With voters in LA County strongly supporting criminal justice reform and the Black Lives Matter protests, strongly preferring a candidate who refuses money from police unions compared to a candidate who proudly takes their money, and strongly preferring a candidate supported by Black Lives Matter leaders for their record in dealing with police misconduct compared to a candidate who is opposed by BLM for their record in dealing with police misconduct, George Gascón clearly has the edge in the LA DA’s race as long as voters can learn about his impressive record. The key to winning is for voters to know the following information about him and the stark contrast his opponent, incumbent DA Jackie Lacey, offers.
Gascón has spent his life making our neighborhoods safer, reducing violent crime in every leadership position he has held. Gascón grew up in L.A. and rose from a LAPD beat cop to Assistant Chief of Police. After becoming San Francisco’s Police Chief and then District Attorney, he reduced violent crime to historic lows, stood up for women and cracked down on sexual assault, and he led the fight to stop police misconduct. As LA DA, he will hold police accountable who use excessive force. He’s supported by the Los Angeles County Democratic Party, the LA Times and LA Daily News, Senators Bernie Sanders, Kamala Harris and Elizabeth Warren, and a co-founder of Black Lives Matter.
Most importantly, Gascón will hold police accountable for misconduct, especially any violence against unarmed people of color.
- Gascón refuses to take money from police unions, enabling him to be independent and prosecute police misconduct without a conflict of interest.
- Gascón is holding police accountable to the communities they serve. He prosecuted over 30 police officers for excessive force and other misconduct, led an investigation into bias in the police department, and created the state’s first unit to independently investigate police misconduct.
- Gascón believes LA must implement stricter standards for when police can use force and needs a new DA who is willing to hold bad cops accountable.
In contrast, Jackie Lacey has benefited from millions of dollars in campaign support from the police officers’ union and has refused to hold police accountable for violent misconduct. While Lacey has been D.A., over 500 people have been killed by law enforcement officers in LA County yet she has only prosecuted 1 officer. Lacey is now opposed by Black Lives Matter because she has refused to charge officers in fatal shootings of unarmed African Americans, even in a case when L.A.’s police chief said the officer should be prosecuted.
Voters should hear these facts in English and Spanish on broadcast television, digital advertising, and on cable.
Jackie Lacey has turned a blind eye to sexual assaults committed by the rich and famous. She dragged her feet on prosecuting Harvey Weinstein for sexual assault for more than two years, only charging him just before her election in March, and nearly 2 years after prosecutors in New York had charged him with multiple counts of sexual assault. She also refused to prosecute Bill Cosby for sexual assaults in L.A. County. Cosby was later charged and sentenced in another state. In contrast, George Gascón has stood up for women and cracked down on rape and sexual assault. As District Attorney, he prosecuted more than double the national average of sexual assault cases and successfully fought to test every rape kit.