Former San Fransisco District Attorney George Gascon

LA. Times CALIFORNIA: George Gascon to challenge Jackie Lacey for L.A. County top prosecutor, in pivotal D.A. race Former San Francisco Dist. Atty. George Gascon said Monday that he will challenge Jackie Lacey to become Los Angeles County’s top prosecutor next year in a race that many see as the most important test yet between alternative approaches to crime and punishment and more traditional law enforcement tactics. The move serves as a homecoming for Gascon — a former LAPD assistant chief who was raised in Southern California — and crystallizes the 2020 contest as a referendum on criminal justice reform in the nation’s largest prosecutor’s office. In a recent interview with The Times, Gascon said the criminal justice system was “not broken, it’s doing what it’s intended to, and it’s doing it very well.” “It’s locking up poor people,"Continuò. “It’s locking up people of color.” Gascon, 65, has earned a reputation as one of the nation’s most progressive law enforcement officials. While police chief in Mesa, Ariz., he spent years battling Sheriff Joe Arpaio over what critics called brutal and humiliating treatment of suspects and immigrant detainees. After a brief stint as San Francisco’s police chief, Gascon was appointed district attorney, championing a number of causes aimed at reducing prison populations and trying to rectify disparate enforcement against people of color. In the span of eight years, Gascon enacted policies that provided alternatives to cash bail and expunged low-level marijuana convictions after Californians voted to legalize the sale of cannabis. He also co-authored Proposition 47, the controversial ballot initiative that reduced violations for some low-level offenses from felonies to misdemeanors and allowed thousands of defendants statewide to renegotiate punishments for past convictions. Many police officials argue the measure has led to crime increases and criticize Gascon for making policy decisions they contend favor convicted criminals over victims. If elected in Los Angeles, Gascon said he would implement a number of programs he believes were successful in San Francisco, including diversionary programs for offenders between the ages of 18 e 25 and the use of open source software aimed at removing implicit racial bias from charging decisions. Gascon has been weighing a run in Los Angeles for most of the year. After announcing he would not seek reelection in San Francisco, Gascon said he began to receive overtures from community members to challenge Lacey. In March and April, he held something of a listening tour, taking part in meetings with social justice organizations and faith groups around the county. Mike de la Rocha, co-founder of Revolve Impact, a Los Angeles advocacy group that aims to reduce the prison population, said he was impressed that Gascon chose to seek counsel from a broad spectrum of locals before deciding to jump in. Gascon’s experience level, de la Rocha said, makes him a viable progressive alternative to Lacey. “He wasn’t talking about what he would do, but what he has done and continued to do,” de la Rocha said

. https://www.sfchronicle.com/crime/article/Gasc-n-made-enemies-as-SF-s-reformer-district-14545705.php