by Alex Lloyd Gross
Larry Krasner is the District Attorney in Philadelphia Pa. During the spring primary, he beat challenger Pat Dugan, a former judge , but Dugan had a very impressionable showing and turnout was light. Light turnout also helped Krasner beat back his challenger Carlos Vega, four years ago.
During a primary, Democrats can only vote for Democratic Candidates and Republicans can only vote for Republican Candidates. in a general election, people can vote for whoever they want. Dugan, an independent Democrat, is able to appear on the ballot as a Republican due to a historic write-in effort undertaken by citizens across the city in the Primary Election; Dugan received over 6,000 write-in votes, a number unheard of in recent memory. Dugan also received the votes of more than 53,000 Democrats in the Primary Election.
During an interview last spring, Dugan blasted Krasner’s policies especially in retail theft. Currently, when someone steals say $100.00 of merchandise, they are not criminally prosecuted. “This encourages people to steal as there are no real consequences,” Dugans said. Krasner has amended his policy to allow for an Assistant District Attorney to prosecute as they see fit. This is a recent policy change and statistics are not available to see how much this has happened.
Dugan is a veteran is the US Army. In his press release, he said “Larry Krasner’s policies have brought chaos to our city with rampant lawlessness, open-air drug trafficking, and skyrocketing violence. He has virtually legalized shoplifting, tolerated illegal firearms, and turned a blind eye to the trafficking of women and the poisoning of our communities. He has abandoned countless crime victims. His lies, lack of integrity, lectures, and ‘let them loose’ philosophy have failed all of us.”
As he has as a Judge, Dugan pledges to “enforce the law fairly and equally for all, whether the defendant is a police officer or an average citizen. I will restore public safety and prosecute crime. I will not tolerate abuse of power from anyone – police or prosector. And I will be guided by what is in the best interest of every victim, every neighborhood and every resident of our city.”