Surrounded by hundreds of people representing many of Pittsburgh’s labor unions, Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. on Friday announced he will seek a seventh term in office.

Zappala, a Democrat from Fox Chapel, made the announcement at the Pittsburgh Regional Building Trades Christmas party in the Champions Club at Acrisure Stadium.

He is the first candidate to formally enter the race.

Allegheny County Public Defender Matt Dugan, a Democrat, is expected to formally announce his candidacy in mid-January, according to a spokeswoman for his campaign. He declined to comment Friday afternoon.

Zappala spoke for about 18 minutes, outlining his achievements in office and what he hopes to do in the future.

He also talked about what he sees as the dangers of progressive politics.

“In this time, in this place, our home is threatened by a culture of chaos, crime and divisiveness and wrong-headed political agendas that would destroy what we’ve worked so hard to build,” Zappala said. “We’re facing a political agenda that foments racial and class division that empowers criminals.”

Zappala faced a progressive candidate in independent Lisa Middleman in the 2019 general election and defeated her by about 14 percentage points. He said progressive politics in the criminal justice system have “proved disastrous all across this country and as near as Philadelphia.

“You can just look at Philadelphia and understand failed criminal justice policies when they exist,” he said. “That’s as close as I’ll permit that type of agenda and that type of conduct to get to the people of Allegheny County, because as long as I have the honor of being district attorney, I won’t let that happen.”

That prompted applause from those gathered.

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Zappala also talked about protecting victims’ rights, the need for collaborative policing and outreach in the community.

“It’s time for law-abiding people and families to step up and be counted. This is a fight. There’s no question about it — for what’s right and what we believe,” he said.

Zappala addressed what he called a revolving door of people being arrested for violent crime, and then being released back into the community to commit additional crimes.

“Please make no mistake, we’ve changed everything about our criminal justice system since I’ve been here,” he said. “When police are properly funded, and they’re properly staffed and permitted to do their job, we will have a safer environment. We’ve demonstrated that, we can do that again, with the snap of our fingers.”

Among accomplishments Zappala said he has made in office, he noted that police departments may no longer file felony charges without getting permission from a prosecutor, as well as the growth of problem-solving courts such as mental health court, drug court and veteran’s court. All of those courts are designed to assist defendants in resolving their cases quickly and with support services available to them.

University of Pittsburgh law professor David A. Harris agreed that all of those policy changes and programs were improvements to the system.

But he also questioned Zappala’s handling of several high-profile cases in which police officers appear to have committed crimes but were not charged.

He specifically referenced an incident in October 2018 in which four undercover officers were involved in a brawl at Kopy’s bar on the South Side. None of the officers were charged by Zappala, and the U.S. Attorney’s office also declined to prosecute.

“That case stuck out to me as a failure,” Harris said. “This wasn’t a close one. That sent, I think, a terrible message. It reinforced the worst suspicions in the community and made them think they can act with impunity.”

Harris said that the office of district attorney is powerful, but it is just one role in the administration of the criminal justice system, which includes the mayor, police chiefs and the public.

Although it isn’t unprecedented for a district attorney to serve seven terms, Harris said, it is becoming less common as prosecutor’s office become more highly visible to the public.

“By itself, holding an office for a long time isn’t necessarily a bad thing,” Harris said. “But when there are issues and problems, the public is entitled to ask what’s being done to address these things. And if they’re not satisfied, people have a right to question it.”

Zappala, who was out of the public eye for several months in 2020 and 2021 and had not held a press event for even longer than that, spent about 30 minutes answering questions from reporters following the announcement.

He was asked repeatedly asked about the time he was absent, but he deflected those questions and said that he is in good health.

“I really don’t want to talk about my health. I feel great,” Zappala said. “If there’s an issue that comes up along the way that I can’t do the job, I’ll let you guys know.”

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