LOS ANGELES—The campaign to recall Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón reached another milestone on March 31, getting closer to the required number of signatures by the July deadline to trigger a recall election this year.
“There is serious momentum behind the recall effort, and we can absolutely pull this off,” Tim Lineberger, a spokesman for the campaign, told The Epoch Times in a statement.
The campaign announced it had received 200,000 signatures on Thursday and raised a total of $4 million. Organizers of the effort also announced a “Recall DA George Gascón” phone app for all volunteer information, victims’ stories, and media coverage.
“Volunteers now have easier ways to participate than ever before and the paid signature collection program continues to increase output as we raise additional resources. At the same time, Gascón is on a political island—no one wants to be caught openly supporting him or be associated with his pro-criminal agenda,” Lineberger said.
For the recall to get on the ballot, the campaign must reach 566,857 signatures from registered LA voters, or 10 percent of the total current registered voters in the city.
Meanwhile, the recall effort is picking up steam with more than 33 cities in the county issuing votes of no confidence in Gascón.
The campaign has also become a talking point in the widely contested mayoral race, as candidates have been asked whether they will support the recall.
Gascón has come under heavy scrutiny after being elected in 2020 and set out to reform the city’s criminal justice system.
Some of his controversial policies include reducing sentencing for some crimes and eliminating sentencing enhancement for suspects who use a gun during a crime or if they have a gang affiliation. His defense was that the majority of those incarcerated belonged to long-disadvantaged groups.
