After Angelenos failed to gather enough signatures to put the recall of District Attorney George Gascón on the ballot in November, he’s all but ensured of at least another two years in office. Also on the ballot are a number of other Gascón-like candidates, and they’re also likely to win.
The relevant question for today is: How was Gascón elected in the first place? He was running against a black female Democrat incumbent. She wasn’t exactly a “throw the book at them” prosecutor. But Gascón swept in, thanks to millions of dollars from far-left interests, including George Soros, and a superior ground game.
Prior to Gascón, the position of L.A. district attorney was like voting on judges. If people voted on the race, they did so based primarily on name recognition or the occupation stated under the candidate’s name. So, it was an easy position to poach by the radical left.
Those same interests are now looking for other, lower-profile positions, to steal. For instance, the position of city attorney. The city attorney prosecutes misdemeanors. Since Gascón helped to make so many crimes misdemeanors (such as all thefts less than $950), this position becomes far more important in fighting crime.
The position also defends the city against lawsuits. The most significant of late have involved the out-of-control homeless situation. Both homeless advocates and business interests have sued the city for its handling of the problem. Thus, the city attorney has a very significant role in the city’s response to homelessness (i.e., build permanent housing to solve the problem, or enforce no camping laws in the city’s parks, beaches, and sidewalks).
The city attorney also defends the city anytime the police department is sued for things such as alleged racial profiling, sexual harassment, or abuse of force. Will the city attorney take the side of the accuser or the police?
Sounds like an important job, right? Yet Angelenos have no clue who’s running or what they stand for. Due to the open primary system wherein the two top vote-getters advance to the November general election, both candidates are Democrats. But if you take some time to look under the hood, you find that one is a somewhat mainstream Democrat, and the other is a far-left, Bernie Sanders/George Gascón, Democratic Socialist.
Bonin says, “Gill is guided by a vision of inclusivity as well as social and economic justice.”
Gill’s endorsements note that he will stand up to the Los Angeles Police Department and “corporate polluters,” reform misdemeanor prosecutions, and protect “oppressed communities.”
One campaign reported to me that this group was seen out in force, walking the streets to get out of the vote during the primary. Ballot harvesting, in which people knock on doors and help people to fill out and turn in their ballots, is legal in California. Every registered voter is mailed a live ballot, whether requested or not, a month before the election. This gives ballot harvesters a lot of time to do their work. This means whoever has the best ground game likely wins.
- Medicare for all (also known as socialized medicine)
- Environmental justice
- Green New Deal
- Defunding the police and reallocating funds into communities
- Canceling student debt
- Housing as a human right
- Abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement and detention centers
- Prison abolition
According to the campaign official, many or most of these Democratic Socialists getting out the vote were from outside the city and the state.
