Los Angeles County just dropped the gavel: George Gascón is out. After years of skyrocketing crime, disillusionment, and distrust among millions of residents which resulted in two recall attempts, Angelenos have had enough. In his reelection, incumbent District Attorney George Gascón suffered a landslide defeat by former US Assistant Attorney General Nathan Hochman. Hochman, a career prosecutor with an illustrious resumé and an even stronger background of community involvement in LA, has turned a page in this county to a future of sanity, justice, and frankly, common sense.
Under the last four years of Gascón’s administration, Los Angeles County’s public safety was not only the world’s laughing stock and a common conservative punching bag, but also became a case study in what happens when ideology trumps accountability. Blanket policies, no questions asked. Sentencing enhancements? “Pass.” Victims’ rights? Hard to find. Instead of tailoring justice, Gascón’s reforms were one-size-fits-all. His sweeping directives on Day One, which included barring prosecutors from charging 13 specific misdemeanors, applying sentencing enhancements, requesting cash bail for misdemeanors, or attending parole hearings, left residents and victims such as Emma Rivas—whose son’s murderer failed to receive enhancements from Gascón—to wonder if their safety was a priority.
As crime increased by every metric all over the county, the ripple effects were just as ugly inside the Hall of Justice. Gascón faced not one, but two recall attempts, each driven in large part by leaders from minority communities who have borne the brunt of the violence, as well as his own deputy DA’s union, who voted by 98% to back them. Lawsuits against him piled up as his own deputy district attorneys accused Gascón of forcing them to sideline their professional judgment, often at the expense of justice. Morale hit rock bottom in the DA’s office, with long-time prosecutors feeling demoralized and sidelined. Veteran child abuse prosecutor and primary election candidate Jonathan Hatami put it bluntly: “He’s unwilling to bend. He’s unwilling to collaborate. He’s unwilling to meet with people who have experience to help him understand how things go. It’s absolutely shocking that we voted for somebody that has no experience in the job whatsoever.” When even the people in the trenches feel the system’s broken, it’s only a matter of time before the public catches on.
Click here to read the article in the California Globe