'Hardworking,' 'dedicated,' 'honest': Meet your new district attorney

If you hadn't heard the name Kelley Hodge before last week, that's probably not an accident.

Hodge, elected Thursday by the Philadelphia Common Pleas Board of Judges to serve as the city's interim district attorney, has spent the bulk of her career in public service — not promoting herself.

Consider what John Delaney, the deputy district attorney in charge of the Trial Division, said Friday about the eight years Hodge spent working as city prosecutor.

"There are people who spend a lot of time talking about the work. She spent her time doing the work," said Delaney, who has been a prosecutor for 35 years and was once Hodge's supervisor.

Delaney recommended Hodge in 2011 for the position of Safe Schools advocate, a state post that oversees safety and security issues for teachers, staff, and students in the Philadelphia School District. Then-Gov. Tom Corbett appointed her to the post, which she held for nearly four years.

Delaney was also one of 14 applicants for the interim district attorney post. Hodge edged him in three rounds of voting, finally winning the post in a 43-38 vote. She'll be sworn in Monday.

"Forgive me, but she's low-key the way most good prosecutors are. I would never anticipate seeing Kelley at the Union League," said Leon D. Goodman, who spent almost 14 years in the District Attorney's Office, referring to the high-profile lifestyle maintained by disgraced former D.A. Seth Williams.

Goodman, a former homicide prosecutor, was a member of the office's hiring committee when Hodge arrived in 2004.

"I think she's the type of person who will restore integrity to an office that many of us care about and dedicated much of our professional careers to," Goodman said, adding that Hodge, while chief of the Municipal Court Unit, was adept at seeking out talent.

Hodge's first six years in the office were under District Attorney Lynne M. Abraham, who said Friday that "nobody knows her that well," but praised Hodge as "hardworking and dedicated" and a "decent human being in every respect."

Williams resigned last month, just before pleading guilty to accepting a bribe in a federal corruption case. He's now in the Federal Detention Center, awaiting sentencing in October. Hodge's last two years in the office were served under Williams.

Hodge, 45, a Democrat, will serve until the first week of January, when the next district attorney will be sworn in after winning the Nov. 3 general election.

Democratic nominee Larry Krasner, a defense attorney known for taking on civil rights cases, was out of town and unavailable for comment. Rich Garella, Krasner's campaign spokesman, said the nominee "wishes her well and looks forward to meeting with her."

Hodge did not publicly support a candidate in the May primary election for district attorney. Asked whom she voted for, she said: "I prefer to keep that private."

Beth Grossman, the Republican nominee and a 21-year veteran of the District Attorney's Office, worked with Hodge and predicts she will "bring a steady hand" to the office and restore a "sense of consistency," especially among the less experienced staffers.

Former Common Pleas Court Judge Renee Cardwell Hughes described Hodge as a perfect fit for an office that has been rocked by scandal at the top.

"She will bring a passion to the office, but she will also bring rock-solid administrative skills," Hughes said. "The D.A.s in the office will see that. She will put them on the right path."

Other attorneys interviewed Friday by the Inquirer and Daily News described Hodge as quiet, collegial, and a mentor, the kind of prosecutor who would call the supervisors of defense lawyers or public defenders when she spotted good work across the aisle.

"I think instantly, like from Day One, her 300 assistants are going to realize she's humble," said Richard L. DeSipio, a defense lawyer who worked in the District Attorney's Office with Hodge. "It's not going to be the Kelley Hodge show. It's going to be: What can we do together to make this better?"

Hodge's years as a public defender lend her a rare compassion for those accused of crimes, along with empathy for victims, DeSipio said.

"There are people who are labeled as criminals but are really good people who made a mistake," he said. "But if you have someone who's terrorizing a block and they're shooting at people, that person has to go to jail. Kelley recognizes that and says [in this case] my compassion and mercy has to go to the victim."

State Rep. Joanna McClinton, who was a Philadelphia public defender while Hodge was a prosecutor, lauded the judges' selection of Hodge, who she said is known as an honest, "stand-up person" who fights for victims.

"Spending seven years as a defender, you find out not every prosecutor is honest," McClinton, a Democrat, said. "I'm thrilled they chose someone who has a great reputation. And it's not just a reputation. It's real."

Starting in 2006, McClinton frequently crossed paths with Hodge, who will become the first black woman to lead the District Attorney's Office.

"Given how few African American women there are in the courtroom as attorneys, it's not uncommon for us to get to know each other professionally and, of course, socially," McClinton said.

Hodge lives in East Mount Airy with her husband, John, who works for the city as assistant to the director of finance, and their 9-year-old son. They also have a modest home in the Poconos on the grounds of Eagle Rock Resort in Hazelton, a gated community that offers golf, skiing, snow sports, swimming, and horseback riding. They paid $59,900 for the place 10 years ago. Hodge grew up in Montgomery County and went to high school at Mount Saint Joseph Academy in Flourtown. She's now a member of the school's board of directors.

As the city's Safe Schools advocate, Hodge was charged with being an independent watchdog and voice for victims of violence in city schools. Where her predecessors in the job had a higher profile, Hodge often flew under the radar. But she was regarded as effective and attentive to the students and families she was charged with protecting until 2015, when she left for the University of Virginia, where she worked on Title IX issues.

She also serves on the board of the Pennsylvania Innocence Project, which presents its mission as working "to exonerate those convicted of crimes they did not commit and to prevent innocent people from being convicted."

Howard Scher, the project's president, said that Hodge joined the board in January and that she has the perspective of seeing the criminal justice system from both sides.

Hodge started her legal career as a public defender in Richmond, where she worked for 6½ years after attending law school at the University of Richmond.

"By personality, she is very thoughtful and a good listener," Scher said. "I think she is a person who will develop a consensus."

Scher said Hodge will be taking a leave of absence from the group to avoid any conflicts of interests as a prosecutor.

"We hope she will come back," he said, "as soon as she's completed her public service."

Staff writers Nancy Phillips, Joseph Slobodzian, Kristen A. Graham, and Dylan Purcell contributed to this report.