Rising concerns about public safety in Scranton have become a central flashpoint in a closely watched congressional contest, as Mayor Paige Cognetti campaigns to unseat freshman GOP Rep. Rob Bresnahan Jr. in Pennsylvania’s 8th District.
According to Fox News, local reports of violent incidents — including multiple homicides in early 2024 and a police officer who survived a gunshot wound to the head — have fueled debate in the politically competitive region, where control of the seat could help shape the balance of power in Washington.
Cognetti has rejected claims that crime is surging, pushing back during a 2025 mayoral debate when confronted with statistics cited in the New York Post.
“You can go to the actual crime database; you can check those stats online and see that crime is in fact not spiking in the City of Scranton. You can see by every single type of incident what that looks like,” she said, adding that the newspaper is “not a crime database.”
Her past comments on policing have also resurfaced during the campaign. In a 2020 interview, Cognetti said she would like to see a future where officers no longer need firearms.
“I do want to get to a point where we don’t have to worry about any officers having holsters or guns in them. That is ideally where we get in our whole country,” she said, while noting there are law-abiding gun owners, including members of her own family.
During a 2024 television interview, she acknowledged the city’s homicide figures were “stark” but argued they remain “relatively low compared to unfortunately what some cities suffer.”
Her campaign says the mayor has invested heavily in public safety, expanding the police force, adding new patrol vehicles with updated technology, and deploying hundreds of cameras across the city.
“Mayor Cognetti has expanded the police force and put new cops on the beat, added 51 new police vehicles equipped with smart technology to enhance officer safety and target criminals, and deployed hundreds of citywide cameras to make our streets safer,” a spokesperson said. “In Congress, Paige will continue to stand with our brave law enforcement officers and fight for more funding for local police across Northeastern Pennsylvania.”
Bresnahan’s campaign has made crime a key line of attack. Campaign manager Peter Brath said the mayor “has repeatedly shown a stunning disregard for the safety of her constituents, including the very law enforcement officers sworn to protect them.”
“She downplays rising gang violence and murders, wants to disarm the police, and was recently caught partying in New York City just days after the brutal machete murders of two women and a service dog devastated the community,” Brath said. “Time and again, Mayor Cognetti refuses to get her priorities straight. The people of Scranton deserve better.”
Scranton’s political stakes mirror broader dynamics across Pennsylvania, where several congressional districts remain evenly divided and could prove decisive in upcoming elections.
