DV Journal

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.

Dr. Val Arkoosh, chair of the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners, is suspending her campaign for Senate, saying her top priority is seeing a Democrat win the soon-to-be-open seat.

“We cannot let anything stand in the way of a Democrat being elected to the U.S. Senate,” Arkoosh said in a video statement released Friday. “The stakes are just too high. And it’s become clear to me that the best way I can ensure that happens is to suspend my campaign today and commit to doing whatever I can to help ensure we flip this Senate seat in November.

“My name may not be on the ballot, but make no mistake, I will still be fighting every day to help win this election,” Arkoosh added.

Two-term incumbent Republican Pat Toomey is not seeking re-election in November.

Previously, Arkoosh told the Delaware Valley Journal she was running for the Senate because she considered herself a “problem solver.”

“I hope to take that same problem-solving attitude to Washington,” Arkoosh said.

Now she will be keeping her problem-solving skills in Montgomery County, where she chairs the Board of Commissioners.

Jeff Jubelirer with Bellevue Communications Group said he was surprised Arkoosh had not gained more traction, given that it is a Democratic primary and she is the only woman in the campaign’s top tier.

Financial records show Arkoosh raised just $2.6 million for her campaign by the end of 2021, while competitor Lt. Gov. John Fetterman had $12 million.

Fetterman’s campaign also released a poll showing his support at 46 percent among Democratic voters, followed by Congressman Conor Lamb at 16, state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta at 12, and Arkoosh at only 4 percent.

“I think the wild card for Montgomery County is Connor Lamb,” said Joe Foster, chair of the Montgomery County Democratic Committee. “The question is how successful has he been in establishing himself as a viable candidate among the voters here but also among the Democratic committee itself. I think Malcolm will do well among the committee and Fetterman will also do very well among the committee. We’ll have to see what Connor Lamb does.”

In her statement, Arkoosh expressed gratitude for the support she received.

“I want to thank my supporters and express my gratitude for all we accomplished. We helped make sure issues like abortion rights and climate change were part of the conversation around flipping this critical seat. We earned support in every corner of the Commonwealth, with more than 40 local endorsements behind this campaign. And importantly, we used each day of this campaign to hold Republicans, like Dr. Oz, to account – for spreading misinformation about COVID-19, undermining our democracy by denying the results of the 2020 election, and opposing policies that will help Pennsylvania families like the Child Tax Credit and bipartisan infrastructure law. That work remains so important. And it will continue today, tomorrow, and the next day.

“I will still be fighting every day to help win this election,” Arkoosh assured her fellow Democrats. “There’s too much at stake. I said from the beginning we would build a campaign about Pennsylvanians and for Pennsylvanians, and I will keep fighting for Pennsylvanians each and every day.”

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