LOS ANGELES (AP) 鈥 Los Angeles County voters are set to decide next month if embattled District Attorney George Gasc贸n will remain the head of the nation鈥檚 largest prosecutor鈥檚 office in a race centered on perceptions of public safety.
Gasc贸n, who was elected in 2020 on a criminal justice platform alongside a wave of progressive prosecutors, faces 11 challengers in the March 5 nonpartisan primary. Voting is already underway.
Gasc贸n鈥檚 challengers say his policies are to blame for rising crime, including a series of at luxury stores that have garnered national attention from critics who say California's Democratic leaders are allowing lawlessness. Property crime increased nearly 3% within the sheriff's jurisdiction of Los Angeles County from 2022 to 2023.
Violent crime, however, decreased more than 3% in the city of Los Angeles and in 2023 compared to the year before. It is still above pre-pandemic levels, and the feeling of being unsafe is so pervasive that even the Los Angeles mayor and police chief said last month they are working to .
鈥淭here isn鈥檛 a community, I believe, in LA County that would say things are on the right track from a crime perspective,鈥 said Michael Bustamante, an election expert and public affairs consultant who is not involved in the race.
Gasc贸n was elected after a summer of unrest following the police killing of in Minneapolis.
He immediately : not seeking the death penalty; not prosecuting juveniles as adults; ending cash bail for misdemeanors and nonviolent felonies; and no longer filing enhancements triggering stiffer sentences for certain elements of crimes, repeat offenses or gang membership.
Gasc贸n quickly faced backlash, including a recall attempt within his first 100 days and a second attempt later, which both failed to get on the ballot.
His challengers include local prosecutors Jonathan Hatami and Eric Siddall and former federal prosecutors Jeff Chemerinsky and Nathan Hochman, a one-time , who all have garnered notable endorsements.
To win outright, a candidate must receive a 50%-plus-one vote, an unlikely outcome in the largest-ever field to seek the office. Anything less triggers a runoff race between the top two candidates in November to lead an agency made up of almost 1,000 lawyers who prosecute cases in the most populous county in the U.S.
Experts believe Gasc贸n will survive the primary but are less optimistic about his chances in November.
"Nobody has really broken out. And with a large number of each candidate getting a decent amount of support, it could become a random thing who gets into the runoff,鈥 said Raphael Sonenshein, executive director of The John Randolph Haynes and Dora Haynes Foundation, which focuses on social science research in Los Angeles.
The challenger field is largely campaigning on a reversal of nearly all of 骋补蝉肠贸苍'蝉 progressive policies. They're running with a more tough-on-crime approach but are mindful of going too far for LA County's Democratic electorate.
Chemerinsky, for example, vowed to undo almost all of 骋补蝉肠贸苍'蝉 practices but said he would keep the ban on the use of the death penalty.
骋补蝉肠贸苍'蝉 . His to stop seeking longer prison sentences and cease using sentencing enhancements, among other controversial policies, were met with immediate resistance.
The union representing rank-and-file prosecutors sued Gasc贸n, arguing he cannot bar the use of sentencing enhancements for prior felony convictions under the state鈥檚 鈥渢hree strikes鈥 law. The California Supreme Court heard arguments last year and has not issued a ruling.
Gasc贸n faced a slew of no-confidence votes by municipal governments across the county. took the unusual step of criticizing his policies as reckless and tried to take cases from his jurisdiction.
He also was forced to roll back some of his biggest reforms, such as initially ordering more than 100 enhancements dropped and elevating a hate crime from misdemeanor to a felony. The move infuriated victims鈥 advocates and Gasc贸n backpedaled, restoring enhancements in cases involving children, elderly people and people targeted because of their race, ethnicity, sexual orientation or disability.
鈥淚 think that most of the damage to Gasc贸n happened relatively early," Sonenshein said.
The unions representing rank-and-file Los Angeles Police Department officers and Los Angeles County deputy sheriffs, respectively, have not publicly endorsed anyone in the primary. In 2020, both heavily opposed Gasc贸n, a former police chief and .
The Association of Deputy District Attorneys, representing LA County prosecutors, has endorsed Siddall, its former vice president.
Hochman's campaign said Thursday he has raised $2 million. Gasc贸n, who got more than $12 million in contributions in 2020 鈥 had nearly $112,000 cash-on-hand in his campaign account as of Feb. 17, according to campaign finance records. Experts said that's a fraction of what's needed to run a county-wide campaign.
Reports from Thursday鈥檚 filing deadline have not been made public yet.
The other candidates are David S. Milton, Debra Archuleta, Maria Ramirez, Dan Kapelovitz, Lloyd 鈥淏obcat鈥 Masson, John McKinney and Craig J. Mitchell.
