LOS ANGELES – Today, District Attorney-elect George Gascón announced his transition team. Mr. Gascón recruited a diverse group of community members, practitioners and subject matter experts. Where possible his goal was to ensure individuals with lived-experience were helping inform the policies, procedures, and future of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
“I was elected by the people and this community will have a seat at the table as we work to modernize our criminal justice system,” said Los Angeles County District Attorney-elect George Gascón. “Those that have been directly impacted by the work of this office have unique insights that are integral to an effective administration. If we had all the answers victims would feel restored and we wouldn’t have astronomic rates of recidivism. Instead, our profession has largely missed the opportunity to learn from those that are justice-involved. We need to listen, grow, and take this opportunity to be better.”
Most teams have additional members beyond those named below with lived-experience and technical expertise providing contributions and recommendations. Several additional efforts are being led by teams of experts covering everything from data to Brady policy, misdemeanor charging, prosecutorial ethics, and more.
Transition Steering Committee – Cristine DeBerry / Jamarah Hayner / Joseph Iniguez / Max Szabo
Bail – Dolores Canales / Robin Steinberg
Conviction Review – Franky Carrillo / Paula Mitchell
Death Penalty – Stefanie Faucher / Sean Kennedy / Natasha Minsker
Diversion, Reentry & Behavioral Health – Judge Songhai Armstead (Ret.) / Eunisses Hernandez
Enhancements, Three Strikes & Charging – Michael Romano
Environmental Justice – Michael Kadish / Angelo Logan / Mary Nemick / Aura Vasquez
Immigration – Maritza Agundez / Rose Cahn / Marissa Montes
Juvenile – Frankie Guzman / Michael Mendoza / Maureen Pacheco / Patricia Soung
Law Enforcement Accountability – Erwin Chemerinsky / Je Yon Jung
Law Enforcement Relations – Kevin Jablonski / Rebecca Neusteter / Jacqueline Seabrooks
Resentencing – Hillary Blout / Kate Chatfield / Christopher Hawthorne / Jennifer Hansen / Paula Mitchell / Michael Romano
Trauma Informed Approach to Victims – Ivette Alé / LaNaisha Edwards / Gena Castro-Rodriguez / Bamby Salcedo
George Gascón will be sworn in as the 43rd District Attorney of Los Angeles County on December 7, 2020.
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George Gascón is the District Attorney-elect for Los Angeles County. His historic campaign was endorsed by the Democratic Party, the LA Times and the LA Daily News, Vice Presidential nominee Kamala Harris, U.S. Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, Governor Gavin Newsom, Mayor Eric Garcetti, Black Lives Matter cofounder Patrisse Cullors, labor leader and civil rights icon Dolores Huerta, and former Chief of the LAPD Charlie Beck. Click here for a full list of his supporters.
Mr. Gascón grew up in Los Angeles after his family immigrated from Cuba. An army veteran, Gascón served as a Los Angeles Police Department Officer for 30 years, rising to the rank of Assistant Chief of Operations. In 2006 he became Chief of Police in Mesa, Arizona, where he stood up to the hateful and anti-immigrant policies of then Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio. In 2009, then-San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom appointed Gascón Chief of Police. Newsom turned to Gascón again in 2011 when he tapped him to be District Attorney to fill the seat vacated by an outgoing Kamala Harris who had been elected Attorney General. During his tenure Gascón implemented reforms that are being duplicated across the country while overseeing violent crime and homicides drop to rates not seen in 50 years. After being elected to two terms, Gascón returned to Los Angeles to care for his elderly mother and to be closer to his two daughters and grandchildren in Long Beach. Gascón is married to Fabiola Kramsky, a three-time Emmy Award winning journalist and recipient of the “Premio Nacional de Periodismo,” the highest recognition given to journalists in Mexico.