District Attorney Has No Reservations About Stepping Down

Bucks County District Attorney David Heckler recently was moving boxes in the makeshift home office in his dining room. Out of curiosity, he opened one old box and found a list of things he wanted to accomplish in his career in politics.

“I’ve finished everything I’ve set out to do,” he said. “I’m out of ideas.”

Heckler announced Thursday that will be stepping down next month to retire, leaving about a year-and-a-half remaining on his term that is set to expire in January 2018.

“I think it’s time for some of the younger people to step up.”

In his absence, First Assistant District Attorney Michelle Henry will lead the office until the county’s judges can appoint a replacement to fill out the rest of Heckler’s term.

The outgoing district attorney said Henry and the rest of his staff are well prepared to operate the office once he retires. He said Henry, who served as interim district attorney after Diane Gibbons moved from leading the office to become a judge last decade, is well-versed in the day-to-day of the office and is always prepared in case he “fell off the twig unexpectedly.”

While Heckler is aging, he said he still walks up the three sets of steps from his 1990-era Toyota Supra everyday to his office in the Bucks County Justice Center in Doylestown.

His retirement isn’t just about age but about letting new leadership step in after his nearly two terms. Heckler said he is confident his staff will continue to be successful.

Recalling one new hire and her strength skills in the courtroom, Heckler compared the district attorneys and county detectives to the 1927 Yankees, a team which grew acclaim for their strength and skills on the ballfield.

“It’s like how you can’t pitch around Babe Ruth because Lou Gehrig is next,” he said. “You can’t pitch around anyone in this office.”

“Name any of the prosecutors, and they have confidence and serious chops.”

In the next election, Heckler said he expects Chief of Prosecution Matt Weintraub to run for the district attorney’s seat and fully supports him. Weintraub was not immediately available for comment because he was out of the area.

Heckler said he’ll cherish the people he works with the most. “In stressful times, you bond with the people you work with,” he said.

The district attorney served as an assistant district attorney for seven years in the 1970s, worked for the state district attorney’s association, was elected to the state legislature multiple times and eventually was elected the county’s top law enforcement official in 2010.

Heckler is known for showing up at major crime scenes and said he finds breaking investigations the most interesting. “You walk in a home and find someone in the corner with their head bashed in. We investigate and have the evidence for an impressive case within 48 hours,” he said.

Heckler has made headlines in recent years for leading the Pennsylvania Task Force on Child Protection. The group ended in 2012 and was formed by then-Gov. Tom Corbett to examine and work to implement changes relating to reporting, dealing with and prosecuting child abuse.

After leaving office, Heckler plans to take some time to work on himself. He first plans to eat better, take more walks, lift some weights and “make a new Heckler.” With no post-office employment plans, he also needs to get some regular maintenance done to his Toyota Supra, the tiny car the big-framed district attorney is known for arriving to a crime scene in.

“It has 150,000 miles and I’m going to clean it up,” Heckler said. “Maybe I’ll take it up to the Pacific Northwest. We’ll see.”