PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Pennsylvania Republican gubernatorial nominee Doug Mastriano held his first public campaign event in Philadelphia on Friday, participating in a town hall meeting in Hunting Park hosted by Latino businesses.
Mastriano came through the front door of the Deja Vu Social Club to a cheering crowd, walked up on stage, and identified himself in Spanish. He then focused much of his thoughts on crime and the city's ongoing gun violence crisis.
“People in this community and your families are being killed by drugs and murderers, and they’re being carjacked. This is insane. This is more dangerous than when I was in Kabul,” said Mastriano, a state senator from Chambersburg and a retired U.S. Army colonel who served in Afghanistan.
Mastriano promised Pennsylvania will become "a law and order state” with his victory.
In recent months, city leaders have lamented a shortage of police officers as a contributing factor to crime.
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Mastriano told the crowd that if elected, he will work to secure funding to recruit and hire more officers to patrol the streets.
“Philadelphia was where our nation was birthed, in 1776. It should be a hallowed place. It should be a place where people come to enjoy the heart and soul of the nation, but now it is a place of danger," he said. "And your kids are condemned to these dangerous areas here. You're not sure if your babies are coming home safe because of the lawlessness out there.”
Philadelphia is on pace for more than 540 homicides this year, according to city data. That's less than last year's record count, but would be 52% more than 2019.
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That jump in homicides has happened at a higher rate than many other U.S. cities. A study by the Council on Criminal Justice found that homicides in 29 large U.S. cities in the first half of 2022 are 39% higher than in the same time period in 2019.
Mastriano had harsh words for Democratic nominee Josh Shapiro, saying he “owns crime," as the senior law enforcement official in Pennsylvania.
“Josh Shapiro, he is a complete failure and we need to throw the bum out,” he said to a crowd of about 100 at the town hall.
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While Mastriano has tried to paint Shapiro as a progressive prosecutor akin to Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, there is a marked difference in their approaches. Notably, Shapiro supports strict prosecution of gun laws as Krasner's office has dramatically decreased seeking charges against non-violent offenders.
Mastriano allowed reporters into the town hall, a difference compared to many of his events this campaign season, but took no questions.
Outside the event, dozens of Shapiro supporters chanted in opposition.