Jan 22, 2015 2 min read

Washington County’s district attorney announced he will seek a second four-year term in office in this year’s election.

District Attorney Gene Vittone, 55, said he is circulating petitions to appear on the ballot in the May 15 primary as the Republican nomination for the office.

“It has been a tremendous privilege to serve all of the people of Washington County and not a day goes by that I am not humbled and honored to serve as district attorney,” Vittone stated in a news release.

Vittone, a Bentleyville resident, said he delivered “meaningful programs” to address the illegal prescription drug abuse problem in the county by collaborating with elected officials, school districts and others to raise awareness and promote the prevention of drug abuse. He said he also implemented programs to target low-level dealers and get them into treatment programs, while preventing a backlog of such cases in the court system.

Vittone also said he “revamped and re-energized” the county’s drug task force.

“My team at the drug task force has been instrumental in bringing charges in hundreds of serious cases across the county over the past three years and I am incredibly proud of their work.”

His office processed a record-setting 3,337 cases last year, and it managed to stay within its budget, he said.

“During my current term, our office has handled more than 12,000 criminal cases and over 2,000 juvenile cases. It is my hope that the voters will see that we are making tremendous progress and I hope they reward me with another four-year term so that we can continue with the hard important work that lies ahead,” Vittone said.