Sajid Khan

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Sajid Khan

Nonpartisan

Elections and appointments

Last election

June 7, 2022

Education

Bachelor's

University of California, Berkeley, 2003

Law

University of California, Hastings College of the Law, 2007

Personal

Birthplace

Milpitas, CA

Religion

Muslim

Profession

Deputy Public Defender for Santa Clara County

Contact

Campaign website

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Sajid Khan ran for election for Santa Clara County District Attorney in California. Khan lost in the primary on June 7, 2022.

Khan completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Sajid Khan was born in Milpitas, California. Khan earned a bachelor's degree from the University of California, Berkeley in 2003 and a law degree from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law in 2007. Khan's career experience includes working as a deputy public defender for Santa Clara County and Contra Costa County.

Khan has been affiliated with the following organizations:

• Silicon Valley De-Bug, volunteer
• Progressive Democrats for Social Justice, member
• Granada Islamic School, former board member
• Muslim Community Association, former board member and elections committee chair
• South Bay Progressive Alliance
• San Jose Unified Equity Coalition
• Berryessa Flea Market Association
• Democratic Socialists of America, Silicon Valley Chapter

Elections

2022

See also: Municipal elections in Santa Clara County, California (2022)

Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for Santa Clara County District Attorney

Incumbent Jeff Rosen won election outright against Daniel M. Chung and Sajid Khan in the primary for Santa Clara County District Attorney on June 7, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Jeff Rosen (Nonpartisan)	55.9	181,851
		Daniel M. Chung (Nonpartisan)	24.4	79,378
		Sajid Khan (Nonpartisan)	19.7	64,179

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 325,408
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Campaign themes

2022

Video for Ballotpedia

Video submitted to Ballotpedia Released Apr 22, 2022

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Sajid Khan completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Khan's responses.

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Sajid Khan is the proud son of Muslim immigrants from India and a San Jose native. He has dedicated his career to public service, serving as a Deputy Public Defender in Santa Clara County over the last fourteen years. Sajid is running for District Attorney to build a justice system that protects the safety and dignity of all people. He believes Black Lives Matter and will fight the status quo of systemic racism and mass incarceration that fails to keep our communities safe.

Sajid will invest in mental health services and other alternatives to incarceration that are proven to prevent violent and property crimes. He will honor survivors and address the root causes of crime to heal our community and reduce recidivism. And will be an independent DA that holds police accountable when they violate the law.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Ending mass incarceration and fighting systemic racism while honoring survivors of harm
• Dismantle the school to prison pipeline
• Stand up to police misconduct that makes our communities less safe

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I am running to end the racist war on drugs, which disproportionately impacts communities of color. Instead, we will work to divert those accused of drug-related offenses and those people whose harms are rooted in substance abuse into treatment and diversion programs that address root causes and actually make our communities safer.

We will stop seeking disproportionate sentences under the three-strikes law and will fight to end our money bail system. Instead, we will invest in custody alternatives and work to address root causes of harm to prevent crime, reduce recidivism and ultimately make our communities safer.

I will utilize restorative justice practices and interventions that honor and respect survivors, provide trauma-informed care, hold offenders accountable, and stop future harms while ensuring due process and dignity for all.

I will not prosecute kids as adults. We will consider the childhood trauma and life circumstances of the accused when assessing charges and outcomes in all cases.

Most pressing in Santa Clara County is the issue of police accountability. I will prosecute police officers who unjustifiably kill or use excessive force. I will not prosecute cases where police violate the Constitution or engage in racially discriminatory practices when collecting evidence. I will not allow police officers who have proven to be dishonest to serve as witnesses in court. I will prosecute police officers who falsify reports or commit perjury.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

My mother always spoke and embodied the universal language of resistance, justice, and service. She wrote letters, shouted at protests, and spoke up at community forums. We quietly connected in our shared spirit to honor the dignity and rights of our community’s most vulnerable, and her resilient commitment to fighting for systems transformation and against oppression is the origin story of my career as a public defender and now my candidacy for Santa Clara County District Attorney.

In addition, Malcolm X stood tall as a central, prominent figure of my childhood- his autobiography required reading, various books about him gracing our bookshelves. Malcolm inspired my career in public defense. As a young boy, Malcolm aspired to be a lawyer only to be deterred by an elementary school teacher who told him to be more “realistic” about his career goals. Although Malcolm never became a lawyer, he embodied and exemplified what I thought a lawyer looked like and could be: noble, dignified, charismatic, courageous, bold and unapologetic, standing firm for justice, giving voice to the voiceless, representing the underrepresented, demanding dignity for all.

Malcolm’s example prompted me to pursue a career as a public defender, attempting to preserve the dignity and humanity of the accused, push back against overzealous police and government, combat racial profiling and mass incarceration, to be the lawyer that he wanted to become but never got to be.

What legacy would you like to leave?

I want to help create a world that re-envisions what true public safety, health, and accountability look like. It's time we start investing in changing behavior and preventing harm rather than reactive punishment.

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.

See also

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Candidate

Santa Clara County District Attorney

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