Stephen Baratta, a lifelong resident of Northampton County, with more than four decades of service to the community, seeks the Democratic nomination to serve as Northampton County District Attorney.

The Democratic primary will be May 16.

“We have a crisis with gangs, gun violence and controlled substances killing our youth; yet, the district attorney has no plan other than to wait in his office for law enforcement to arrest someone,” Baratta alleged. “It’s not enough. In today’s world, our district attorney needs to be active in the community, bringing education, community programming and creative use of governmental resources to protect and restore our community.”

A 1974 graduate of Bangor Area High School and a 1978 graduate of Lafayette College in Easton, Baratta attended Fordham University School of Law, completing his legal studies in 1981. He was admitted to practice law in Pennsylvania in 1981, when he began his private practice in Easton.

In his early years as an attorney, Baratta served the citizens of Northampton County in representing individuals in all types of civil, criminal and domestic relations matters.

In 1985, Baratta was appointed solicitor of the Northampton County Children and Youth and served as the solicitor of the Northampton County Department of Human Services in 1990. He said these roles allowed him to protect the most vulnerable and valuable members of the community.

In 1992, Baratta was appointed to be the first assistant district attorney for Northampton County. While there, Baratta said he was dedicated to pursuing equal, fair and effective justice with passion, perseverance and dedication to our community.

Baratta remained as Northampton County’s first assistant district attorney until he was installed as judge for the Northampton County Court of Common Pleas in 1997.

While on the bench, Baratta was elected president judge. In this role, Baratta created drug and alcohol and mental health problem-solving courts. Baratta was also the administrative judge of the juvenile court charged with overseeing the operations of the Northampton County Juvenile Justice and Treatment Center and served as the administrative judge to the domestic relations, criminal and custody courts, as well as the asbestos docket.

In his 25 years of service as judge, Baratta presided over civil and criminal trials. He said he earned a reputation for being tough but fair, always ensuring justice was equally administered and finding new, innovative solutions to improve Northampton County’s judicial system. He said he also worked to promote diversity, equality and inclusion within the courts.

To learn more, visit BarattaForDA.com.