OC NextGen and Syracuse CR's Host DA's Todd Spitzer and Bill Fitzpatrick

Earlier this month, two CRA chapters on opposite sides of the country got the opportunity to host their local District Attorneys to talk about safety, criminal justice, and a wide range of issues about how students can help their communities.

The Syracuse College Republicans hosted the Onondaga County’s District Attorney William Fitzpatrick, a 1974 graduate of Syracuse University. He has served in the DA’s office for 45 years and has been the District Attorney in Onondaga County since 1992. In his time as DA he received many awards, including New York State DA’s Association Prosecutor of the Year award in 2003, and NYS Bar Association Outstanding Prosecutor in 2005

“We are incredibly happy with our most recent event, which saw Onondaga County DA Bill Fitzpatrick come in and speak to the club. Mr. Fitzpatrick, a republican in a blue city, spoke at length about his approach to criminal justice, drawing on his decades of experience. He also spoke out against recent leftist criminal justice reforms, like bail reform, explaining their negative second order effects on the common good.” said  John Parker, president of the Syracuse CR’s and Communication Director for CRA, about the event. Members also had the chance to shake hands and speak one-on-one with the DA Parker reported.

On the other side of the continent, the Next-Generation Republicans, a group of the College Republicans from Chapman University. CSU Fullerton. University of Irvine, and Orange Coast College, hosted DA Todd Spitzer, the Orange County District Attorney since 2018. He previously worked as a Deputy DA from 1990-1996, Assistant DA from 2008-2010, a member of the California State Assembly from 2002-2006 representing California's 71st Assembly District,  and was the Outstanding Prosecutor by the Orange County District Attorney's office in 1994.

John Gaita, Southern Representative to the California CR’s, said “I think that he [Todd Pritzer] was a great speaker because of his emphasis on the youths' need for education. It was also great to hear from one of our Republican leaders about solutions to the rising cost of living and high gas prices, which is discouraging to the people of our generation from continuing to live here.”

Other students echoed similar sentiments, saying DA Pritzer’s talk was very informative on topics not just related to criminal justice, but also on issues that pertain to the student’s lives and futures. Kyle Strelecki, a student in the NextGen network, said that he liked how Todd Pritzer encouraged them to “think about our future plans now, like how to afford a house, and to truly take it seriously about what ways to help your own community.”