Dugan will make city safer
Larry Krasner must be removed as district attorney
He puts his political agenda before our needs.
Real crime – guns, drugs, theft and more – are not prosecuted.
Penn Law research found that Krasner’s non-prosecution policies are responsible for 75 extra murders a year.
70% of serious crime cases have been withdrawn at his sole discretion.
Pat Dugan is the only candidate who can bring respect back to the DA’s office and will prosecute criminals to make Philadelphia a safer city.
I’m asking all voters of every party to vote for Pat Dugan for DA.
You can make a difference in our community by exercising your right to vote. Thank you for considering my request to support Pat Dugan for district attorney.
You can vote in person or by mail-in ballot.
Deadlines:
Oct. 20 – last day to register to vote
Oct. 28 – last day for city to receive mail-in ballot applications
Nov. 4 – all mail-in ballots must be received by County Boards of Elections by 8 p.m.
Nov. 4 – in-person Election Day
Gary Grisafi
Republican 53rd Ward Leader
Fund public transit
In the Sept. 24 edition of the Northeast Times, Ron Farbman exhorted the Republican representatives to do what is right for themselves, for their family and all of their constituents. I couldn’t agree more. In August, Rep. Martina White from NE Philly and Reps. Kathleen Tomlinson, Joe Hogan and Shelby Labs, all from Bucks County, did just that. They voted to fund public transit, not just for SEPTA, but for all the rural areas of Pennsylvania and the entire commonwealth. They did the right thing for all of us.
In contrast, Sen. Joe Picozzi has chosen to essentially defund SEPTA. He has lied to his constituents by telling us he supports funding SEPTA. The bill he sponsored in the Senate and voted for takes money away from SEPTA and uses the capital fund for operational expenses. That means that SEPTA is spending down the money it has to make improvements and maintain trains and buses. This is not a solution – it’s counterproductive.
Why support public transportation if you own a car and don’t use the system? Because Philadelphia is economically dependent on the people who do use public transportation. These are the folks who clean the offices and stadiums, these are the office workers and stadium workers who work there, the seniors going to doctor appointments. They’re also the students who save the city from having to operate an extensive school bus system. Every time someone uses public transportation it means less air pollution and less wear-and-tear on our roads. Philly is a great tourist destination but tourists need public transportation to visit our historic sites and eat in our first-class restaurants. And let’s not forget the sports events that draw so much economic activity. We need all of these people to be able to get to their jobs and destinations. Public transit is the engine that drives a thriving city’s economy.
Sen. Picozzi, please listen to your constituents and do the right thing: Fund public transit in Pennsylvania.
Ginny Witte
Bustleton
Taxpayer ripoff
Considering Brendan Boyle crosses the aisle as much as he crosses the Boulevard he has an awful lot to say. Maybe he should ask the insurance companies backing ACA to return some of their excessive profits to fund it instead of the taxpayers. Especially since they are selling weak policies with high deductibles that increase their profits. A gift from Boyle and the Democrats in 2021. Let’s look at ACA for what it is, a bad insurance policy and vastly overpriced.
Then there’s Medicaid. The best policy taxpayers can buy but could never afford for themselves. Medicare throws you out of the hospital and Medicaid extends your stay. Taxpayers pay $1,000 for Ozempic and Medicaid recipients pay $3. It’s time to get realistic about the costs of Medicaid and who is qualified to receive it and how long they can stay on the benefit.
Mr. Boyle it’s time to stop spending the taxpayers’ money like they have it. I’m sure you aren’t spending yours as freely, especially since you’re on a form of the government dole.
Richard Donofry
East Torresdale
Law and order
As you enter the 7th Police District in Northeast Philly, there’s a sign on the wall that reads the following: “The Mission of the Philadelphia Police Department is to work in a True Partnership with our Fellow Citizens of Philadelphia: To enhance the Quality of Life in our City and by Raising the Level of Public Safety through Law Enforcement, to reduce the Fear and Incidence of Crime. In accomplishing these Goals, Service will be our Commitment, and Honor and Integrity our Mandate.”
And so far what we have seen in our American cities is a pushback by protests and shouts of “Defund the Police” by our citizens especially against Trump sending the National Guard to protect our capital.
Many countries have what’s called “gendarmeries,” a military-style police force for civilian law enforcement. Like our country’s National Guard, these gendarmeries are armed and ready for quick deployment to handle various forms of violence against citizens and to safeguard public and government buildings.
France has armed police with machine guns protecting the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre and other tourist attractions.
The Vatican has Carabinieris protecting the Holy City.
Egypt has the National Police of Antiquities armed to protect tourist destinations like the Great Pyramid of Giza, museums and hotels in Cairo and Alexandria.
And let’s not forget the Royal Canadian Mounted Police armed to protect Canada from major threats of terrorism.
And for the United States, it’s not any different to have Trump send armed National Guards to safeguard our nation’s sacred monuments, the Lincoln, the Washington and the Jefferson Memorials.
But to call out against law enforcement is utter ignorance when crime has gotten out of hand for our sovereignty and safety, and what’s worse is the narrative from these deranged individuals that it’s Trump’s “manufactured emergencies a playbook for expanding his authoritarian power.”
No, Trump is not being a dictator, it’s called securing our country, our capital and our American cities from the devastation of crime and murders, and to have Chuck Schumer say that Democrats must call out Trump’s authoritarianism in Washington, D.C. is pure lunacy.
And they are still pushing their deranged political playbook unto the American people to ignore the crime wave that America is still witnessing today.
And it’s unbelievable that we have young teens today packing guns that was unheard of back in the ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s during our youth growing up in the streets, parks, basketball courts and just walking around Center City without the fear or even thinking about being shot while shopping at John Wanamaker’s or having a bite to eat at Horn and Hardart or at Jim’s Steaks on South Street. or browsing the CDs at Tower Records.
Teens back in the day did not carry guns, we strolled peacefully down South Street and in Manayunk, enjoying a nice weekend out with friends without the fear of violence, because we felt safe, because the streets were safe.
Now crime has gone unchecked and unpunished, especially when you have a rogue Biden-appointed judge who lets two teenage assailants walk free who brutally assaulted a DOGE staffer in Washington, D.C.
It’s time to pull the plug on the obsession of Chuck Schumer’s “Trump Derangement Syndrome” and focus on the safety of our communities by supporting our police, armed forces, first responders and National Guards, and like Trump has emphasized, Make America Safe Again, for me, for you and for everyone.
We need law and order back and not the chaos these fanatics are doing to defund our safety.
These are the same individuals who allowed our cities to be burned, pillaged and destroyed during the summer of riots, and even then they refused Trump’s National Guard to be deployed.
Al Ulus
Somerton
