A debate over leniency<\/p>\n
Dugan, a former Army reservist and military lawyer, served as a Municipal Court judge for 17 years, most recently as its president judge, until he quit in 2024 to run for DA. He was best known for his work establishing diversion programs, particularly a Veterans Court that offers rehabilitation and alternative sentencing options.\n<\/p>\n
However, when he launched his campaign<\/a> in December, he argued the city\u2019s justice system had tilted too far toward leniency and suggested a tougher approach to accused criminals was needed.\n<\/p>\n He proposed reorganizing the DA\u2019s office into regional divisions with prosecutors who worked directly with community members and victims, and said he would \u201chold all criminals accountable,\u201d while still strengthening diversion programs for nonviolent offenders.\n<\/p>\n Krasner attempted to label Dugan a \u201cright-wing judge\u201d aligned with President Donald Trump. Dugan dismissed the comparison, calling the president \u201ca nut\u201d<\/a> and suggesting during an election forum that the left-wing DA was like the president<\/a> in making unilateral policy changes.\n <\/p>\n Dugan raised more than $900,000 in campaign contributions<\/a>, much of it from labor unions who are part of the Philadelphia Building and Construction Trades Council, which endorsed his run. He far outstripped Krasner, who received about half a million dollars in donations.\n<\/p>\n As in Krasner\u2019s previous races, the city Democratic Party declined to endorse his campaign, but he swept the primary nonetheless, earning 64% of the vote to Dugan\u2019s 35%.\n<\/p>\n An unexpected rematch<\/p>\n There were no GOP candidates in the primary election, but Republicans eager to unseat Krasner organized a write-in campaign for Dugan and gave him about 7,000 votes, far more than enough to make him their nominee.\n<\/p>\n Dugan had said earlier that he would not run on a Republican ticket, but after his primary loss, he declined to rule it out and eventually reversed course.\n<\/p>\n \u201cI cannot stand by and allow Mr. Krasner\u2019s failed policies to continue to hold our city hostage,\u201d Dugan said. \u201cEvery Philadelphian has a real choice this fall, and I believe they will stand with me for common sense and safety.\u201d\n<\/p>\n That provoked angry condemnations from Krasner and top Democrats like Bob Brady, Philadelphia\u2019s party chair, who accused Dugan of lying and vowed to help the DA win re-election despite previously not supporting him over the years. Ryan Boyer, the influential leader of the Building Trades Council, said he was \u201cshocked\u201d and would switch his support to Krasner.\n<\/p>\n The rematch campaign for the general election was a muted affair; there were no debates, the two men raised little money and Krasner apparently held no campaign events.\n<\/p>\n Dugan posted a steady stream of social media videos attacking the incumbent and announced a last-minute endorsement by the Fraternal Order of Police<\/a>. He maintained that he would win if only a silent majority of Krasner critics made it to the polls.\n<\/p>\n