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District Attorney election in Los Angeles County, California (2020)

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2020 Los Angeles County elections
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Election dates
Filing deadline: December 6, 2019
Primary election: March 3, 2020 & August 7, 2020
General election: November 3, 2020
Election stats
Offices up: County supervisors, district attorney, superior court judges, community college districts, and Water Replenishment District of Southern California
Total seats up: 202
Election type: Nonpartisan
Other municipal elections
U.S. municipal elections, 2020

George Gascón defeated incumbent Jackie Lacey in the nonpartisan election for Los Angeles County District Attorney on November 3, 2020.

In the nonpartisan March primary, Lacey and Gascón advanced with 48.7% and 28.2% of the vote, respectively. Lacey was first elected in 2012, defeating Alan Jackson 55% to 45%.[1] In 2016, she ran unopposed. Gascón was first elected as San Francisco district attorney in 2011 in a ranked-choice voting election, winning 62% to 38% in the third round of vote allocations.[2] In 2015, he ran unopposed.[3]

This race drew media attention following events and activity in response to law enforcement's use of force and the death of George Floyd. In an October 8 debate, the candidates were asked about their records on officers involved in shootings. The moderator said Lacey had prosecuted one officer in her eight years as Los Angeles district attorney and Gascón had prosecuted none in his almost nine years as San Francisco district attorney. Lacey some cases where she did not pursue prosecution involved tactics she disagreed with. She said she had prosecuted more than 200 officers for other legal violations, and said she implemented increased training to address excessive use of force. Gascón said none of the cases of officer-involved shootings during his tenure involved an unarmed person, but said he thought some cases involved unnecessary use of force despite being within the law. He said he worked to pass a California law creating stricter use of force standards to allow for increased prosecution in such cases.[4]

The Los Angeles District Attorney’s office is the largest local prosecutorial office in the country.[5] Los Angeles’ district attorney prosecutes felonies in Los Angeles County and misdemeanors in unincorporated parts of the county and in all of the county’s cities, except Burbank, Hawthorne, Hermosa Beach, Inglewood, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Pasadena, Redondo Beach, Santa Monica, and Torrance.[5]

Jackie Lacey and George Gascón completed Ballotpedia’s Candidate Connection Survey. Click on candidate names below to view their responses:


Lacey
Gascón


Election procedure changes in 2020

See also: Changes to election dates, procedures, and administration in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 2020

Ballotpedia provided comprehensive coverage of how election dates and procedures changed in 2020. While the majority of changes occurred as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, some changes occurred for other reasons.

California modified its absentee/mail-in and in-person voting procedures for the November 3, 2020, general election as follows:

  • Absentee/mail-in voting: Mail-in ballots were sent to all registered voters in the general election.
  • In-person voting: Counties were authorized to consolidate precincts and defer opening voting centers until the third day before the election.

For a full timeline about election modifications made in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, click here.

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Candidates and election results

General election

General election for Los Angeles County District Attorney

George Gascón defeated incumbent Jackie Lacey in the general election for Los Angeles County District Attorney on November 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of George Gascón
George Gascón (Nonpartisan) Candidate Connection
 
53.5
 
2,002,865
Image of Jackie Lacey
Jackie Lacey (Nonpartisan) Candidate Connection
 
46.5
 
1,738,617

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 3,741,482
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for Los Angeles County District Attorney

Incumbent Jackie Lacey and George Gascón defeated Rachel Rossi in the primary for Los Angeles County District Attorney on March 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Jackie Lacey
Jackie Lacey (Nonpartisan) Candidate Connection
 
48.7
 
869,127
✔
Image of George Gascón
George Gascón (Nonpartisan) Candidate Connection
 
28.2
 
504,088
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Rachel Rossi (Nonpartisan)
 
23.1
 
413,231

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 1,786,446
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Candidate profiles

This section includes candidate profiles created in one of two ways. Either the candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey or Ballotpedia staff created a profile after identifying the candidate as noteworthy.[6] Ballotpedia staff compiled profiles based on campaign websites, advertisements, and public statements.


Jackie Lacey

Image of Jackie Lacey

WebsiteFacebookYouTube

Incumbent: Yes

Political Office: 

  • Los Angeles District Attorney (Assumed office: 2012)

Submitted Biography:  "I grew up in a working-class home in the Crenshaw district of South LA and attended Dorsey High School. My community shaped me in every way and led me to pursue a career as a prosecutor. I was one of only four African American's in my USC law graduating class. I served over thirty years as a courtroom prosecutor in the DA's office and went onto to serve LA County's first-ever hate crime. In 2012 I was elected to be LA County's first African American and first woman DA. My upbringing drove me to run for this office 8 years ago and is the reason why I decided to run for reelection. I witnessed vulnerable people in my community who did not have access or knowledge of the justice system. I was drawn to public service because I wanted to be a voice for those people. I wanted to make a difference for people like my father who was shot and never received justice. I also wanted to reform areas of our criminal justice system that are not fair and perpetuate inequality. These values still drive me every day."

Key Messages

To read this candidate's full survey responses, click here.

As the first African American and first woman LA District Attorney, I have the knowledge and experience to deliver historic reforms while keeping our community safe.

My pioneering mental health reforms have created alternatives to incarceration for thousands of non-violent offenders suffering from mental illness and helped to train over 2,000 law enforcement officers on how to deescalate situations involving people with mental health problems.

Protecting the safety of our community from violent and dangerous criminals will always be my highest priority. I will always stand up for the rights of crime victims who are disproportionately people of color and people who come from poorer communities.

This information was current as of the candidate's run for Los Angeles County District Attorney in 2020.

George Gascón

Image of George Gascón

WebsiteFacebookTwitterYouTube

Incumbent: No

Political Office: 

  • San Francisco District Attorney (2011-2019)

Submitted Biography:  "When I arrived in the United States from Cuba at 13, I did not speak English and struggled in school. I dropped out of high school and joined the U.S. Army where I earned my high school diploma. Later, I attended CSU Long Beach graduating with a B.A in History. I then joined the LAPD, rising through the ranks to become the Assistant Chief of Operations, while simultaneously earning my Law Degree from Western State University. I was recruited to become the Chief of Police in Mesa, Arizona and battled against the nationally known anti-immigrant Sheriff Joe Arpaio. I took our fight to the US Congress providing testimony exposing the human/civil rights abuses unfolding in Arizona. That resulted in me being asked to leave Mesa. Then-Mayor Gavin Newsom recruited me to serve as San Francisco's Chief of Police. I was the SF Chief of Police for 16 months helping to reduce murders from 98 annually to 45. Thereafter, I was appointed to be District Attorney and later ran successfully for two terms, pushing a nationally recognized agenda of reform and community safety. I'm back home and running to replace Jackie Lacey as DA, because LA County deserves a more effective and progressive DA that enhances community safety without over incarcerating our communities."

Key Messages

To read this candidate's full survey responses, click here.

I will implement programs to end mass incarceration by working to end money bail, ending the practice of trying children as adults, and implementing a "Crime Strategies Unit" to focus resources on the most harmful offenders. As DA, I reduced the jail population by nearly 30% while simultaneously reducing violent crime to historic lows, showing that we can simultaneously lower incarceration rates without compromising public safety. Diversion and reentry programs are also key. In San Francisco, I pioneered "Make It Right," a restorative justice program for juveniles which saw participants reoffend at less than ¼ the rate of those who went through the traditional process.

I will hold law enforcement accountable to help rebuild the trust between the community and law enforcement officers. As DA I prosecuted over 30 police officers and created the state's first independent investigations bureau to enhance transparency and eliminate the conflict of interest that occurs when police investigate themselves. I was the only DA in CA to advocate for a state law for stricter standards for when police may use force, and have committed to reopening at least 4 fatal officer-involved-shootings that our current DA has declined to charge. Lastly, I have not accepted any donations from police unions and have called for an end to police union contributions to DA races statewide.

I will bring focus and attention to the issue of sexual assault and harassment. As San Francisco District Attorney, I prosecuted more than double the national average of sex assault cases. I successfully fought to test every backlogged rape kit. I implemented a Sexual Assault Response Team and enhanced office training and education on effective communication with survivors of sexual assault. I created a campus sexual assault task force and a dedicated Child Abuse and Sexual Assault (CASA) Unit to prosecute sex crimes. As Los Angeles District Attorney, I am determined to build a strong response, support and prevention infrastructure to put an end to sexual harassment and assault in Los Angeles.

This information was current as of the candidate's run for Los Angeles County District Attorney in 2020.

Polls

See also: Ballotpedia's approach to covering polls

If you are aware of polls conducted in this race, please email us.

Campaign finance

Noteworthy endorsements

See also: Ballotpedia: Our approach to covering endorsements

This section lists noteworthy endorsements issued in this election, including those made by high-profile individuals and organizations, cross-party endorsements, and endorsements made by newspaper editorial boards. It also includes a bulleted list of links to official lists of endorsements for any candidates who published that information on their campaign websites. Please note that this list is not exhaustive. If you are aware of endorsements that should be included, please click here.

Click the links below to see endorsement lists published on candidate campaign websites, if available.

Noteworthy endorsements
Endorsement Lacey Gascón
Newspapers and editorials
The Daily Bruin[7] ✔
Daily Trojan[8] ✔
Inland Valley Daily Bulletin[7] ✔
Knock LA[9] ✔
La Opinión[7] ✔
Long Beach Press-Telegram[7] ✔
Los Angeles Daily News[7] ✔
Los Angeles Sentinel[10] ✔
Los Angeles Times[7] ✔
The Malibu Times[7] ✔
Metropolitan News-Enterprise[11] ✔
Pasadena Star-News[7] ✔
San Gabriel Valley Tribune[7] ✔
The Santa Clarita Valley Signal[12] ✔
Torrance Daily Breeze[7] ✔
Whittier Daily News[7] ✔
Elected officials
Senator Kamala Harris (D)[7] ✔
Governor Gavin Newsom (D)[7] ✔
Senator Bernie Sanders (I)[7] ✔

Timeline

2020

Campaign advertisements

This section shows advertisements released in this race. Ads released by campaigns and, if applicable, satellite groups are embedded or linked below. If you are aware of advertisements that should be included, please email us.

Independent Jackie Lacey

Supporting Lacey

"First" - Lacey campaign ad, released October 28, 2019
"We all Have Rights" - Lacey campaign ad, released October 17, 2019


Opposing Gascón

"Just Ask George #4" - Lacey campaign ad, released July 15, 2020
"Just Ask George #3" - Lacey campaign ad, released July 6, 2020
"Just Ask George #2" - Lacey campaign ad, released June 30, 2020
"Just Ask George" - Lacey campaign ad, released June 26, 2020

Independent George Gascón

Supporting Gascón

"Los Angeles Is My Home" - Gascón campaign ad, released October 23, 2020
"John Legend Endorses George Gascón" - Gascón campaign ad, released March 1, 2020
"John Legend Endorsement" - Gascón campaign ad, released February 19, 2020
"Fmr. LAPD Chief Charlie Beck On George Gascón" - Gascón campaign ad, released November 13, 2019
"Announcement Video" - Gascón campaign ad, released October 30, 2019


Opposing Lacey

"Los Angeles, Let's Fight Fear With Facts" - Gascón campaign ad, released October 27, 2020
"WAKE UP" - Gascón campaign ad, released September 29, 2020
"Outspoken" - Gascón campaign ad, released July 10, 2020
"Community Leaders Support Gascón" - Gascón campaign ad, released November 25, 2019

Campaign themes

See also: Campaign themes

Jackie Lacey

Lacey’s campaign website stated the following:

“
  • Protecting everyone’s rights and enhancing neighborhood safety
As District Attorney, Jackie Lacey works everyday to protect our rights and enhance neighborhood safety. She understands firsthand that it’s absolutely critical for all victims’ human rights to be protected, including civil rights, consumer rights, worker rights, immigrant rights, women's rights, and senior rights. DA Lacey recognizes that yesterday’s criminal justice system shouldn’t define tomorrow’s, and strives to protect the community through the fair and ethical pursuit of justice and the safeguarding of crime victim’s rights.
  • Enacting critical reforms to better address people with mental illnesses
Recognizing the need for the criminal justice system to better treat people living with mental illness, DA Lacey founded and leads the pioneering Criminal Justice Mental Health Project in LA County, which has set priorities for a comprehensive mental health diversion plan that provides alternatives to incarceration for nonviolent offenders, using input from government agencies and community-based organizations.
Their work culminated in the widely acclaimed Report from the Mental Health Advisory Board: Blue Print For Change, which proposed expanding training for law enforcement personnel and adding community-based beds to house and treat individuals with mental illness, particularly those with criminal records. Among other accomplishments, the project secured $150 million in funding from the county, ensured the opening of urgent care centers as an alternative to jail for certain arrestees, and helped create a new county office of diversion and re-entry.
Internally, Lacey has re-branded the District Attorney's office to emphasize their role in protecting the community through the fair and ethical pursuit of justice, including revamping hiring and training practices. The DA’s Office now trains hundreds of patrol officers and dispatchers in de-escalation tactics for people undergoing a mental health crisis, and is increasing the number of collaborative courts to divert those who have mental illness, substance abuse, and or post traumatic stress disorder. This training program was recognized by the National Association of Counties in 2017. Lastly, Lacey is in the process of revising the County’s Brady Policy to ensure that prosecutors adhere to their constitutional mandate to ensure a fair trial by providing exculpatory information to the defense.
  • Working to Replace the Broken Cash Bail System
The existing money bail system is in dire need of reform. It’s absolutely absurd the extent to which our jails are crowded with nonviolent offenders who simply cannot afford their cash bail. According to a 2015 report from the Public Policy Institute of California, more than 62% of county jail inmates are awaiting trials or sentencing, costing slightly more than $178 per inmate per day in LA County. Most remain in jail simply because they can’t afford bail.
Prosecutors should support reform that ensures people aren’t punished for being poor, but ensures safety, fairness and justice. That’s why DA Lacey supported California Senate Bill 10, a pioneering law passed in 2018 that drastically reformed the state’s cash bail system by transitioning from our existing system to a pretrial release program that protects public safety while maintaining the liberty of the person accused. This transformational program would maximize public resources, protect victim’s rights, and ensure court appearances continue without disproportionately hurting low-income arrestees.
The pretrial release program would quickly evaluate and safely release arrestees, while assuring broad judicial discretion in making detention decisions. It would accomplish this through a non-discriminatory risk assessment tool used for all detained arrestees, which accelerates release for non-serious, non-violent offenders who remain detained before arraignment. DA Lacey believes that this risk assessment tool should be open for public inspection, so that experts and other members of the public can evaluate whether or not the established risk assessment standards are discriminatory. The program would also provide judicial discretion for offenders charged with serious violent offenses, or those with a criminal history, over conditions of their release.
  • Taking on perpetrators of sexual violence and child abuse
In response to the increased willingness of alleged victims of sexual violence to come forward and the widespread allegations of abuse in the entertainment industry, DA Lacey recently established a task force of veteran sex crimes prosecutors to evaluate these cases for prosecution when they are referred to the DA’s office.
Lacey has also taken a special interest in combatting sex trafficking, including establishing a Sex Trafficking Section, which prosecutes criminals engaged in sexually exploiting women and children. In fact, the number of human trafficking charges filed nearly tripled between 2013 and 2014 after Lacey created a special Human Trafficking Unit that focuses on putting pimps behind bars and protecting their victims, instead of charging underage girls with prostitution.
Additionally, DA Lacey founded a specialized unit to address the growth in complex child abuse cases that often have no eyewitnesses to explain how the injuries occurred and created the Electronic Suspected Child Abuse Reporting System Unit, which significantly increased the number of report audits completed.
  • Enhancing efforts to combat environmental crimes
In a time of increasing climate catastrophes, Lacey has been dedicated to prosecuting environmental crimes, most notably by reinvigorating the DA’s Environmental Crimes Division and launching a program that dispatches prosecutors and investigators to industrial incidents involving occupational deaths and environmental threats, designed to enhanced the preservation of evidence during the early stages of an investigation. These units helped yield better quality cases, aiding the prosecution of those who violate environmental laws and helping to hold them accountable.
  • Banning the Use of Private Prisons
While the expansion of private prisons is not the only problem in California’s often slow-moving criminal justice system, there is something particularly galling about people making money off of increasing the size of our prison population. CEOs and shareholders of private prison companies have an incentive to minimize investments and maximize profits for shareholders, which ultimately results in them cutting corners to lower operating costs, including worse treatment of inmates and worse pay for prison guards.
It’s completely contrary to our values, particularly in a state as progressive as California, to have a system structure where people can profit off of mass incarceration, and are incentivized to lock up more people. That’s why I support the Governor and the State Legislature in their effort to ban this backwards and immoral practice in California. Corporate executives and shareholders should not be profiting from putting people in cages, and it’s time to end the archaic and cruel practice of private prisons in California and pass AB 32. Check out my editorial in the LA Times on the subject here.
  • Protecting seniors and immigrant communities from financial scams
Acknowledging the growing threat of financial scams, DA Lacey has introduced several campaigns that help safeguard vulnerable communities from fraud.
Jackie instituted the DA’s bimonthly Fraud Alerts to educate the public about common fraud schemes targeting seniors, including counterfeit drug scams and Medicare rip-offs. This education initiative was recognized by the National Association of Counties in 2017. These alerts were part of a collaborative effort with service organizations to educate seniors about common scams aimed at taking their money, including distributing literature at senior centers, and a public service announcement that runs on county sponsored television.
DA Lacey also understands that LA County’s great diversity attracts con artists seeking to manipulate and cheat some of our newest residents out of their hard-earned money, particularly under this administration, and that everyone – regardless of their immigration status – deserves to be protected against crime and to receive justice when they have been victimized. Consequently, Jackie launched the Notario Fraud Unit, dedicated to prosecuting immigration fraud and the unlicensed practice of law by con artists who often collect high fees from victims without delivering any services. The team conducts public outreach, participates in immigration task forces, drafts legislation to better protect consumers and conducts training for prosecutors, law enforcement personnel and consumer advocates.
  • Ensuring the fair and ethical pursuit of justice
Understanding firsthand the urgent need to ensure employees at the District Attorney's Office better serve LA County’s diverse population, Jackie ensured that the DA’s Office became the first department in Los Angeles County to provide implicit bias training to employees. The training provides the tools for prosecutors to look inward and evaluate their biases and how they may affect the decisions they make, which directly impact people’s liberty. DA Lacey also created a staff position to advise, teach and advance a better practice of ethics and professional conduct throughout the office.
Lacey also worked to modernize the DA’s website, including publishing documents and information on law enforcement use of force cases. Lastly, Jackie created a conviction review unit to review cases in which a claim has been made that the wrong person was punished for a serious crime. The LA County’s DA office is one of only six offices in the state that has such a unit.
  • Dedicating more resources to addressing opioid abuse
At a time when prescription pain pills or heroin are driving more than half of drug overdose deaths in the country, DA Lacey has intensified efforts to address those who are illegally supplying opioids, including prosecuting dealers and medical professionals who are illegally distributing prescription pain relievers.
  • Expanding efforts to combat cybercrime
Recognizing the growing threat of identity theft and other cybercrime, DA Lacey established two teams of cybercrime experts to address the growing threat of cybercrime. One investigates and prosecutes high tech crimes committed against businesses in LA County, as well as educating local businesses on ways to protect themselves from becoming victims. The other team addresses attacks on county government resources and trains county departments, including their recent work to apprehend defendants who hacked into LA County’s information infrastructure.
  • Tackling government corruption
DA Lacey has also led efforts to hold public officials accountable under the law, something that is essential to maintaining public trust in government. Most notably in 2014, seven former Bell city officials were sentenced for their roles in the most significant public corruption case prosecuted in Los Angeles County in more than a decade.
  • Focusing on serious violent or sexual crimes
Violent crime in Los Angeles County continues to be reported at an all-time low and DA Lacey remains committed to maintaining public safety through the prosecution of dangerous criminals.
After undergoing a frustrating process where the LA DA’s office unsuccessfully tried to prevent the release of a notorious serial rapist into Los Angeles County following the passage of Prop 36, the DA’s office went to Sacramento and sponsored AB 1607 to change the law. As a result, the next time a sexually violent predator is scheduled for release anywhere in California, the affected county will be notified and given the opportunity to actively participate in the decision-making process.[13]
 ”
—Jackie Lacey’s campaign website (2020)[14]


Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Candidate Connection

Jackie Lacey completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Lacey's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

I grew up in a working-class home in the Crenshaw district of South LA and attended Dorsey High School. My community shaped me in every way and led me to pursue a career as a prosecutor. I was one of only four African American's in my USC law graduating class. I served over thirty years as a courtroom prosecutor in the DA's office and went onto to serve LA County's first-ever hate crime. In 2012 I was elected to be LA County's first African American and first woman DA. My upbringing drove me to run for this office 8 years ago and is the reason why I decided to run for reelection. I witnessed vulnerable people in my community who did not have access or knowledge of the justice system. I was drawn to public service because I wanted to be a voice for those people. I wanted to make a difference for people like my father who was shot and never received justice. I also wanted to reform areas of our criminal justice system that are not fair and perpetuate inequality. These values still drive me every day.
  • As the first African American and first woman LA District Attorney, I have the knowledge and experience to deliver historic reforms while keeping our community safe.
  • My pioneering mental health reforms have created alternatives to incarceration for thousands of non-violent offenders suffering from mental illness and helped to train over 2,000 law enforcement officers on how to deescalate situations involving people with mental health problems.
  • Protecting the safety of our community from violent and dangerous criminals will always be my highest priority. I will always stand up for the rights of crime victims who are disproportionately people of color and people who come from poorer communities.
The single biggest issue facing our criminal justice system and our County is how we deal with people suffering from mental illness within the court system. Recognizing the need for the criminal justice system to better treat people living with mental illness, I founded and lead the pioneering Criminal Justice Mental Health Project in LA County, which has set priorities for a comprehensive mental health diversion plan that provides alternatives to incarceration for nonviolent offenders, using input from government agencies and community-based organizations. If elected I plan to build on this initiative so that we are better able to tackle homelessness and all of the issues that stem from it.

I am also proud to have pioneered a program that has trained over 2,000 law enforcement officers on how to deescalate situations involving people with mental illnesses or drug addictions. The program has been a major success and we have already seen a significant decrease in the number of police shootings involving a suspect with a mental illness.

Human trafficking remains a serious issue in our communities. I established a Human Trafficking Unit which prosecutes pimps who exploit children and adults. Most of the children preyed upon are from the foster care system. By targeting pimps and not prosecuting children, we help to redirect the children out of prostitution and into a healthy supportive environment.

This office is unique because we are constantly innovating and adapting so that we can be a modern leader in criminal justice and community safety. We look to be a role model for other jurisdictions so that we can find solutions to complex problems facing our judicial system. My office led in the creation of the conviction review in 2015 unit. This was part of my commitment to innovate the criminal system. Although the vast majority of convictions are upheld, I know that the pursuit of justice is not always perfect. The unit has been a model for a number of other jurisdictions wishing to make reforms in this space.

We have also led from the front in pioneering the mental health initiative within the DAs office. This landmark reform was the first of its kind for LA County and a shining example of what can be achieved when you bring people together for a common purpose. I also believe that the DA can show initiative and lead in the legislative process. I actively lobbied and helped craft SB 10, a piece of legislation that that will be instrumental in ending cash bail.

In all of these areas I believe that the LA District Attorney can play a meaninful role in shaping the national diologue around criminal justice reform.
As the first African American and the first woman Los Angeles DA, I am more than aware that I am standing on the shoulders of many incredible women that have come before me. Women like Yvonne Burke, who was one of the first Black women admitted to USC. She went on to have an astounding career as a US Congresswoman where she was the first was the first sitting member of the house to give birth while in office.

Then there is Congresswoman Diane Watson, who after being elected to the Los Angeles School Board, fought tirelessly to integrate LA public schools before becoming the first African American to serve in the California State Senate.

The late Gwen Moore is another Black woman who rose to become the Majority Whip in the State Assembly, she was instrumental in building consensus and passing over 400 bills that were signed into law. Gwen's work to strengthen the number of Black and minority-owned businesses is an achievement that will be felt across thousands of communities for generations to come.

All of these women have so much in common. They broke the shackles of institutional racism and didn't stop there. They used their unique positions of power to drive much needed change in their communities and the country as a whole. There is no question that I would not be where I am today if it were not for the efforts of these incredible women who blazed the trail before me.
There are two books that shed a particularly strong light on my political philosophy. The Audacity of Hope by Barrack Obama and Profiles in Courage by John F. Kennedy.
This role is unique to almost any other elected position in the country. As DA it is vital to be independent, so that every case is taken on its merits and decisions are made on the available evidence. I have found that you must also be patient and pragmatic so that the course of justice can be served in a responsible and ethical manner. The Los Angeles DA has to display integrity and fairness for both the victim and the accuoused.

These are qualities that cannot be delivered by someone who is using the office for political gain. My opponent has shown a disturbing willingness to politicize particular cases to advance his career. This is not the approach that is needed in the Los Angeles DAs office.
The core responsibility of someone elected is to keep the people of LA County safe. The vast majority of crime victims in this county are poor folks and people of color. I have always stood up for these victims. In 1997 I successfully carried out California's first prosecution of a hate crime. I firmly believe that you can make critical reforms within the office, without sacrificing public safety.
I remember vividly watching the black and white television when the news came through that John F. Kennedy had been assassinated in 1963. I was 6 years old at the time but I will always remember my parents in tears and in disbelief that the President had just been killed. This was truly a moment that will live in the memories of all those who lived through it.
My first job was as a sales clerk at a local Sears. I worked there for two years as a minimum wage employee. The experience was gruelling at times, to say the least! I continued to work jobs like this in order to help get me through college and eventually law school. Like so many kids that have come from humble backgrounds, I value the importance of gaining critical life experiences by working hard to get where I needed to be,
"One in a Million" by Larry Graham.
Growing up poor in the Crenshaw District in the 1970s, I experienced my fair share of challenges. However, nothing will compare to the day that I found out that my father had been shot outside our family home. He had been cleaning up gang-affiliated graffiti on a wall near where I grew up. The people that committed the crime were never caught or prosecuted. This tragedy changed me forever but further encouraged me to pursue a career as a prosecutor. It was clear to me that justice was not always delivered equally. Many people in my community didn't know the law and didn't know their rights. These are the people that drove me to enter public life and I have never forgotten them.
In order to lead the largest prosecutorial office in the nation, it is critical to have courtroom experience. Throughout my career as a prosecutor, I have tried over 100 cases, including 11 murder trials. There simply is no substitute for having hands-on experience within the justice system. This is not a job for a career politician or someone who needs to be in the limelight. This is a role that requires deep knowledge, experience, and empathy for those navigating the criminal justice system.

My opponent has never tried a single case. He simply does not have the necessary experience to be considered qualified to lead this office.
The Los Angeles District Attorney overseas over 1,000 lawyers who on a yearly basis prosecute over 100,000 cases. In an office this size you need to gain the respect of those within it and effectively manage your employees to create a culture that delivers fairness and justice for all. I have a record of bringing people together in order to find solutions to complex problems. I have assembled an incredibly diverse team of lawyers from all walks of life. I know that they respect my experience and I can trust them to carry out the important duties of this office.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

George Gascón

Gascón’s campaign website stated the following:

“
  • Sexual Assault – Protecting and Holding Abusers Accountable
As District Attorney, Gascón prosecuted more than double the national average of sexual assault cases and successfully fought to test every backlogged rape kit. He reduced the average days to conviction by over 20% in a single year between 2016 and 2017 and implemented a Sexual Assault Response Team, enhanced office training and education on effective communication with survivors of sexual assault, created a campus sexual assault task force, and created a dedicated Child Abuse and Sexual Assault (CASA) Unit to prosecute sex crimes. He brought full-time facility dogs to the office to assist victims in the most difficult of circumstances, and implemented an annual Red Zone public education campaign to promote awareness around the first six weeks of school in which college students are 50 percent more likely to be sexually assaulted than they are at any other time. He worked with Colleges and Universities to create agreements with law enforcement and community based organizations to work together with victims in order to connect them with services as soon as possible, regardless of whether or not they choose to file a police report. Gascón also implemented a Safe Bars partnership which worked with staff and owners of bars, clubs and restaurants to implement a bystander intervention program.
  • Addressing Police Violence, Holding Law Enforcement Accountable, and Increasing Transparency
Gascón began his 40-year career in law enforcement as a beat cop with the LAPD. He personally faced circumstances where he could have used force but chose not to. Later he oversaw LAPD’s use of force review process, taught use of force policy to supervisors, made decisions related to suspensions and terminations as Assistant Chief of the LAPD and then as Chief of Police for two big-city police departments, and as San Francisco District Attorney he prosecuted more than 30 police officers for criminal conduct, including excessive force. He is the nation’s only former Chief of Police to be appointed DA.
Following two racist and homophobic text messaging scandals at the San Francisco Police Department, Gascón launched an investigation into a toxic culture that enabled racism to fester and resulted in over 80 recommendations for reform, many of which the department subsequently made. Later, Gascón created the state’s first independent investigations bureau to enhance transparency and eliminate the conflict of interest that occurs when police investigate themselves in the aftermath of a critical incident.
Mr. Gascón was also the only law enforcement official in the state to advocate for successful state legislation that created a stricter standard for when police may use force. Mr. Gascón asked every prosecutor in California to join him in supporting the law, including incumbent DA Jackie Lacey, but he stood alone among law enforcement in pushing this necessary reform.

Gascón has unparalleled expertise on this issue. Read his detailed proposal for Law Enforcement Accountability by clicking here.

Additionally, Gascón has pledged to re-open four fatal officer-involved shootings that DA Lacey has declined to prosecute. Read the announcement by clicking here.
  • Taking LADA into the 21st Century
As District Attorney, Gascón would implement a Crime Strategies Unit (CSU) as he did in San Francisco, a multi-disciplinary team of prosecutors, analysts and investigators that use a data-driven approach to resourcefully address chronic crime and repeat offenders. CSU’s approach in San Francisco has been credited with multiple major organized crime takedowns, including Operations Wrecking Ball and Cold Day, the latter of which netted the most arrests in a single day ever for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, a federal agency. Gascón would also implement a Gun Enforcement Unit (GEU) to ensure recovered weapons and ammunition is adequately mined for evidence and can be tied to crimes and dangerous persons.
  • Money Bail
Gascón was the first elected prosecutor in the nation to propose an end to money bail because money is not a sufficient proxy for risk. In 2016, Gascón implemented the Public Safety Assessment (PSA) which makes custody decisions based on risk rather than how much money one has. Statistics suggest that defendants released on money bail are about twice as likely to commit another crime pretrial compared to defendants released based on a recommendation from the tool. As a result, making these decisions based on risk rather than ability to pay is not only more equitable, it’s also yielding better results for our community’s safety. If elected, Gascón will work to eliminate the use of money bail.
  • On Behavioral Health and Its Nexus to Homelessness
More than half of all people incarcerated in prisons and jails have a mental illness: 56 percent of state prisoners, 45 percent of federal prisoners, and 64 percent of jail inmates. Of those who have a mental illness, about three-quarters also have a co-occurring substance use disorder.
Correctional facilities are fundamentally places of punishment and control, not treatment and rehabilitation. By necessity, security within a jail or prison is paramount, making it difficult to create and maintain an effective system of mental health care. By virtue of their very nature— from their architectural design to the manner in which they are routinely operated—jails and prisons tend to exacerbate mental illness. As a result, adding treatment services to traditional jail facilities will never adequately address this inherent problem.
Ultimately, you simply cannot resolve our behavioral health crisis with a law enforcement response. The use of police, prosecutors and jails results in individuals being released without adequate medication or prescriptions. Failure to adequately prepare for community reentry and continuation of mental health services can exacerbate psychiatric conditions and increase the likelihood of addiction, homelessness, and recidivism.
The most widely accepted, evidence-based practice for treating such individuals is Integrated Dual Diagnosis Treatment, which treats both mental health and substance abuse disorders simultaneously and in the same setting. Therefore, if elected I would work to implement regional Behavioral Health facilities where law enforcement would work hand in hand with public health officials.
Additionally, programs like Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) must be expanded and embraced as they have proven to outperform traditional approaches to this difficult population. LEAD is an innovative pre-booking diversion program that refers repeat, low-level drug offenders at high risk of recidivism at the earliest contact with law enforcement to community-based health and social services as an alternative to jail and prosecution.
The program is based on a model developed in Seattle which has seen excellent results. Evaluations of Seattle’s program revealed that participants were 58% less likely than people in the control group to be rearrested, and found statistically significant reductions for the LEAD group compared to the control group in average yearly criminal justice and legal system utilization and associated costs.
  • Law Enforcement’s Role During Covid-19
Jails are breeding grounds for this disease, and staff and individuals alike that exit the system daily are prone to take Covid-19 with them back into our communities. A healthier community is a safer community, and individuals who do not pose a danger to our safety must be released and their prosecutions must be put on hold until after the pandemic passes.
  • The Death Penalty
Gascón is opposed to the death penalty and has never sought to condemn someone to death. State sanctioned killings do not deter crime, but in light of the unequal application of the death penalty to communities of color it does inflict an extraordinary amount of harm to the moral authority of our justice system. It wastes a massive amount of taxpayer resources and creates an unnecessary risk that the state will put an innocent person to death.
California has spent more than $5 billion since 1978 prosecuting death penalty cases and maintaining a death row that houses approximately 737 inmates. During that time, however, only 13 death sentences have been carried out at an outrageous cost of $384 million per execution. The death penalty is morally dubious at best and Gascón believes it’s time to end it.
  • Victims
Gascón believes that victims of crime need the utmost care and consideration in order to ensure that they get the services they need to address the trauma that they’ve suffered. This is as important to their healing as it is to our community’s safety, as hurt people hurt people, with victims of crime being disproportionately likely to turn to crime themselves.
As DA in San Francisco, Gascón increased the number of victims served by 75 percent and worked to overhaul the Victims Compensation and Government Claims Board through his sponsorship of AB 1140.
  • Environmental Justice
Gascón has used his offices’ power to hold both individuals and corporations accountable for actions harming the environment. As San Francisco’s DA he cracked down on corporate polluters, fighting to hold an oil tanker accountable after spilling 422 gallons of oil into the San Francisco Bay in 2009. Gascón also held California Walgreens accountable after over 600 stores throughout the state dumped hazardous medical waste, full of toxic and flammable materials. Walgreens Company paid $16.67 million in settlement costs. In addition to prosecuting large corporations and oil companies, Gascón reprimanded individual polluters, charging those who incorrectly disposed of hazardous waste from restaurants and other shops. Beyond using the traditional powers of the District Attorney’s office to prosecute polluters, Gascón is committed to diverting public funds away from jails and applying them towards public goods like parks in environmental deserts.
  • Public Corruption
As San Francisco District Attorney, Gascón was committed to fighting for a clean government that worked for the people. He formed a joint task force with the FBI to investigate public corruption within San Francisco’s City Hall, allocating more funds for labor and time intensive corruption investigations. Gascón prosecuted officials from the Mayor’s campaign committee over illegal contributions and pay-to-play politics, and held accountable school board members who spent money meant for student services on themselves. If elected, Gascón would bring the same level of accountability to Los Angeles County.
  • Children in the Justice System
Under Gascón’s leadership San Francisco experienced a dramatic decline in youth crime, arrest and incarceration rates, and became the first major city in the U.S. to close a juvenile hall. Two programs implemented by Gascón that are being duplicated across the country are:
Make It Right, a program for justice involved juveniles which sees participants reoffend at less than ¼ the rate of those who go through the traditional process.
Young Adult Court, a program designed to address the unique needs of young adults ages 18-25, an age group that is disproportionately represented in the criminal justice system.
  • Drug Policy
Gascón co-authored Proposition 47 to unwind California’s involvement in the war on drugs and save California $800,000 per day that is being reinvested in K-12 education and victim, substance abuse and mental health services. He also started a national movement when he proactively applied Proposition 64, which legalized marijuana, to dismiss and seal thousands of marijuana convictions dating back to 1975. Gascón was recently honored by the Drug Policy Alliance for his achievements in the Field of Law at the International Drug Policy Reform Conference.
  • Immigration
Gascón immigrated to Los Angeles from Cuba when he was 13. He has been a major advocate for immigrant rights, having taken on Joe Arpaio when he was Chief of Police in Mesa, AZ, and leading state legislative efforts to ensure immigrants aren’t targeted with inappropriate questioning about their status when they take the stand. He implemented a court escort policy in the era of ICE agents in courtrooms in order to ensure that every resident of our community has equal access to our courthouses and our system of justice.
  • Prosecutorial Transparency
Gascón launched the state’s first online portal for prosecutorial data enabling community members to review office performance metrics. If elected, he would introduce a similar tool in LA.[13]
 ”
—George Gascón’s campaign website (2020)[15]


Candidate Connection

George Gascón completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Gascón's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

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When I arrived in the United States from Cuba at 13, I did not speak English and struggled in school. I dropped out of high school and joined the U.S. Army where I earned my high school diploma. Later, I attended CSU Long Beach graduating with a B.A in History. I then joined the LAPD, rising through the ranks to become the Assistant Chief of Operations, while simultaneously earning my Law Degree from Western State University. I was recruited to become the Chief of Police in Mesa, Arizona and battled against the nationally known anti-immigrant Sheriff Joe Arpaio. I took our fight to the US Congress providing testimony exposing the human/civil rights abuses unfolding in Arizona. That resulted in me being asked to leave Mesa. Then-Mayor Gavin Newsom recruited me to serve as San Francisco's Chief of Police. I was the SF Chief of Police for 16 months helping to reduce murders from 98 annually to 45. Thereafter, I was appointed to be District Attorney and later ran successfully for two terms, pushing a nationally recognized agenda of reform and community safety. I'm back home and running to replace Jackie Lacey as DA, because LA County deserves a more effective and progressive DA that enhances community safety without over incarcerating our communities.
  • I will implement programs to end mass incarceration by working to end money bail, ending the practice of trying children as adults, and implementing a "Crime Strategies Unit" to focus resources on the most harmful offenders. As DA, I reduced the jail population by nearly 30% while simultaneously reducing violent crime to historic lows, showing that we can simultaneously lower incarceration rates without compromising public safety. Diversion and reentry programs are also key. In San Francisco, I pioneered "Make It Right," a restorative justice program for juveniles which saw participants reoffend at less than ¼ the rate of those who went through the traditional process.
  • I will hold law enforcement accountable to help rebuild the trust between the community and law enforcement officers. As DA I prosecuted over 30 police officers and created the state's first independent investigations bureau to enhance transparency and eliminate the conflict of interest that occurs when police investigate themselves. I was the only DA in CA to advocate for a state law for stricter standards for when police may use force, and have committed to reopening at least 4 fatal officer-involved-shootings that our current DA has declined to charge. Lastly, I have not accepted any donations from police unions and have called for an end to police union contributions to DA races statewide.
  • I will bring focus and attention to the issue of sexual assault and harassment. As San Francisco District Attorney, I prosecuted more than double the national average of sex assault cases. I successfully fought to test every backlogged rape kit. I implemented a Sexual Assault Response Team and enhanced office training and education on effective communication with survivors of sexual assault. I created a campus sexual assault task force and a dedicated Child Abuse and Sexual Assault (CASA) Unit to prosecute sex crimes. As Los Angeles District Attorney, I am determined to build a strong response, support and prevention infrastructure to put an end to sexual harassment and assault in Los Angeles.
Making our communities safer and more equitable is my life's work. While public safety is a top priority for my time in office, so is justice. I am committed to ending mass incarceration in a County that has seen a 30% violent crime increase during our incumbent DA's two terms, yet continues to maintain the biggest jail system in the country

The blunt instrument of prison has proven ineffective and inefficient as a way to address crime, yet the current District Attorney continues to send people to prison at a rate higher than 70% of California's prosecutors. While serving as District Attorney of San Francisco, I worked tirelessly to reduce jail and prison populations, and tackle bias by keeping demographic information about suspects from prosecutors as they decide whether to bring charges. And despite incarcerating people at ¼ the rate of Los Angeles, violent crime in San Francisco dropped more quickly than it did in LA.

I am seeking to bring this same approach to Los Angeles-ensuring public safety and reducing crime, while also reforming the overburdened and outdated prison pipeline currently in place.
In high school, I worked 20 hours a week as a "box boy" at a local supermarket. Though only 14 at the time, I pretend to be 16 to satisfy the minimum age requirement. As it was a union job, I actually made more than my parents did, allowing me to help support my family. I held this job until I dropped out of high school to join the US Army.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

County election history

The section below details election results for this office in elections dating back to 2016.

2016

See also: Municipal elections in Los Angeles County, California (2016)

Los Angeles County held elections for county commission, district attorney, and special districts in 2016. The general election was held on November 8, 2016. A primary election was held on July 7, 2016. The candidate filing deadline for this election was on March 11, 2016. Incumbent Jackie Lacey ran unopposed in the district attorney primary election.[16]

District Attorney, Primary Election, 2016
Candidate
Green check mark transparent.png Jackie Lacey Incumbent

1996-2012

Click here to view Los Angeles district attorney election results dating back to 1996.

About the county

See also: Los Angeles County, California

The county government of Los Angeles County is located in Los Angeles, California. The county was first established in 1850.[17]As of 2020, its population was 10,014,009.

County government

See also: Government of Los Angeles County, California

Los Angeles County is overseen by a five-member board of supervisors. Each supervisor is elected by district to a four-year term. Residents also elect a county assessor, district attorney, and county sheriff.

Demographics

The following table displays demographic data provided by the United States Census Bureau.

Demographic Data for Los Angeles County, California
Los Angeles County California
Population 10,014,009 39,538,223
Land area (sq mi) 4,059 155,857
Race and ethnicity**
White 47.8% 56.1%
Black/African American 8.1% 5.7%
Asian 14.8% 14.8%
Native American 0.8% 0.8%
Pacific Islander 0.2% 0.4%
Other (single race) 21.1% 14.3%
Multiple 7.3% 7.9%
Hispanic/Latino 48.3% 39.1%
Education
High school graduation rate 79.8% 83.9%
College graduation rate 33.5% 34.7%
Income
Median household income $71,358 $78,672
Persons below poverty level 14.2% 12.6%
Source: population provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "Decennial Census" (2020). Other figures provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2015-2020).
**Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.


See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Los Angeles Almanac, "Los Angeles County District Attorney Election Results," accessed October 19, 2020
  2. ↑ San Francisco Department of Elections, "Official Ranked-Choice Results Report November 8, 2011, Consolidated Municipal Election, District Attorney," accessed October 26, 2020
  3. ↑ [San Francisco Department of Elections, "November 3, 2015 Official Election Results," accessed October 26, 2020]
  4. ↑ LAist, "Key Takeaways In LA DA Debate: Challenger George Gascón And Incumbent Jackie Lacey Make Their Cases," October 8, 2020
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office, "Office Overview," accessed October 20, 2020
  6. ↑ Candidate Connection surveys completed before September 26, 2019, were not used to generate candidate profiles. In battleground primaries, Ballotpedia based its selection of noteworthy candidates on polling, fundraising, and noteworthy endorsements. In battleground general elections, all major party candidates and any other candidates with the potential to impact the outcome of the race were included.
  7. ↑ 7.00 7.01 7.02 7.03 7.04 7.05 7.06 7.07 7.08 7.09 7.10 7.11 7.12 7.13 7.14 7.15 George Gascón's 2020 campaign website, "Endorsements," accessed October 20, 2020
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Daily Trojan, "Daily Trojan Editorial Board endorsements for California elections," October 30, 2020
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Knock LA, "George Gascón for DA: A Case in Three Laws," October 27, 2020
  10. ↑ Los Angeles Sentinel, "THE ELECTION OF OUR LIFE, September 17, 2020
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Metropolitan News-Enterprise, "[XJackie Lacey," October 14, 2020]
  12. ↑ The Santa Clarita Valley Signal, "Our View | Endorsements: District Attorney, Water," October 3, 2020
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
  14. ↑ Jackie Lacey’s 2020 campaign website, “Issues,” accessed October 20, 2020
  15. ↑ George Gascón's 2020 campaign website, “On the Issues,” accessed October 20, 2020
  16. ↑ Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, "2016 Primary Election Final List of Qualified Candidates," accessed September 7, 2016
  17. ↑ Los Angeles County, "About LA County," accessed September 7, 2016
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