The Union County district attorney position is being sought by attorneys Brian Kerstetter and Robyn Zenzinger.
The two prosecutors are vying for the Republican nomination in the May 16 primary and the opportunity to succeed D. Peter Johnson, who is retiring at the end of the year when his seventh, four-year term as DA ends.
Zenzinger is a first assistant district attorney in Northumberland County and Kerstetter serves as first assistant district attorney in Union County.
“I’ve focused my career on being a prosecutor,” said Zenzinger who during her 6 1/2 years with the Northumberland County DA’s office has secured more than 600 convictions.
Zenzinger, an East Buffalo Township resident, moved to Lewisburg in the 1980s with her parents and said she’s “rooted in the community” she wants to serve.
“I want to continue the strong relationship I have with law enforcement,” she said.
Kerstetter said he is the most experienced candidate with 23 years of experience practicing law, including 18 years as a prosecutor, and as a fourth-generation resident of Union County whose father, Ron Kerstetter, is a former Lewisburg police chief.
“I have three times the law enforcement experience and I’m already there (in the Union County district attorney office),” the Lewisburg resident said. “This is the job I was meant to do. Law enforcement is in my blood.”
Both Zenzinger and Kerstetter said they want to address the drug problem that is affecting residents not only in the Valley, but nationwide.
“It seems like every crime is tied in some manner to drugs. I want to tackle the epidemic head-on,” said Kerstetter of his approach that would include offering treatment to low-level users and prosecuting dealers. “There are a lot of motivated young law enforcement officers and I look forward to working with them.”
Zenzinger said she will work closely with victims of crime and will handle each case individually.
“I’m not crazy about plea offers unless it gets us to a point of justice,” she said.