometimes can be tough, because it may involve people that you've worked with in harrisburg. >> when you take an oath of

office, that means the people who put you in that position are counting on you to uphold the law. if it means prosecuting someone i work with, so be it. >> we asked people if there's an issue people would like to tackle first. do you have an issue? >> on the consumer protection side, working to protect our seniors and identity theft and making sure that they're secure in nursing homes and getting the treatment they deserve. but overall, epidemic. >> the opponent has considerable law enforcement experience which he touts and talks about on the campaign trail quite a bit, something that you lack. do you see that as a void in your resume, if you will, for this job? do you see that as crucial experience that sets you apart from your opponent in a negative

way? >> no. my experience dwarves his. when you look at the office of attorney general, you're the chief law enforcement for the commonwealth and also the lawyer. when you look at the criminal law division, there's a vast civil law section, and i practiced civil law. any time someone sues the commonwealth, the attorney general represents. and any time someone wants to take on or question the charitable trusts for nonprofit, the attorney general represents that office. my experience is different than everybody else's, and i will say that i think if you're singular in vision, it's not what that office needs right now. we need broad vision for the office of attorney general. >> let's talk about the race for president. do you have a candidate that you're supporting publicly at this point? >> i'm focussed on john

rafferty. whoever they pick is the one i'll be working with. >> are you concerned about any of the candidates in the lead? >> i'm just concerned it's worked out and we don't get into a problem at the convention and don't have a unified party coming out. we need to learn from abraham link con. he selected for his cabinet all his political opponents to serve with him. >> i know you're concerned about your campaign, but would you support donald trump if he is the nominee? >> i'm going to be on the ticket with whoever the nominee is. >> you passed medical marijuana in the senate. how important is that? >> it's hugely important. a couple of senators involved were tearing up on the floor as they were making remarks. this is a big step for pennsylvania. >> you have said that you think the problems with kathleen cain increased your chances or the republican's chances of taking over the ag ease office 's offi?

>> yes. there was one time there was a change that didn't work, plus the fact that i made a pledge i would serve all four years if elected, and if reelected, i'll serve additional four years. i'm not going to make decisions for personal reasons or be under a political spotlight because i'm running for governor or senator. i want to be attorney general to make sure the people of the commonwealth know there's someone there looking out for their interests. >> we thank you for coming in. >> thank you j jim. i appreciate it. >> remember to cast your ballot in pennsylvania's primary election nine days from today, tuesday, april 26th th. delaware voters go to the polls april 26th. that's it for this elision of nbc 10 at issue. join me tomorrow and every week day at 4:00, 6:00, and 11:00 p.m. have a great sunday and don't

forget to vote on april 26th th. (male #1) it's a little something i've done every night since i was a kid, empty my pocket change into this old jar. it's never much, just what's left after i break a dollar. and i never thought i could get quality life insurance with my spare change. neither did i. until i saw a commercial for the colonial penn program. imagine people our age getting life insurance at such an affordable rate. it's true. if you're 50 to 85, you can get guaranteed acceptance life insurance through the colonial penn program for less than 35 cents a day, just $9.95 a month. there's no medical exam and no health questions. you know, the average cost of a funeral is over $8,300. now that's a big burden to leave your loved ones. as long as you're 50 to 85, you cannot be turned down because of your health.

your premium never goes up and your benefit never goes down due to age. plus, your coverage builds cash value over time. call now for free information and a free gift. all i did was make a phone call and all of my questions about the colonial penn program were answered. it couldn't have been any easier and we both got the coverage we should have had for years now. mm-hm, with change to spare. (laughing) (colonial penn jingle)

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