Why I am Running For Judge

      Veritas, Unitas, Caritas. These powerful Latin words form the foundation of my education.  As I donned my cap and gown and prepared to graduate from Villanova University, I emblazoned these words on the outside of my cap to remind me of the Mission.  Truth, Unity and Love.

     In 1993, I met Father Ray Jackson in Villanova’s Center for Peace and Justice. Father Ray inspired me and others to look inside ourselves, and be inspired to do more.  The Center’s mission was to search for peace and social justice through education. But the bumper sticker on Father Ray’s car was much more powerful and succinct: “If you want peace, work for justice.” 

      Those words struck me.  Peace cannot be achieved on its own.  To get peace, you must work for it. And what better way to work for it than to become an agent of justice, I thought.  After all, the legal system is the world’s purveyor of justice, I believed. 

     Following my undergraduate education at Villanova, I went on to law school with an eye towards Father Ray’s bumper sticker slogan.  For the last two decades, I have dedicated and re-dedicated myself to the core foundations of justice in representing the less fortunate, the indigent, people with disabilities, as well as oppressed and underserved communities.  I was inspired to carry out the Center’s mission by effectuating change, by engaging in social justice issues on both a structural and grassroots level.  By serving on various non-profit boards and championing civil and human rights, I felt closer to achieving justice. While working for justice, I believed my career was a righteous path.

     But it was not until I spent a week at the U.S./Mexico border helping reunite migrant children where I saw, firsthand, the unbelievable need for justice for those seeking shelter and refuge in our country.  The shear suffering and desperation of families separated at the border by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents was unspeakable.  Seeing children, babies, in metal cells and barbed wire, was a stark reminder that my life’s work for justice was nowhere near finished.  When I returned from this missionary trip, I was invigorated to run for local public office.  So, I ran and in 2019, I was elected to public office in Whitpain Township where I continue to serve on the Board of Supervisors.

     Through my lived-experiences, I reconfigured my sense of justice and began focusing on giving all I could back to my community. It is with this foundation that I hope to do more, to work for justice as a jurist.  To be able to give back to the community that gave so much to me.  Veritas, Unitas, Caritas.  Truth, Unity and Love.  These are the words I live by which form the basis for peace and social justice which I hope to continue if I am fortunate enough to ascend to the bench.

      I hope you will consider supporting my lifelong mission.

     With deep appreciation,

     Jeff