LOS ANGELES – Today, the Mayor of the City of Los Angeles, Eric Garcetti, announced his support for George Gascón in his race for Los Angeles County District Attorney. Mayor Garcetti is a fourth-generation Angeleno and the 42nd Mayor of Los Angeles. Born and raised in the San Fernando Valley–the son of public servants and the grandson and great-grandson of immigrants from Mexico and Eastern Europe–Mayor Garcetti’s life has been shaped by a deep commitment to the core values of justice, dignity, and equality for all people. In announcing his support for Mr. Gascón, Mayor Garcetti said:
“I am proud to endorse George Gascón for District Attorney. He knows how to promote public safety through partnerships with and beyond law enforcement. George Gascón will help our county shift the burden from the criminal justice system and jails toward diversion, intervention, and re-entry programs that save money and save lives. He is a leader who I have known and trusted for nearly twenty years who can meet this moment.”
“I am honored to have the support of Mayor Garcetti, and if I’m fortunate to have the support of the voters, I’m excited to roll up my sleeves and work together once again to enhance the safety and livability of our communities,” said former District Attorney and Assistant Chief of the LAPD, George Gascón. “We have a tremendous opportunity to make deep, substantive changes in the largest county in America, and together I know we can, and we will.”
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George Gascón is the Democratic Party’s nominee. He is endorsed by the LA Times and the LA Daily News, Vice Presidential nominee Kamala Harris, U.S. Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, Governor Gavin Newsom, 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.