DA candidates file campaign finance reports before Tuesday’s election

Voters will take to the polls on Tuesday to decide who will be the next Lebanon County District Attorney in this year’s municipal general election.

In addition to this race locally, voters will elect school board members and other municipal directors. There is also a statewide retention vote for three incumbents on Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court, and the contested mayoral race in Lebanon city between incumbent Sherry Capello and challenger Cesar Liriano. 

Lebanon County’s 60 voting precincts open at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m on Tuesday, Nov. 4. (LebTown has included links here of all voting precincts, which are the same as last year’s election, for readers.)

Read More: Lebanon County polling places for the 2024 General Election

Read More: Lebanon County officials provide final update before Nov. 4 municipal election

LebTown asked both candidates for statements in advance of the election and examined their campaign’s fundraising efforts. Candidates have to file campaign reports periodically with the last deadline prior to the election falling in late October if they have campaign contributions. 

Incumbent DA Pier Hess Graf is running on the Republican ticket to retain the position while public defender Michael J. Light II is the Democratic challenger. Light, who is a registered Republican, received enough write-in votes during the May primary to run against Graf. 

Lebanon County voters put two-term incumbent Graf on the fall ballot for the GOP ticket by a more than 2:1 margin over challenger Light. Graf received 8,902 votes to Light’s 3,755 in the primary. 

In late May, the Lebanon County Elections Board unanimously approved Light to appear on the Democratic ticket after he received 263 write-in votes for that party’s nomination during the primary election on May 20. (Graf received 69 write-in votes on the Democratic ballot during the primary election.)

Read More: Lebanon County Elections Board votes to put Light on ballot for Dems in DA race

LebTown asked both candidates how their campaigns were progressing heading into the election and if they would make a statement as to why voters should vote for them.

Graf wrote in an email that, “My campaign has highlighted the reduction of crime in Lebanon County by approximately 30%, my 100% conviction rate in trials I personally handle, including murder trials under my watch and our work with ICE to deport illegal aliens that commit crimes.”

The crime reduction statement aligns with a June 2024 LebTown article that noted crime was down by 31 percent in Lebanon County, according to state data in 2023. However, at that time, Graf said during an interview for that article that violent crime was “maintaining their numbers or have gone up.” 

Read More: Lebanon County crime rates continue to drop, reflect state and nationwide trends

“Shootings, stabbings, robberies, those types of things, are all elevated, and sexual assault and child abuse is maintaining,” Graf said at that time. “What we saw is what I would say is a decrease in the more quote/unquote non-violent offenses but maintaining, if not a slight increase, in the violence-based offenses.”

LebTown asked Graf for an update on that statement but had not received a response as of publication.

Near the end of May, Light, who currently is the county’s senior assistant public defender, filed a petition with the elections board announcing his wish to be the Democratic nominee for district attorney in the general municipal election this fall after he received the required 100 minimum write-in votes in the primary election.

He provided the following statement after the county elections board approved him for the Democratic ticket: 

“I will be accepting that nomination. I really appreciate the Democrats who voted for me, definitely appreciate the Republicans who voted for me, and now I need to concern myself with the independents who, unfortunately, are not able to vote in primaries,” Light said in a telephone interview at that time.

Light said prior to the elections board that he had considered conceding the DA race to Graf but had a change of heart following a statement he allegedly overheard Graf make in Central Court. Lebanon County’s Central Court is held each Thursday with multiple cases coming before various district justices in the large auditorium of the county municipal building.

Light said he heard Graf saying she was headed to court to watch a local attorney “f*** up” his case. Graf told LebTown she did not make that comment, adding she did not speak with him that day.

Light did not return emails or calls seeking comment for this story.

Campaign contributions for county candidates

As of Oct. 30, Light’s reported campaign contributions were less than $250 while Graf had received just over $46,000 between June and the end of this month, including contributions received after the Oct. 20 reporting deadline, according to Lebanon County’s Easy Campaign Finance Portal.

Since Light’s contribution totals were less than the minimum threshold, he only filed a blank campaign finance statement. His statement shows no income from June 1 through Oct. 28 and about $900 in campaign expenses, mostly to advertise his campaign through the creation of signs. 

Conversely, Friends of Pier Hess Graf carried over $45,463.18 from June 10 and received $28,526.64 in cash contributions for a reporting period balance ending on Oct. 20 of $73,989,82. 

Late contributions noted on the 24-hour reporting forms that were not included in the Oct. 20 campaign statement report total $17,500 and are in a report dated Oct. 22. Those contributions include:

• Operators for Skill PAC – $10,000
• Cindy Shay – $5,000
• Amy Long – $1,000
• Bob Phillips – $500
• Creative Kitchen & cabinetry design – $500
• Dori Ann Noonan – $500

Some of the other top contributions through the latest reporting period prior to Oct. 20 include:

• Matt Haverstick, a Wynnewood-based attorney – $6,000
• William J. Shay III – owner, Shay Vending Service of Lebanon – $1,000
• Casey Long – a lobbyist with Long Nyquist – $1,000
• Joe Mesics – a Lebanon-based attorney – $1,000

Expenditures for the Graf campaign between June 10 and Oct. 20 were $52,232.89 for an ending balance of $21,756.93. The campaign also received an in-kind contribution of $8,758.47 from the Pennsylvania Republican Party during this period.

Political committee contributions during the June-October timeframe were: 

• Meuser for Congress – $2,000
• Friends of Chris Gebhard – $2,000 (two separate $1,000 donations)

Top campaign expenditures for this period include:

• $16,050 – Lebanon County Republican Committee ($15,000 and $1,050 contributions)
• Byler Golf Management – fundraiser event – $6,838.64
• Pier Hess Graf – six reimbursements – $6,480.18
• The Event Collective – campaign event – $5,683.37
• Insane Impact of Des Moines, Iowa – video trailer – $3,250

In other county races, incumbent sheriff Jeffrie Marley and incumbent Brian Craig, register of wills, are both running unopposed. 

Marley’s campaign form for this period showed a cash balance of about $4,500 and interest of $1.50 earned on funds in the Friends of Marley campaign account.

Craig told LebTown he did not raise any funds for his campaign so he did not have to file any campaign finance reports.

His last filing on the county’s reporting system is his petition to run for office in March. Candidates have the opportunity to sign a form saying they are not planning to raise funds and that makes them exempt from filing the periodic campaign finance statements.