Candidates vying to become Philadelphia’s next district attorney raised more than $1.4M

From Philly and the Pa. suburbs to South Jersey and Delaware, what would you like WHYY News to cover? Let us know!

Despite its local scope, the race for Philadelphia’s next district attorney has garnered donations across the nation, campaign finance records show.

Donations poured in from business executives, labor unions and individuals totaling $1.4 million between November 2024 and May 2025.

Incumbent Larry Krasner raised more than $499,900 from donors, while challenger and former judge Patrick Dugan raised about $900,700 during the same time frame.

Donors outside of Philadelphia — who can’t vote in city elections — poured in $587,000 between the two candidates for the citywide race, mostly from the nearby suburbs in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

Just under half of Krasner’s donations came from donors outside the city, compared to roughly one-third of Dugan’s donors.

Much of that money has already been spent though. By early May, Krasner’s campaign had about $175,100 cash on hand, while Dugan had $119,700 in the bank.

Nationwide appeal in local politics

Dozens of business executives donated to candidates running in the local race.

Ben and Jerry’s ice cream co-founder Ben Cohen, of Vermont, California progressives like real estate developer Wayne Jordan, and Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings’ wife Patricia Quillin all donated $3,700 — the maximum for individuals to Krasner.

While none of those donors live in Philadelphia, the city has been on the national stage for criminal justice reform efforts, said Michael Sances, associate professor of political science at Temple University.

“Philadelphia is really ground zero for this progressive prosecutor movement which is where a lot of people have put their attention on in terms of criminal justice reform,” Sances said. “Krasner is kind of a national figure.”

Several progressive district attorneys lost their elections in California in the past few years, so Krasner is one of the few that’s left, Sances said.

There’s also not a direct correlation between how much a campaign raises and whether a candidate will win, he said.

“I think partly the spending tells us about the attitudes and coalitions that pop up,” he said, adding that campaign fundraising “can be indicative but it’s not anywhere near predictive.”

Criminal justice reform

While most of Krasner’s financial supporters were individuals tied to social justice causes, nonprofits and attorneys, there were some business executives in Philadelphia who donated, too.

Mel Heifetz, a Philadelphia real estate developer and longtime Center City gay club owner, donated the $3,700 maximum, as did Tavern on Camac co-owners Dennis Fee and Stephen Carlino.

And co-founder of Center City architectural firm JacobsWyper, James Wyper, donated at least $3,000 to Kranser during his most recent campaign.

But he’s been a supporter of Krasner for the past eight years.

“I find his emphasis on restorative justice very moving. I think that’s a tremendous correction of injustices that have happened in the past and that’s long overdue,” Wyper said. “He has not accomplished everything he hoped but he’s not waffling at all. And I think that’s impressive.”

Wyper said he’s still concerned about gun violence and homelessness in the city, adding that Krasner made a misstep over his previous retail theft policy.

“But he’s certainly come back and corrected that,” Wyper said.

In 2018, Krasner decided to charge summary offenses in retail theft cases if the merchandise was worth less than $500. That year, there were 7,400 incidents of retail theft citywide. By 2024, that ballooned to 22,000 cases. Krasner’s internal policy has since been reversed and he set up a retail theft task force to target organized crime rings.

There were 6,950 cases of retail theft between January and mid-May citywide, a 10% decline compared to the same time frame in 2024, according to Philadelphia Police Department crime data.

Back to basics

But the issue has been sticky, especially among Philadelphia real estate executives and some labor unions, who have donated heavily to Dugan and created an anti-Krasner super PAC.

The Concerned Citizens of Philadelphia, which raised $385,000 from labor unions, Wawa’s political action committee, Brian Emmons of Southern Land Co., Jason Nusbaum of City Living Philly, Mark Nicoletti of Philadelphia Suburban Development Corp., Mo Rushdy of the Riverwards Group, Richard Vague of Gabriel Investments and others.

In the past year, Philadelphia real estate developer and broker Barbara Capozzi donated $11,100 to Dugan, the maximum individual donation in December, March and May. Capozzi also chipped in $5,000 to the Concerned Citizens of Philadelphia super PAC.

Capozzi said she’s been a longtime supporter of Dugan and has supported other challengers trying to unseat Krasner, like Carlos Vega in 2021.

“The reason so many real estate people are interested in this race is because we know what is stopping people from relocating to Philadelphia,” Capozzi said, referring to crime, in a statement. “We all want a safer city and that means actually prosecuting crime, not just going through the motions.”

She complained that repeat offenders have been “let off” the hook under Krasner’s policies. And that retailers have struggled to stay open because of retail theft, noting closures of Wawa stores and Macy’s in Center City.

“Retailers cannot be expected to sustain these losses and still stay in business,” she said, adding that she’s concerned about carjackings, home invasions and repeat gun crimes. “No one wants to see innocent people in jail, or minor crimes with lengthy sentences, but there must be measured consequences for bad behavior. Criminals do not fear the District Attorney’s Office, that’s the root of the problem.”

She’s hoping that Dugan will keep a campaign promise to recruit from local law schools, train assistant district attorneys more rigorously and improve employee morale.

Homicides did decline during Krasner’s tenure after a spike during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, there were 562 homicides citywide. By 2024, there were 269 homicides. There were about 600 fewer shootings between 2023 and 2024, too.

But Capozzi said that’s still too high and worries about repeat offenders.

“A feeling of safety and security is so important for many businesses,” she said. “Our efforts to attract new residents to our city and to retain the residents we already have is seriously affected every time there is a gruesome crime and multiple shootings on the news every night.”

Donors not always voters

Dugan also raised $3,700 each from Philadelphia executives like venture capitalist Josh Kopelman, Premier Physical Therapy founder Carl Contino, Harvest Equities principal Howard Treatman, Kolins Security Group founder Russell Kollins, Brian Epstein, president of Excelsia Injury Care Centers, Holt Logistics Corp. CEO Leo Holt and Michael Holt, of Delaware Avenue Enterprises.

But it’s not clear how many of those business professionals can vote in Philadelphia as most listed addresses in Pennsylvania and the New Jersey suburbs.

Philadelphia labor unions overwhelmingly supported Dugan over Krasner.

Dugan raised $345,200 from labor unions, records show. That included significant donations of $14,800 each from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Philadelphia Local 98, the Steamfitters Local 420, the Plumbers Local 690, Sprinkler Fitters Local 692, the Laborers District Council, Sheet Metal Workers Local 19, the Teamsters and many more.

The Philadelphia Building Trades, an umbrella organization for dozens of local unions, is stumping for Dugan too.

“Fighting for working families, standing up for justice, and supporting the men and women who build and protect our city,” the group wrote about Dugan on social media.

Voters head to the polls Tuesday, May 20 to cast their ballots in Pennsylvania’s primary election.