LOS ANGELES – A campaign to oust Los Angeles district attorney George Gascón began Saturday night as pressure on his criminal justice reforms that critics say has gone too far has increased.
Supporters of the recall, including victims’ families and police, say Gascón, who has waged a progressive campaign to implement radical changes in the prosecutor’s office, has prioritized criminals over victims since taking office less than three months ago.
In an emailed statement, Gascón said that “the pain and trauma of losing a loved one is immeasurable” and he “respects that some victims want me to impose maximum punishment on their case”.
“Research shows that excessive conviction practices have exacerbated recidivism, leading to more crime victims,” he added. “Our justice system cannot continue to depend on policies that create more victims tomorrow, simply because some victims want the maximum punishment imposed on their case today.”
Organizers planned to collect at least 20 signatures on Saturday, the amount needed to record a recall intention, during a “victim watch” outside the district attorney’s office in downtown Los Angeles. They expected up to 100 people in attendance, including many crime victims and deputy Public Prosecutor Jon Hatami, an outspoken critic of Gascón’s changes, reported NBC Los Angeles.
The revocation effort needs valid signatures from at least 10 percent of registered voters in the county, or just under 600,000 people, to qualify for the vote, according to the LA County Registrar-Recorder / County Clerk office. Elected officials must be in office for at least 90 days before a recall effort can be officially launched. Gascón was sworn in on December 7.
Since taking office, Gascón has moved quickly to renovate the public prosecutor’s office through a series of directives, including no longer seeking the death penalty and an end to the practice of prosecuting minors as adults.
According to a Recall George Gascon group on Facebook with more than 39,000 followers, the district attorney “campaigned and was elected on a platform that didn’t include gang improvements and didn’t seek the death penalty, so that’s no reason to revoke it ”.
“However, within minutes of taking office, he made other drastic changes that he did not disclose during the campaign that are allowing violent and dangerous criminals to return to our streets. This is unacceptable. He cheated voters in LA County and should be removed from office, ”wrote the group on Facebook.
A Cuban immigrant, Gascón was a San Francisco district attorney from 2011 to 2019 and was a Los Angeles police officer before that. During his recent campaign, Gascón promised to make many of the reforms he has since implemented during a bitter dispute against former Los Angeles County district attorney Jackey Lacey. He obtained more than 53% of the votes.
Lacey was criticized by Black Lives Matter-Los Angeles and other progressive groups, frustrated by her record of not prosecuting police officers accused of using excessive force. She was the first black person and the first woman to lead the office. His predecessor, Steve Cooley, is listed among those who support Gascón’s recall effort.
Also supporting the effort are two former Republican rulers. Gascón is a Democrat, although the election was non-partisan.
Opposition to Gascón’s agenda has been swift since he took office. Earlier this month, a judge ruled that his policy change ending sentence improvements violates state law. These improvements can add years to the defendant’s prison sentence if certain criteria are met. The decision resulted from a lawsuit filed less than a month ago from Gascón’s term by the union representing hundreds of municipal prosecutors. In the process, the union claimed that Gascón’s comprehensive directives defy state law.
Melina Abdullah, co-founder of Black Lives Matter-Los Angeles, said on Saturday that the group supports Gascón’s progressive justice reforms and launched the hashtag #StandWithGeorge earlier this year.
Recall campaigns are also underway in other parts of the state. Organizers calling for the removal of California Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, say they have collected more than 1.8 million signatures out of the 1.5 million needed to force an election. Less than half of that number has been certified by the Secretary of State’s office.
A third recall effort is also brewing in San Francisco to force out progressive prosecutor Chesa Boudin.