Man of the Year - Steve Toprani

STEVE TOPRANI The Weekly Recorder’s 2007 MAN OF THE YEAR

December 14, 2007

Washington-As the year started, 2007 seemed likely to be the year of Pettit. But one man was brave enough to stand up and say enough is enough, one man was strong enough to say I will do it, when others were unwilling and unable to be heard, that man was Steve Toprani.

The young man from Monongahela bravely decided to fight the darkness that had descended upon this county and in so doing has given many of here hope for a better future.

Yes, the election of 2007 was a once in a lifetime experience, a moment in time when the people of Washington County were able to be heard and say “Enough is Enough”. But to do so they needed a symbol, a man that they could put their support behind and Steve Toprani was that man.

There is no greater contrast than to compare our previous men of the year, John Pettit, the man that Toprani ousted, Mickey Flynn, who was finally convicted of his illegal activities, and Judy Fisher who was defeated at long last.

Yes, Toprani is a breath of fresh air compared to the previous rogues gallery for our men of the year. This young man is the genuine article, a kind human being that actually cares about the job he does.

When we interviewed him this week at his provisional office, one is immediately struck by the amount of work that he and his supporters are doing without pay. Think about, instead of sitting at home waiting to take office, Steve Toprani and his team are working hard already to insure that the District Attorney’s office does not fall apart in the wake of Pettit’s troubles with the federal government.

While sitting there I was able to spy the fact that Toprani is already writing and preparing to implement written policies for hiring and employee behavior. This is in sharp contrast to the 24 years of Pettit’s no written policy.

But Toprani admitted that he is having problems preparing due to the issues surrounding the office. One of the main stumbling blocks is the fact that no one has any idea what the budget for the office is. The reason is that Pettit has not submitted an actual budget in years according to Toprani.

Toprani has a series of modernization plans for the office “New software, and computers”. Toprani’s aggressive plan will be detailed more next week in our newspaper, but he did assure of one thing “I will not be spending more money.... I am a Republican afterall”.

In fact, Toprani’s comment of being a Republican was reassuring to many of those members of the Republican party that have invested in his election. While there are rumors that he might switch parties, his quip stopped that question in its tracks.

With his faithful sidekick, Steve Fischer at his side, Toprani is preparing to reform the Drug Task Force and make fighting drugs are real priority for the D.A.’s office.

As part of his reform movement, Toprani is expected to make major changes in the personnel of the office. He is under increased pressure from supporters to “clean house” but Toprani seems to be taking a more systematic approach. He has consistently stated that he will keep those that “share his vision”.

Our meeting was cut short as he had to rush to his morning meeting with the county detectives, a busy day for a man that was not even in office yet. But yet another sign of the type of man that Toprani has been and hopes to remain. A hard worker, a man that hopefully will never forget that he was elected by a county that believed in him and hoped that he could end the scourge of drugs that plagues our streets.