LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles County voters are set to decide next month if embattled District Attorney George Gascón will remain the head of the nation’s largest prosecutor’s office in a race centered on perceptions of public safety.
Gascón, who was elected in 2020 on a criminal justice platform alongside a wave of progressive prosecutors, faces 11 challengers in the March 5 non-partisan primary. Voting is already underway.
Gascón’s challengers say his policies are to blame for rising crime, including a series of brazen smash-and-grab robberies 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 nearly 1.5% in the county 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 fix the city’s image.
“There isn’t a community, I believe, in LA County that would say things are on the right track from a crime perspective,” said Michael Bustamante, an election expert and public affairs consultant who is not involved in the race.
Gascón was elected after a summer of unrest following the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
He immediately imposed his campaign agenda: 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.
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