Northeast Philly Rep. Jared Solomon is the latest Democrat to announce a run for Pa. attorney general

State Rep. Jared Solomon of Northeast Philadelphia will announce his campaign for Pennsylvania attorney general on Tuesday.

Solomon, a Democrat, told The Inquirer ahead of his announcement that as attorney general he would work against corruption and expand the mission of the office to focus on public safety and violence prevention.

“I want to really test the limits,” he said, to have “an all-encompassing view of safety.”

Solomon, 44, a former community activist and military lawyer, ousted 42-year incumbent former State Rep. Mark Cohen in 2016 to win his current seat. Cohen took more than $100,000 in taxpayer-funded expense reimbursements, and Solomon ran on a good-government platform.

Since then, Solomon has focused on government reforms and now chairs the House Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee. He was also chosen as a Democratic impeachment manager in the stalled, Republican-led effort to remove Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner from office.

Solomon is the fourth Democratic candidate to enter the open race to become the state’s top prosecutor, a position that’s often a springboard to higher office. Gov. Josh Shapiro resigned as attorney general after winning last year’s governor’s race, and Michelle Henry, his top deputy, replaced him but is not seeking election.

Former Auditor General Eugene DePasquale, Philadelphia’s former top public defender Keir Bradford-Grey, and former Bucks County solicitor Joe Kahn have announced that they’ll run in the Democratic primary. One Republican, York County District Attorney Dave Sunday, has announced a run, with several others expected to announce soon.

The state attorney general serves as Pennsylvania’s top prosecutor and can pursue criminal cases and investigate wrongdoing. During Shapiro’s tenure, he released a grand jury report on widespread sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Church and prosecuted Jehovah’s Witnesses for sexual abuse. He also investigated powerful companies, fought some of former President Donald Trump’s policies, and defended Pennsylvania’s election process.

Solomon said the job shouldn’t just be a law enforcement role, and wants to create a division that invests in antiviolence measures, like reducing blight.

“When you’re confronted with a neighborhood where crime is on the rise and opportunity is going down — which was the case in Northeast Philly — [Republicans think] the way to push back on that is to lock folks up,” Solomon said. “That simply doesn’t work. Of course we need enforcement, but what we also need is prevention. And the way that you do that is investing, believing and trying to partner with communities and neighbors.”

Solomon has a long list of people and companies he said he’d like to investigate as attorney general, including gun manufacturers, neglectful landlords, contractors who illegally dump in waterways, and “scammers and schemers” who swindle Pennsylvania consumers.

Solomon was raised in the Castor Gardens neighborhood of the Northeast before going to Swarthmore College and Villanova Law, working at an antitrust securities law firm, and becoming a lawyer for the U.S. Army Reserves. He said his mom, a special education teacher at a local elementary school, influenced his work ethic and inspired him to help people who are vulnerable.

He said he’s not afraid to stand up to power, noting that he was the first elected Democrat in 2019 to call for then-Philadelphia City Councilmember Bobby Henon’s resignation after he was indicted in a bribery case. Henon was later convicted and is now serving a three-and-a-half year federal prison sentence.

Solomon said his work to improve the Northeast would make him more appealing in a statewide general election over the other Democratic candidates.

“The story of Northeast Philadelphia is the story of rural Pennsylvania and many places where communities feel like their neighborhood has been left behind and forgotten about,” Solomon said.