Democrats James P. Epstein, Mercer County district attorney, and Bill Romine, county sheriff, announced they are running for re-election as a team.

The district attorney's office represents the people of Mercer County in all phases of the criminal justice system.

Under Epstein's direction, the office has kept the criminal case docket current, despite an ever-expanding caseload, including prosecuting a record number of DUI offenses last year.

The office is on call around the clock, Epstein said, to respond to the scene of all major crimes and all homicides.

Epstein served as project director for Operation Weed and Seed, a cooperative effort involving the state, county, Sharon, Farrell and civic groups.

He also helped to create Operation Daylight/Nightlight, which allows juvenile probation officers to more closely supervise children on probation, and allows schools to address chronic truancy.

Epstein said he also joined Sharon Regional Health System, UPMC Horizon, Grove City Community Hospital, AW/ARE and the Mercer County Chiefs of Police in creating a Sexual Assault Response Team, which ensures that victims are assisted by a trained team of professionals, including certified nurse examiners and a counselor.

The sheriff's authority is vested in commissioned deputies and non-commissioned support staff. The office is empowered to enforce the criminal law and traffic code. The sheriff also enables civil litigation to proceed by serving civil process and performing other statutory and court-related duties, such as writs of execution. The sheriff is also responsible for the issuance of personal-protection firearm licenses.

Under Romine's direction, the sheriff's office has assigned uniformed deputies in marked patrol vehicles to enforce court orders, serve civil process and arrest warrants, enforce major violations of the vehicular code and provide an additional deterrent to criminal activity.

Deputies also help townships and municipalities when their departments are faced with unusual crimes or natural disasters. Deputies also provide security for the courthouse and transport prisoners to and from court, prisons and regional lockup.

Epstein and Romine said they've worked together on several projects, including fighting for more county jail space, garnering support and funding for a new county prison, creating a joint detective unit to investigate official wrongdoing at every level of government and to provide assistance to local police in major cases.

Epstein, who lives in Hermitage with his wife MaryAnne, is a 1968 graduate of Sharon High School, and received degrees from Westminster College and the University of Pittsburgh. He was first elected district attorney in 1988. He is a chairman of the MCAR Human Rights Committee and a board member and treasurer of the Prince of Peace center.

Romine, who lives in Greenville with his wife Stephanie, is a 1964 graduate of Greenville High School and received degrees from Youngstown State University, the Deputy Sheriff Training Academy and served in the Army. He was first elected sheriff in 1988. He is also a board member of the Prince of Peace center and ERASE.