Philly district attorney race could see a rematch in November
A Democrat is on track to win Philadelphia's Republican nomination for district attorney.
Why it matters: Pat Dugan lost last week's Democratic primary to Larry Krasner, but a loophole in Pennsylvania election law could lead to a repeat matchup later this year.
State of play: Dugan likely received enough Republican write-in votes in the May 20 GOP primary to be on the party's ticket in November, Philly's Republican City Committee chairperson, Vincent Fenerty, tells Axios.
By the numbers: More than 7,100 write-in votes were cast in the GOP primary for district attorney, as of the latest count Tuesday, Nick Custodio, deputy commissioner for City Commissioner Lisa Deeley, tells Axios.
And it appears that "Pat Dugan" received 1,000 write-ins in that primary, the threshold needed to win the nomination, says Custodio.
The fine print: The city's election board has yet to certify the results — so nothing's official yet.
Yes, but: Fenerty says Dugan could decline the Republican nomination and ensure his name is not on the November ballot.
Dugan's campaign had said before the primary that he's committed to not running as a Republican.
The Dugan campaign didn't return Axios' request for comment on whether Dugan had changed his mind after the write-in support.
What they're saying: Philly Republicans would run Dugan as an "independent Democrat" on the party's line for district attorney, Fenerty says.
Fenerty adds that the decision is up to Dugan and that the party isn't giving him a deadline to decide.
"Does [Dugan] want to do it to make the city better? We're hoping he does. We're hoping he sees a path to victory," Fenerty says.
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Indianapolis Star
35 minutes ago
- Indianapolis Star
U.S. Rep. Jefferson Shreve sells stocks from charitable trusts after public criticism
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Indianapolis Star
35 minutes ago
- Indianapolis Star
Joe Hogsett wants to move past harassment scandal. Many aren't sure he can
Where does Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett go from here? The fallout over his handling of sexual harassment claims against his former right-hand man has put the mayor in a precarious political situation with two and a half years remaining in his third term. A growing chorus of local elected officials, community leaders and members of the public are calling for him to resign or criticizing his leadership. As the scandal overshadows other city initiatives, some are questioning the mayor's ability to effectively perform even the ceremonial aspects of the job. And former members of the administration are making explosive claims about what they describe as a "toxic" workplace culture under Hogsett. Hogsett, who has repeatedly said he won't resign, couldn't escape the situation at a typically cordial Indy Chamber "Meet the Mayors" event at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on June 18, where he was asked in front of a roomful of business leaders whether the scandal had damaged the city's reputation. Hogsett said "political rhetoric" has distracted people, "but I can tell you what I focus on, and that is making Indianapolis work." But that's becoming harder than it was before. Faith leaders recently asked the mayor not to attend a press conference for what was supposed to be a big public win for his administration: securing housing for more people who are homeless. Instead, city officials canceled the event. And City-County Council Democrats, who have a supermajority on the council and have at times acted as little more than a rubber stamp for Hogsett, are exerting more leverage and opposition than ever before. Though most councilors haven't called for Hogsett to resign, the 18-member Democratic caucus released a statement saying his conduct has "weakened the moral authority of the office." "If he survives what is right now — at minimum — chaos, it makes (governing) a lot harder, frankly," said Laura Merrifield Wilson, associate professor of political science at the University of Indianapolis. "This may not be the definition of his legacy, but it's going to be top three, no matter how many successes he can rake in in the next few years." City-County Council members can't remove Hogsett from office — only state lawmakers can do that, which is highly unlikely to occur. But the fallout could weaken his ability to govern and dampen his potential to win over voters for a fourth term, should he decide to run again in 2027. In a recent interview with IndyStar, Hogsett said the spectacle is detracting from his commitments to protect workers following an outside law firm's investigation into the mayor's former top aide, Thomas Cook, who faced allegations of harassment or assault from three women while working for Hogsett. "We're collectively losing sight of what is most important, and that's continuing to create a safer, more accountable working environment for all city employees," Hogsett said. "That is my focus. That is my standard. And that's what I'll stick to." More: A 'fraternity' culture and an 'opportunity' for self-dealing: 6 insights from Hogsett investigation Pike Township Trustee Annette Johnson, a fellow Democrat who has helped campaign in the past for the mayor, said the "serious allegations" have "taken away from what we really need to be doing in our communities." She stopped short of calling for Hogsett to resign, but described the city as "kind of stuck" under his leadership. Democratic City-County Councilor John Barth agreed the issue is pulling the focus away from other city business. But he said it would be wrong to call it a distraction. Still, he lamented the lack of media attention on roughly $27 million in hard-won funding as part of a spring fiscal package that included $13 million for road and drainage improvements, $4 million for new snow-plowing equipment and contracts, and $600,000 to the literacy tutoring program Circle City Readers. The next day's headlines were instead about how City-County Council President Vop Osili ordered sheriff's deputies to forcibly remove Lauren Roberts, a Cook accuser, while she tried to share concerns about the law firm's investigation. 'It's an important issue we have to resolve,' Barth said of the harassment allegations. 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'We need to move forward, and I don't see how he can do it in his role when ultimately, from a leadership perspective, a lot of this went on under his watch,' Greene told IndyStar. 'He helped create the culture in which this took place. It's hard to fix a culture that you created.' The City-County Council is working to pass reforms meant to protect employees from workplace harassment. That includes establishing an outside inspector general's office to investigate city policy violations, overhauling the city's human resources department to ensure independence, and revamping anti-harassment training and reporting systems. But Barth said he doubts how effective systemic changes will be without credible leadership. 'You can have best practices all day long,' Barth said, 'but if the tone at the top and the clarity around expectations, around culture, aren't managed by those who are leading the city, and the mayor specifically, I would be concerned about how effective those structural changes would be.' More: 'We won't allow facts to be buried': Hogsett investigative report omissions raise concerns While councilors consider reforms and mull over calls for Hogsett to step down, the public is becoming increasingly aware of the saga. What started as a scandal familiar mainly to political insiders exploded into wider view with the now-viral June 9 episode at the City-County Council meeting where Roberts was pushed out by sheriff's deputies. Hogsett called the incident "regrettable." Then the Indianapolis Business Journal, a publication read by the city's top movers and shakers, also called on Hogsett to resign in a recent editorial. Even Indiana Gov. 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The council rejected Lena Hill, the mayor's appointment to lead the Office of Public Health and Safety, after employees came forward claiming that Hill mistreated them. Amid community backlash, the mayor also withdrew his pick to lead the Indianapolis Animal Care Services agency, Kelly Diamond. Negotiating next year's budget will be an upcoming inflection point. Typically, Barth said, the mayor's office presents the council with a fully formed spending plan in August, and any tweaks are made in the subsequent weeks before a final council vote in October. Starting with this year's spring fiscal package — the allotment of $27 million in additional supplemental income tax revenue that wasn't anticipated in last year's budgeting — councilors are demanding to be involved earlier to address their constituents' pleas for how the city should spend taxpayer dollars, Barth said. 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But he urged city leaders to find a swift solution so they can shift their focus back to Indianapolis' broader growth and success during a pivotal moment for the city. "It's hard to imagine a moment of greater visibility and opportunity for Indianapolis," Mindrum said in a statement, "and we need to be firing on all cylinders to make the most of it." Email IndyStar Reporter Jordan Smith at JTsmith@ Follow him on X: @jordantsmith09
Chicago Tribune
40 minutes ago
- Chicago Tribune
Editorial: Want to know how a socialist mayor would govern New York City? Ask Chicago
A major city. A heated mayoral election. A familiar dilemma: a moderate, business-friendly Democrat versus a democratic socialist. New Yorkers, take it from Chicago — we've seen this movie before, and the ending isn't pretty. New Yorkers will cast their ballots Tuesday in New York's mayoral primary, where 11 candidates are vying to win the Democratic primary in America's largest city. Frontrunner and former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is in a tight race against New York state assembly member Zohran Mamdani. Mamdani wants to freeze rents, open city-owned grocery stores, provide bus service for 'free,' tax corporations and the 1%, and increase the minimum wage to $30, among other left-wing positions that differ greatly from Cuomo. Most of Mamdani's ideas are shared (at least in principle) by Mayor Brandon Johnson, and many of them are popular in blue cities. But experience has taught us here that far-left candidates do not make for effective or popular municipal executives in today's stressful economy. Johnson tried to float a $300 million tax hike — and failed. He tried to pass a 'mansion tax' that would've hiked the real estate transfer tax — and failed. He's built too few affordable housing units for too much money. He's isolated himself from many of the state and federal officials he hopes will come to his financial rescue, and he's done egregious special favors for the people who got him elected — namely, pushing an incredibly costly new contract with the Chicago Teachers Union. He forced out a highly competent schools chief who wouldn't cow to his desire to borrow recklessly. His city is broke, but he wants to spend more. The list goes on. Johnson's approval rating cratered in his second year — a reflection of how quickly progressive promises collapsed under the weight of governance and Chicago's financial reality. What sounded good in theory has translated into dysfunction, driven by fiscal missteps and political inexperience. Johnson is one of the most progressive mayors in the U.S., but Mamdani, inarguably, is yet more radical. In the end, the New York mayoral race likely will come down to voter turnout. Unfortunately, like most places, voter participation in New York has steadily declined, dropping from 93% of registered voters in 1953 to 57% in 1993 to just over 20% of registered voters in the 2021 mayoral election. A new Marist College poll shows Cuomo leading Mamdani 55-45 in a ranked-choice tally. However, the same poll finds Mamdani with a 34-point advantage over Cuomo among voters under 45, and young voters have turned out during early voting. The wild card is cross-endorsement. Mamdani and fellow candidate Brad Lander have done just that in a bid to take down Cuomo. Unlike Chicago's nonpartisan runoff system, New York uses ranked choice voting, allowing voters to list up to five candidates in order of preference. If no candidate gets a majority of first-choice votes, the one with the fewest is eliminated and those ballots are redistributed to voters' next choices. This process repeats until one candidate receives more than 50% and is declared the winner. We're intrigued by New York's ranked choice process, which offers voters the chance to express their preferences more fully and encourages candidates to pursue broader support than do traditional voting processes. Turnout for the mayoral primary in Chicago was abysmally low — just 36% of registered voters cast a ballot in the 2023 primary. We blame that, in part, on the city's decision to hold these primary elections during the harshest weather we face all year, in the heart of February, though vote by mail exists as a remedy for folks who don't wish to brave the cold on their way to the polls. Low turnout makes it easier for radicals to capture public office. And that's a mistake we hope New Yorkers don't make. If New Yorkers are frustrated with Mayor Eric Adams, they should be careful not to trade him for someone who might preside over a city that is less competitive and less financially secure. Trust us — we've living that reality.
