PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The former president judge of Philadelphia Municipal Court on Tuesday announced he's running for district attorney against incumbent Larry Krasner.
Judge Pat Dugan sat in Municipal Court for 17 years—and that, he says, gave him a front row seat to the impact of Krasner's policies. About two-thirds of cases are never tried, he said, and plea deals leave some victims without justice.
He gave the example of a shop owner who was shot with an AK 47 and who must now use a wheelchair.
“The deal that was given to the defendant was 3 1/2 years incarceration,” Dugan said. “For a weapon of war on the streets of Philadelphia. For a business owner out there minding his own business.”
Such criticism has been common throughout Krasner's seven years in office, but so has praise for his conviction integrity unit, which has exonerated some 40 defendants, and his lenient approach to low-level offenses. He was overwhelmingly re-elected in 2021.
Dugan has the advantage of being endorsed by the construction trades. He announced his candidacy at the headquarters of the Pennsylvania Building & Construction Trades Council.
And he has his own record of progressive advocacy. He is perhaps best known as the founder and chief judge of Veterans Court, which diverts former service members accused of low-level crimes to treatment programs and other alternatives. It is one of the city’s first such diversion programs.
Dugan says he's been disappointed in Krasner.
“When Larry won seven years ago, I'll be honest with you, I was excited. And I said to D.A. Krasner, 'We can do these programs on steroids.' And frankly, he's been nothing but an obstructionist to some of these diversion programs.”
But Dugan's harshest criticism was for Krasner's handling of serious criminal cases—which he Dugan says get dealt down to minor sentences—and his failure to prosecute retail thefts less than $500 in value.
“These are some policies that we just can't tolerate. How can we have a prosperous city if our stores are closing? We're losing Macy's, and I'll tell you what, look at the retail theft that occurred in Macy's and that had to come into play.”
Dugan promises a balanced approach: “We will enforce the law but with empathy, fairness—and when it needs to be tough, we will be tough.”
Dugan says his toughest challenge in the race is low turn-out. He urged voters to mark their calendars for the primary on May 20.
Krasner's campaign declined to comment. He's not yet made his re-election announcement, but he has argued that the city has become safer. Dugan gives Krasner zero credit for that.