Philly DA candidates Larry Krasner and Patrick Dugan held a tense but relatively civil debate in West Philly

The race to become Philadelphia’s next top prosecutor headed to a West Philadelphia church Sunday afternoon, as District Attorney Larry Krasner and former Municipal Court Judge Pat Dugan squared off in a candidates forum that was occasionally tense but generally civil.

The event was not the same type of gloves-off affair that has unfolded at other forums in recent weeks, at which the two men often grew publicly frustrated with one another and sometimes resorted to name-calling.

Still, Krasner and Dugan, both Democrats, made clear that they have different views on how successful Krasner’s first two terms in office have been. And there were moments in which the men prodded one another.

Dugan, for instance, repeatedly sought to point out episodes in which judges have questioned or criticized Krasner’s office as lacking candor, while Krasner derisively referred to Dugan as having run “misdemeanor court,” and later suggested Dugan is “basically putting ambition ahead of fact, his own career ambition ahead of reality.”

The candidates spoke for about an hour in total, touching on subjects as varied as training, civil asset forfeiture, mental health, and building trust with the community. Their remarks came after more than a dozen judicial candidates made their pitch to voters at the same event, which was held at the Mt. Carmel Baptist Church.

Here are some notable responses from the portion of the event involving Krasner and Dugan.

One of Dugan’s central critiques of Krasner has been what he’s described as a lack of experience among lawyers in Krasner’s office. And he said several times Sunday that Krasner hasn’t sufficiently prepared his prosecutors to handle complex cases.

Dugan said when he was on the bench, he knew of instances in which younger attorneys hired by Krasner had sought out judges behind closed doors to admit that they weren’t sure what to do in the courtroom. He also referenced criticisms about inexperience and a lack of mentorship that some former employees have made publicly, and said dozens of lawyers that Krasner hired have already left the office behind.

“Are we going to have a new draft choice come in and not show him the playbook?” Dugan said. “That’s what’s occurred … since 2018.”

Krasner said that assertion was simply wrong — that new hires in his office get more training than had been offered under his predecessors. He also said turnover among his staff was not as bad or historically anomalous as Dugan suggested, and that he would release figures to show it. (He didn’t specify when or in what form.)

It was while defending his hires as “the best and the brightest” and “incredibly talented” that he took a swipe at Dugan’s old job, calling the judge’s assignment “misdemeanor court” and adding: “There’s a reason I did not include Judge Dugan in our training.”

One of the initiatives Krasner highlighted was his office’s work to overturn old convictions and free people from prison.

Prosecutors have done so more than 50 times since 2018, according to statistics published by Krasner’s office. And Krasner said Sunday that he was “extremely proud” of the office’s work on the issue.

“Our administration is considered a national leader in conviction integrity,” he said.

Dugan agreed that ensuring convictions have integrity is an important function of the District Attorney’s Office — and added that he would seek to add staff to that unit if elected.

But he was quick to point out Krasner has been publicly criticized by some judges for the way his administration has handled certain cases, including earlier this month, when a city judge imposed $120,000 in fines and rebuked Krasner’s office over the way it secured its first exoneration in 2018.

“We need to make sure now, as we’re looking at [potential exonerations], that we’re doing it properly as well as with ethics,” Dugan said.

Much of the discussion Sunday centered more on what each man had done previously, as opposed to what they might do if elected.

In addition to highlighting exonerations and his staff recruitment efforts, Krasner said he has sought to expand the use of diversionary programs, and would continue to seek out new approaches that could bolster law enforcement and public safety. He pointed out that the city is currently experiencing some of its lowest levels of gun violence in decades — a trend that has spanned several years after the city saw record-setting homicide and shooting totals during the pandemic.

“The whole point is to make people safer,” Krasner said.

Dugan, meanwhile, said he believed the crime reduction was due more to the city’s new mayor and police commissioner, not Krasner. And he highlighted his work helping to create and oversee the city’s Veterans Court, bolstering mental health services within the courts, and helping develop the court’s Eviction Diversion Program.

“I’m a diehard Democrat who believes in second chances, and I’ve done it,” he said.