No screen time: Philly DA race goes on without televised matchup

The topic of debates has turned into a bit of tit-for-tat in the race for Philadelphia District Attorney, which may result in both Democratic candidates failing to meet on live television. 

Challenger Patrick Dugan’s campaign says incumbent Larry Krasner’s lack of participation in a Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists event and failure to commit to other televised debates were the key factors in his decision to opt out of Tuesday night’s debate on WHYY. 

Tuesday night’s forum, hosted by WHYY News, the Committee of 70, and the Philadelphia Bar Association, was scheduled to be the first televised and third live meeting between the two candidates, with Krasner and Dugan’s campaigns agreeing to the event in March. 

But in an email to Krasner’s campaign and multiple debate organizers, Dugan’s campaign manager, Daniel Kalai, wrote that his candidate is standing with PABJ and would only participate in the WHYY forum if Krasner also agrees to the other televised debates hosted by CBS3 and Fox29. 

“Judge Pat Dugan will continue to stand in solidarity with Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists, WURD and will not attend the WHYY radio event,” Dugan said in a statement. 

“Judge Dugan has the utmost respect for the organizers of the WHYY event including the Philadelphia Bar Association, Committee of 70, and League of Women Voters. This will be the first, last and only invitation our campaign will respectfully decline.” 

Dugan, a retired Municipal Court judge and former Army paratrooper, has positioned himself as a less extreme alternative to Krasner. 

The two previous meetings between Dugan and Krasner turned heated at times, with Krasner questioning Dugan’s political affiliations during a West Philadelphia debate in March and Dugan attacking Krasner’s handling of retail theft during a forum in Center City. 

Rather than the two meeting on Tuesday night, Krasner gave an opening statement and fielded questions from the hosts – but not from the audience.  

Campaign spokesperson Anthony Campisi said Krasner was never going to take part in three debates and preferred the WHYY forum for several reasons, including its moderators, timing and format.

Krasner defended his retail theft policies Tuesday night, saying he recognized his approach is not “perfect” and mentioning Dugan’s absence in the process. 

“I talk to business owners all the time. Sometimes, I sit in their stores with them for two hours and we talk through things. These issues are quite complex. They involve the level of arrest that is occurring. It involves whether or not the store cares to pay for its own security or passes that on to the taxpayer,” Krasner said. “I understand it’s in an election cycle (so) the blame game is fun, perhaps for my opponent, although he’s not here, apparently, but I understand the blame game is fun.”

Dugan’s campaign has accused Krasner’s debate participation – or lack thereof – as political gamesmanship, while a spokesperson for Krasner’s side said Dugan is engaging in “the antics of a losing campaign.”

A disconnection on debates isn’t new in Philadelphia politics. Krasner refused to debate his GOP challenger four years ago, and Mayor Cherelle Parker took part in only one debate in the general election against Republican David Oh. 

As of Wednesday, Krasner won’t take part in a live debate on CBS3 that was proposed for next week. With the primary election less than a month away, Lauren Cristella, president and CEO of Committee of 70, called it a missed opportunity.

“We need to give voters every chance to hear from the candidates,” she said. “The media interest in this race is good for democracy because previous elections have seen turnouts of only 20 to 30% and the only way we’re going to increase that is by increasing the attention put on it. We strongly encourage both candidates to give the voters every opportunity to learn more and earn their votes.”