Patrick Dugan

for PHILADELPHIA DISTRICT ATTORNEY

Patrick DUGAN

After hours of work together over several weeks to interview, research, assess, and debate the full range of needs for the City of Philadelphia from a District Attorney’s Office – the 8th Ward voted decisively to endorse Judge Dugan for District Attorney. TO LEARN MORE about Judge Dugan and his plans if elected, read his website.

We asked BOTH candidates to tell us their answers to this question: if elected, how will you fulfill the role of DA to ensure that Philadelphia thrives BOTH (1) as a safe place to live, work, and visit, AND (2) as a national model for reforming criminal justice while protecting the rule of law?

In discussions with our Ward, Judge Dugan presented concrete plans for ramping up best practices in justice reform, while also shoring up core office competencies and collaborations to protect the people of Philadelphia from the impact of crime. He also affirmed his intentions to protect our city from authoritarian encroachments by President Trump, using all appropriate powers of the DA’s office. Judge Dugan was very clear that if he is elected as DA, he would continue his lifelong passion for progressive justice reforms, accountability for corrupt policing and prosecution, and building collaborations throughout the City and beyond. By endorsing Judge Dugan, our Ward rejects as false the binary rhetoric that Philadelphia must deprioritize community peace and safety in order to pursue progressive justice reforms.

We know that Judge Dugan is clearly the long shot underdog in this race; however, he presented us with a sound vision for breaking through this false binary. Judge Dugan, if elected, intends to pursue a path for achieving BOTH progressive justice reform AND community peace, safety, and accountability.

A Note of Context About Our Endorsement. Our Ward Committee has a half-century tradition of being open to, and rigorously assessing, every serious candidate in a Primary who seeks our support — whether they are a longtime incumbent, or an unknown challenger.

The 8th Ward endorsed our incumbent DA twice before: in 2017 and in 2021. In 2017, our Ward voted to endorse Larry Krasner after serious consideration of a strong field of candidates with prosecution experience. Many saw our 2017 endorsement as “risky,” because they could not imagine a lifelong criminal defense attorney as an effective chief prosecutor. Nevertheless, our Ward took a leap of faith because we fervently believed — as we do today — that our criminal justice system needed major structural reforms. In 2021, our Ward endorsed DA Krasner a second time, after raising with him our valid concerns about safety and violence across our City, and how the DAO was addressing them. We also considered the unprecedented havoc caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Ward voted decisively to endorse our incumbent a second term to have more time to strike the balance.

In 2025, the Ward again considered the DA candidates with open minds and rigorous thought. We had direct and honest deliberation about what is needed from the DAO for the good of our City. The needs that were voiced included: merciful justice; core mission competence in the office; rejection of mass incarceration; effective diversion programs that produce change; holistic approaches to reducing illegal activities that persistently impact our City; ability to collaborate with and stand up to elected officials and other stakeholders, as each moment requires.

Our Ward stands firmly with the mission to dismantle unfairness, brutality, structural racism, corruption, and mass incarceration in our criminal justice system. Indeed, we demand that any Philadelphia DA commit to pursuing that mission vigorously. AND, our Ward ALSO stands with victims, neighborhoods, businesses, and other stakeholders throughout the city who need peace, safety, justice, and basic accountability, for Philadelphia to thrive.

These should not be mutually exclusive “either/or” visions for any District Attorney elected to office. Whatever the outcome of this race may be, we need the winner to hear this message.