Former Municipal Court President Judge Patrick Dugan is on a mission to save Philadelphia.
He had some strong words about his opponent in the May 20 Democratic primary, progressive incumbent Larry Krasner, during a Delaware Valley Journal podcast interview.
Asked why he’s running for district attorney, Dugan said, “Because I love Philadelphia, and I’m tired of having a do-nothing prosecutor who is unilaterally destroying the fabric and safety and tax base of the city of Philadelphia. He doesn’t care about victims, he doesn’t care about the law, and he doesn’t care about our citizens. Somebody has to step up (and) frankly, stop the insanity.”
Dugan has described his decision to challenge his fellow Democrat as a “get off the stoop” moment.
He recounted that when he was a young boy living in the Fairmount section of the city, his mother, Jacqueline Dugan, saw a boy “of color” on a bike being attacked by teenagers from the neighborhood.
“They catch him, and they pick up a board, one of those yellow boards from the barricades,” he said. The teens started to hit the kid on the bike with the board.
“My mother jumped off the steps as if she was some kind of athlete, ran down there, got in between the board and this kid that was riding the bike. She pushed away the older teenagers,” Dugan said. “She brought that kid over to our steps with his bike and sat there and waited for the police to arrive.”
“That’s exactly what I’m trying to do,” Dugan added. “I’m channeling my mother. She’s my hero in my life.”
Krasner, who is seeking a third term, claims Philadelphia is “safer and freer” than it was when he took office seven and a half years ago, citing statistics that show crime was down in 2024 and continues to be lower this year.
Dugan dismissed the idea that Krasner has been part of the solution, instead crediting Mayor Cherelle Parker and Commissioner Kevin Bethel.
“What’s happened is we have a mayor who is very active and a police commissioner, and they are working together.”
“Under Krasner’s watch, 3,000 people were murdered,” said Dugan. “The typical person who is murdered in our city happens to be men of color between 16 and 28. While it’s slowed down a bit, I hope and pray that the murder rate continues to go down. But for Larry to take credit for this is just crazy. It’s like him taking credit for the retail thefts (going down) after seven years of his policy that basically made retail theft legal in the City of Philadelphia.”
Many Wawas and drug stores have closed, the DV Journal noted. Dugan said he likes to get lunch from Wawa, but can’t because the convenience store closed its branches in Center City amid the crime wave.
Asked what changes he would make if elected, Dugan said, “The first thing, I’m going to do is I’m actually going to prosecute crime. I mean, imagine a prosecutor who is going to hold people accountable for breaking the law.”
At the same time, Dugan said he’s embraced diversion programs for first-time offenders and those struggling with addiction while on the bench.
“We would do a holistic-type of approach to people accused of crimes” to help them with substance abuse or mental illness or to find a job.
“But I would also hold the person accountable who is running around and shooting people,” he said. Under Krasner, “these folks are getting four, five opportunities before there’s a prosecution.”
Also, the assistant prosecutors in Krasner’s office have not had the training they need and are “losing at an incredible rate. They’re withdrawing up to 70 percent of the cases. It’s amazing how bad they are.”
Dugan promised to follow the evidence and prosecute individuals regardless of their wealth or political connections. He also said he’d prosecute those who try to tamper with our elections.
“And I don’t care if you are a Democrat, an independent, a Republican, a communist, or a Libertarian, if you’re going to break the law and it’s involving elections, I’m going to come hard at you. Because elections are the foundation of our nation.”
Dugan served in the Army and Reserves.
“I was a paratrooper and an infantryman in the 80s,” said Dugan. “And I served six years, and when I got out, I finished school with my GI Bill, got a law degree. Then 9/11 came, and I went back in. And it was to jump back into the fray because I was watching on TV young men and women in combat, and I knew that I had the skills as an older paratrooper, infantryman, to go over and help.”
He served in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“We were able to do some amazing things,” Dugan said.
