How Pennsylvania Attorney General Candidates Would Work with Philadelphia Prosecutor Larry Krasner

HARRISBURG – Whoever becomes attorney general will have to work with one of the states’ most provocative officials: progressive Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner.

Krasner, first elected in 2017, has become a boogeyman for Republicans in Harrisburg, who blame his remorseless behavior and focus on criminal justice reform for the perceived high crime rate in Philadelphia. (The high crime rate is just a perception, Krasner correctly points out, as Gun violence is decreasing throughout the city. and Philadelphia is on track to have one of its lowest homicide rates in 10 years.)

The Attorney General of Pennsylvania is the top law enforcement official in the stateresponsible for providing resources to each of the state’s 67 district attorneys and complete criminal investigations. But as the state’s most populous city, Philadelphia has the most prosecutors and handles the most cases, ensuring the two officials will need to work together.

Democratic candidate Eugene DePasqualeformer state auditor general, and Republican Dave Domingo, The York County District Attorney, both said in interviews They would try to build relations with Krasner, who said he would do the same, although he supports DePasquale.

DePasquale, for his part, said he knows Krasner personally and noted that the Philadelphia district attorney has been overwhelmingly elected in the city twice.

“I know Larry can be a little forceful at times, but by the same token, my job is to work with all 67 district attorneys,” DePasquale said. “So no matter who you are, what your party is, my job is to work with everyone to make sure communities are safe and I will certainly do that with Larry and the other 66 district attorneys.”

Adversarial relationship on the horizon?

Both Sunday and Krasner hinted that their relationship would be potentially contentious, although both promised to work together regardless of political party.

While Krasner’s support for the Democratic candidate is not surprising, the political party has not always reported its conflicts in the past. He and Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro, the state’s former attorney general, They publicly fought with each other on a series of issues.

By Sunday, Krasner’s approach to criminal justice eclipses his record of holding violent criminals accountable.

“You can’t just have redemption all day,” Sunday said in an interview last month. “You can’t have redemption without responsibility.”

Krasner questioned whether Sunday would enforce laws for his wealthy supporters like jeffrey yassco-founder of Susquehanna International Group, and suggested that the York County Intervention Programs Showcased Sunday are found outside of work Philadelphia has been a pioneer. (Sunday refuted this and said that at least one intervention and prevention program already existed before any of them were elected.)

“Here’s the news, Dave: We’re better at public safety,” Krasner said. “I understand you’re on the mean streets of York with your 37% reduction. “We’re at 40.7%… Imitation is the highest form of flattery, so thank you for that, Dave Sunday.”

“I’m sure the Philadelphia prosecutor is looking to support someone who has a similar approach to violent crime as he does,” Sunday said, hinting that DePasquale would be soft on crime. “Because the Philadelphia attorney general has isolated himself from the rest of the state, the last thing he wants is an attorney general who will not allow him and will work as hard as he can to bring other ideas and thoughts to increase public safety for the citizens of Philadelphia . Philadelphia.”

Part of the conflict between Krasner and Sunday dates back to their early days as district attorneys. Krasner decided to leave the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association at the beginning of his first term, a decision he maintains today.

Krasner said he removed Philadelphia from the district attorney’s association because, although the city has 40% of the state’s prosecutors, it only had one vote in the association. So the association could go to lawmakers in Harrisburg and declare that the district attorneys association supported a policy change, even if the state’s largest city opposed it. He also worried that the association was pursuing policies that were “good for mass incarceration, bad for Philadelphia.”

“It’s one of the best things we’ve ever done,” Krasner said of leaving the district attorney’s association.

Krasner also said his office has always collaborated with others who want to work together, including working daily with the current attorney general and highlighted the results of the state gun violence task force to reduce gang violence in the city.

But for Sunday and other district attorneys, such as Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer, a Democrat who ran in the primary elections for AGThe move was another way for Krasner to isolate himself and do everything he could to avoid collaborating with his colleagues.

SEPTA’s Special Counsel and the Harrisburg Troubles

Krasner’s conflicts with Harrisburg officials are not new.

he was impeached by a GOP-controlled state House in 2022and, in particular, the Democrats and Shapiro supported a republican plan to create a special prosecutor appointed by the attorney general to investigate crimes at or near SEPTA, which Krasner says is a way to usurp the will of Philadelphia voters who twice elected him as the city’s top prosecutor.

Attorney General Michele Henry, appointed by Shapiro to serve out the remainder of his term, appointed Michael Untermeyer. as SEPTA special prosecutorafter Krasner’s first legal attempt to repeal the law Because it was unconstitutional, it failed. The challenge now awaits a ruling from the state Supreme Court.

Both attorney general candidates said they would use the SEPTA prosecutor, although DePasquale said he disagreed with its creation.

“My daughter rides the SEPTA train all the time, so safety on SEPTA is very important to me,” DePasquale said. “I would prefer to have a much more collaborative approach.”