Montgomery County Commissioner Bruce L. Castor Jr. has endorsed Lance Rogers for the vacant 17th District seat in the Pennsylvania Senate.

Castor, who served two terms as Montgomery County District Attorney, also took some shots at Rogers' opponent, state Rep. Daylin Leach.

Rogers, a moderate who was an independent before he won the Republican nomination in April, is facing Leach, one of the most liberal members of the Pennsylvania House, in the race to succeed Sen. Connie Williams, who is not seeking re-election.

The Republican Party has an opportunity to add to its majority in the state Senate by picking up this traditional Democratic seat. And the seat Leach is giving up in the House, the 149th District, will likely go to Lynn Lechter, a Republican.

Here is Castor's endorsement:

As Montgomery County Commissioner and former District Attorney, I have closely followed the races for Pennsylvania State Senate in our region. One race in particular has captured my attention due to the back and forth between the candidates on an issue that is of great importance to law enforcement. The issue is Pennsylvania's DUI law and I am writing to set the record straight. Lance Rogers is correct. Daylin Leach did attempt to weaken our DUI law in 2003.

In 2003, I worked with other District Attorneys throughout the Commonwealth to craft amendments toughening Pennsylvania's DUI law to help make our streets safer. Our legislation proposed a zero tolerance policy for illegal drug use by drivers. Specifically, the legislation provided that any driver caught with illegal drugs, e.g., cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, LSD, etc., in their bloodstream would be required to serve a mandatory minimum 7 day jail sentence.

Our legislation was ultimately approved, making it illegal in Pennsylvania to drive a motor vehicle after using illicit drugs. The law, however, was not without its critics. On July 7, 2003, State Representative Daylin Leach proposed an amendment which would have destroyed our zero tolerance standard by making it legal for drivers to operate a motor vehicle while they had been using illegal drugs. When introducing his amendment, Mr. Leach stated that he felt that the zero tolerance standard went too far and was unfair. Not surprisingly, Mr. Leach's amendments engendered criticism from both his Democrat and Republican colleagues. He consequently withdrew his proposal. I reviewed a word for word transcript of the House proceeding where Mr. Leach attempted to weaken our bill. That transcript is part of the public record for all to see.

Mr. Leach's claims that he authored legislation which actually strengthened Pennsylvania's DUI law is false. His proposed amendment would have eliminated Pennsylvania's zero tolerance standard and would have weakened Pennsylvania's DUI law by making convictions far more difficult to obtain. It is not surprising that my law enforcement colleagues from the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) have chosen to withdraw their previous support for Mr. Leach and endorse Mr. Rogers.

Instead of directly addressing these facts, Mr. Leach claims that Mr. Rogers has engaged in negative campaigning. As a former District Attorney, I can tell you that Pennsylvania's zero tolerance policy plays an important role in making our streets safer. I am relieved that Mr. Leach's amendment was not adopted. Voters need and deserve to make an informed decision in this race and there is nothing negative about informing voters of a candidate's true record.

Bruce Castor
Montgomery County Commissioner
Former Montgomery County District Attorney

For more on Lance Rogers, visit his campaign Web site, http://www.lancerogers.com/