Centre DA reelection not a lock... thank God

◊ When current Centre County DA Michael Madiera runs for reelection this fall, he'll finally have to prove that he's up for the job. Fortunately for those of us who enjoy a fair justice system, another challenger has emerged for this year's election, former Clearfield County assistant DA Stacy Parks Miller.

"Fairness is honestly the most important pledge I can make," she said. "I don't see why students should be treated differently than residents."

Holy cow, what a concept! Parks Miller will face Anthony De Boef and J. Karen Arnold in the Democratic Primary, while Madiera should remained unchallenged in his Republican bid.

Madiera has faced considerable scrutiny for his hardline approach to prosecuting Penn State students, particularly football players, with many of the charges being thrown out by judges. He's also a huge douchebag. I'll let David Jones' reporting illustrate my point:

"Madeira can gain favor with his conservative constituency, ostensibly the townies and rural county residents who may resent what they perceive as a liberal university with whom they are not associated, and possibly rally them on his behalf when election time rolls around... Madeira is indeed an ultraconservative by any definition. His bachelor's degree came from the reactionary Bob Jones University, a school that treats alcohol consumption as grounds for dismissal, did not admit African-American students as late as 1975, and until eight years ago forbade interracial dating." [ed.-emphasis added]

A conservative trying to pit "us" versus "them," now there's something we never see. I don't quite understand the theory that unless you're directly employed by Penn State, or attend the school as a student, you're not associated with the university. I would love to see how well central Pennsylvania's socioeconomic profile would be doing right now if Penn State never existed. Reckon State College would have them there two fancy Wal-Marts? I don't think so.

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