Krasner presses Parker to give DA's office $5.6M more in funding
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Philly DA Larry Krasner and Mayor Cherelle Parker. Photo illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios; Photos: Ryan Collerd/Bloomberg via Getty Images and Gilbert Carrasquillo/GC Images
Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner is publicly pressuring Mayor Cherelle Parker for an additional $5.6 million in funding for his office.
Why it matters: The demand comes as city lawmakers prepare to take a final vote this week on the more than $7 billion city budget.
Driving the news: Krasner sent a letter to Parker on Monday saying that the additional funding would go toward:
- Maintaining historic gains in reducing gun violence
- Launching a task force that would target repeat domestic violence offenders
- Prosecuting more elder abuse cases.
He said the tasks were "moderate, fair and consistent" with Parker's larger public safety priorities.
By the numbers: The DA's office is expected to receive roughly $60 million under Parker's current budget, which City Council gave preliminary approval last week.
The intrigue: Krasner, a progressive stalwart, also used the letter to air frustrations about his relationship with Parker, a centrist Democrat who's embraced a more enforcement-focused approach to public safety.
- Krasner wrote that he's met with Parker only three times and has had "limited phone communication" with her since 2024, despite pushing the administration to meet with him monthly to discuss policy ideas and ways to build a better partnership.
What they're saying: Without the additional $5.6 million, Krasner said, the city would effectively be defunding key public safety initiatives and hampering the office's ability to hire additional prosecutors and investigators needed to sustain Philadelphia's sharp decline in homicides.
- "The residents of Philadelphia deserve as much as we can do together to serve them," Krasner wrote. "Let us truly model the peace and unity we hope to see within our communities."
The other side: The mayor's office declined to answer Axios' questions about whether it will heed Krasner's demands.
- City spokesperson Joe Grace said only that the DA's budget has grown 55%, up from $40 million in 2022 to $62 million in the latest spending plan.
Zoom out: The letter marks another public confrontation by Krasner, who in recent months has feuded with some of Pennsylvania's most prominent Democratic leaders, including Gov. Josh Shapiro, Sen. John Fetterman and Democratic City Committee chair Bob Brady.
- Some political observers view Krasner's recent public pronouncements as a signal that he may be weighing a challenge to Parker in next year's Democratic mayoral primary — speculation that Krasner has attempted to pour cold water on.