Former Municipal Court Judge Pat Dugan will take on two-term Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner in the Democratic primary for the city's top prosecutor job on May 20. With no Republicans running in this year's election, this race will likely decide the winner ahead of the November general election.
Dugan, a U.S. Army veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, spent 17 years on the bench in municipal court after he was first appointed by former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell in 2007. On the campaign trail, he has said he left the bench to make the city safer and address a "steep decline" in key functions of the DA's office under Krasner.
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"I'm going to all corners of the city, and I believe that there is Krasner fatigue," Dugan said in an interview last week. "Many people come up to me and tell stories about how upset they are with some of the policies with the DA's office."
Dugan knows it will be an "uphill battle" to defeat a two-term incumbent, but he said he's optimistic that his message is resonating with voters. Krasner, a reform-minded progressive who has rankled Republicans since his rise to the DA's office in 2017, easily won a Democratic primary challenge from former prosecutor Carlos Vega in 2021 and then cruised past Republican Chuck Peruto, a high-profile defense attorney, that November.
"I believe that the other opponents of Larry Krasner in the past have conceded some of his strong areas," Dugan said, touting his push to connect with Black voters and capture liberal strongholds in Center City. The Philadelphia Democratic Party has not endorsed a candidate, leaving Dugan and Krasner to compete for backing from city ward leaders.
Dugan has attacked the integrity of the DA's office under Krasner, claiming convictions have fallen because prosecutors are unprepared to try cases and charges are too often withdrawn.
"I would reach out to the private sector to bring in some seasoned trial attorneys, DAs from other counties and national trainers to come in train on how to handle a case," Dugan said. "We would go back to bootcamp 101 for attorneys."
Dugan contends Krasner has failed to establish balance in the DA's office, prioritizing criminal justice reform and reducing mass incarceration at the expense of public safety. He has criticized Krasner's former policy to make retail thefts under $500 summary offenses instead of prosecuting those cases. Krasner reclassified retail theft crimes earlier this year, leveling higher level charges for organized crime and repeat offenders, but Dugan claims the damage to the city's business community has already been done.
"Nobody was ever held accountable for them. Store owners had to eat the losses," Dugan said. "That's why stores have left us. Rite-Aid is going to leave us. Macy's left us. Wawa invested $100 million in Center City and their nine stores are closed in Center City."
In the years since the COVID-19 pandemic, when homicides spiked in Philadelphia and cities across the United States, Krasner's office has touted major declines in fatal and non-fatal shootings that outpaced progress in much of the country. Still, Dugan said too many illegal gun possession cases are not prosecuted before violent crimes take place. He also said the DA's office has not been aggressive enough in pursuing economic crimes and illegal dumping cases.
Dugan praised the work of Krasner's conviction integrity unit, which has exonerated more than 50 wrongfully convicted inmates since 2018, and said he supports restorative justice efforts that give offenders second chances. He cited his municipal court record in specialty courts for veterans, people battling addiction and those who commit misdemeanors, and said he hopes to expand such programs if he's elected.
"It's a holistic type of approach to criminal justice," Dugan said. "We peel the layers of the onion away, besides the allegation, to find out what else is going on your life that you need help with – substance abuse, mental health treatment, do you need help with a job, with education?"
Dugan and Krasner have participated in several forums and held their first public debate last week on WURD radio after several other opportunities were scuttled due to competing campaign demands. When Krasner accused Dugan of plotting to run as a write-in Republican in November if he loses this month, Dugan affirmed he is Democrat and said he would not embrace Republican voters mounting a GOP challenge. Krasner also questioned Dugan's 2013 court decision to acquit a police officer who was caught on video punching a woman at a parade.
Dugan said his core message to voters is restoring balance at the DA's office.
"My philosophy is the DA's office can walk and chew gum at the same time," he said. "We can do restorative, rehabilitative-type justice with second-chance programs and at the same time hold people accountable."
