Is George Gascon A Republican

Editorial On San Franciscos District Attorney

District Attorney George Gascón did not flinch Thursday when asked about two issues that are generally considered toxic in San Francisco politics: His support for the death penalty and his longtime Republican registration.

Gascón said his position on the death penalty was not terribly far away from that of his predecessor, Attorney General Kamala Harris. He called it an imperfect tool that is expensive and time intensive because of the due process that is required for the ultimate punishment. He also raised concerns about the possibility of wrongful convictions.

But the newly appointed district attorney said there may be crimes so heinous, so evil per se that the death penalty would be warranted.

Gascón was even more expansive on his change of party registration. He said he had become increasingly alienated from the direction of the Republican Party in the last eight or 10 years and especially during his tenure as police chief in Mesa, Ariz., where his partys hostility toward immigrants made for an incredibly difficult period. He emphasized that he knows a lot of thoughtful Republicans, and his criticism was not aimed at all, but at the undue influence of the extreme right.

Los Angeles Just Elected A Liberal Da Hes Already Facing A Recall Effort

George Gascón is facing an intense backlash for enacting the sorts of policies demanded by protesters after the killing of George Floyd.

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By Tim Arango

LOS ANGELES From inside the walls of Folsom State Prison, the two inmates, one a convicted murderer, clinked their cups of prison moonshine in a toast to the new district attorney of Los Angeles, George Gascón.

A video of the celebration was released earlier this year by Mr. Gascóns opponents and there are many who used it to attack what is perhaps the most far-reaching plank of his progressive agenda: the review of nearly 20,000 old prison sentences, many for violent crimes like murder, for possible early releases.

Mr. Gascón, a Democrat, has brushed off the video as nothing more than a Willie Horton-style attack by get-tough-on-crime proponents that plays well on Fox News. But he doesnt shy away from his belief that even those convicted of violent crimes deserve a chance at redemption.

And inside courtrooms, some prosecutors who believe Mr. Gascóns policies will harm public safety are openly working against him by attempting to sabotage his directives to pursue lesser sentences and not seek cash bail.

Those days continue to haunt me, he said of his time as an officer, in his inauguration speech.

Los Angeles County District Attorney

In 2019, Gascón announced he was running to be the district attorney for Los Angeles County. Contributions against Gascón largely came from law enforcement groups, such as one million dollars from the Los Angeles Police Protective League, while contributions to his campaign came from progressive donors like George Soros, Patty Quillin and Reed Hastings. During the race, he indicated that he supported creating a civil rights division within the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. He defeated incumbent DA Jackie Lacey on November 6. Gascon’s candidacy was endorsed by California Governor Gavin Newsom.

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Dist Atty Jackie Lacey Cuts Ties With Group That Had Role In Trump Event

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Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Jackie Laceys campaign cut ties with a political fundraiser Friday after learning that it helped to organize an event this year aimed at boosting President Trumps reelection campaign, marking a politically awkward moment for Lacey as she seeks Democratic endorsements in her own reelection bid.

Trey Kozacik of the Pluvious Group sent fundraising emails on behalf of the Lacey campaign, and his name appeared on a flier promoting a $1,500-per-person event at a downtown sushi restaurant in support of Laceys reelection bid held Thursday night.

In April, Kozacik was listed as a point of contact on an invitation to a fundraiser in Los Angeles forTrumps reelection campaign, where donors could dine and snag a photograph with the president for $50,000.

Kozacik confirmed Friday that he had helped set up the Lacey fundraiser in downtown L.A. this week, but declined to comment further.

In a statement, Lacey said her campaign had been unaware of Kozaciks work with the Trump campaign, adding that neither he nor the Pluvious Group will be involved in her future fundraising activities.

I am the first Democrat in nearly 20 years to hold this office and the only major candidate in this race who is a lifelong Democrat. Mr. Kozacik has not been paid by our campaign, Laceys statement read.

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Now that the county has the signatures, what happens? An official told the Washington Examiner that more than 150 workers have been assigned the task of counting and verifying the signatures. The county has the option of looking at every signature or just taking a 5% sample and determining the outcome that way.

The results must be compiled within 30 working days. The Board of Supervisors then has 14 days to set an election date, which must happen within between 88 and 125 days. This time period would fall within the November general election.

If the date is not set in November, a special election would be called, and the chance of a recall would rise because turnout would be lower and those more motivated to vote are against Gascon, Villanueva said.

The board has been supportive of Gascon, Villanueva added.

“They are turning a total blind eye to him â his department is in disarray, there is a mass exodus of personnel, and cases are not being filed that should,” Villanueva said. “The best-case scenario they have to keep him is to put this on the November ballot.”

While recall elections traditionally have had a low propensity for success, that mold appears to have been broken with far-left office holders in San Francisco. District Attorney Chesa Boudin, who has policies similar to Gascon, was recalled last month.

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Several Of Da George Gascns Reforms Blocked By La County Judge

A judge has granted large portions of a petition filed by the union representing prosecutors that will bar Gascón from enacting some of his reforms.

The campaign has seen high rates of return on the mailed petitions in West L.A. and Beverly Hills, Lineberger said, especially among upper-class Democrats. While the mail blitz has reached more than half the countys registered voters, Lineberger declined to say how, or if, the campaign targeted certain demographics or areas.

Growing frustrations with Gascón have centered on his all-or-nothing policy stances. On his first day in office, Gascón barred prosecutors from seeking the death penalty, trying juveniles as adults or filing sentencing enhancements, which increase the amount of prison time a defendant will face in certain situations, including if they use a gun in the commission of a crime.

Gascón has said he believes trying juveniles as adults or handing out decades-long prison sentences will only create more long-term problems instead of deterring crime, for example, making it harder for those defendants to reenter society.

Just last week, Gascón faced criticism after it was revealed that one of his policies probably led to significantly reduced prison time in 2021 for a man who killed two El Monte police officers on June 14.

Early Life And Education

Gascon was born on March 12, 1954, in pre-Communist Cuba. Shortly after the Cuban Revolution in 1959, his father lost his job for alleged anti-government activity, and his uncle, a union organizer, was jailed for over a decade. In 1967, Gascón and his family emigrated from Cuba to the United States.

The family settled in Bell, California, a suburb of Los Angeles. At the age of thirteen, Gascón enrolled in Los Angeles Unified School District schools where he struggled to learn English. He recalled: “I was spending hours translating everything with a Spanish-English dictionary. I started missing a lot of school.” By 1972, he dropped out of Bell High School.

Gascón joined the United States Army in 1972. In the army, he earned his high school diploma and two years toward an undergraduate degree. Gascón served in the 64th Military Police Detachment, much of it in Germany. In 1975, he received an honorable discharge as a sergeant. After the Army, Gascón completed a Bachelor of Arts in history from California State-Long Beach while working sales jobs.

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Was George Washington A Republican Or Democratic President

George Washington was absolutely a Republican. He and the other founding fathers formed a Constitutional REPUBLIC, they were very clear about that. The word Democrat is derived from the word Democracy. The founding fathers despised democracy.

Article 4, Section 4 of the United States Constitution specifies that every State in the United States was to have a Republican form of government: The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government

Remember democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide.John Adams, 1814

The republican is the only form of government which is not eternally at open or secret war with the rights of mankind.Thomas Jefferson, 1790

A primary objectshould be the education of our youth in the science of government. In a republic, what species of knowledge can be equally important? And what duty more pressing on its legislature than to patronize a plan for communicating it to those who are to be the future guardians of the liberties of the country?

Oppose The Recall Of Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascn

San Fernando Valley, CA On Thursday, May 20th the Registrar Recorder approved the petition that will be used for public circulation in an effort to gather signatures to recall Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascòn. DA Gascòn was eagerly elected by LA County residents that want to see change from the District Attorneys office. DA Gascòns election was a clear message that voters no longer want tough-on-crime policies the future calls for reform. DA Gascòn kept all of his campaign promises. On day one, DA Gascòn announced policy reforms that we Angelenos have been desperately seeking. Unfortunately, a group of misguided and misinformed residents are seeking a recall election to waste taxpayer dollars and ignore the will of the voters. The Democratic Party of the San Fernando Valley will not stand for this we will once again roll up our sleeves and support our duly elected District Attorney as he battles this Republican-led effort.

Sean Rivas: Chair

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San Francisco Chief Of Police

Gascón served as San Francisco Police Department chief from August 2009 to January 2011, succeeding Heather Fong. He was replaced by Greg Suhr. In 2009, San Francisco saw a significant drop in homicides, falling from 96 in 2008 to 45 in 2009. At the time, Gascón attributed the dramatic drop in homicides to the policies enacted by his predecessor. Between 2009 and 2011, violent crime decreased in San Francisco by 3%.

In March 2010, Gascón made remarks about San Francisco’s susceptibility to terrorism by the “Middle Eastern community” that upset Arab-Americans. Several San Francisco police officers accused Gascón of calling African-Americans “those people” in “a derogatory way.” Gascón denied making those remarks.

California And The Capitol Corridor

GOING TO THE DOGS via POLITICOs Victoria Colliver: The California Department of Public Health will test the use of dogs trained to detect the scent of Covid-19 at schools as part of a pilot project funded by the CDC Foundation, state health officials said Tuesday. PRO Content.

THE HEAT IS ON How hot is it inside Southern Californias warehouses? Ask the workers at Rite Aid, by the LA Times Anna M. Phillips: They say their leg muscles cramp and their hearts race. They sweat through their clothes. Made sluggish by the heat, they struggle to pull products at the pace the company sets, incurring demerits that threaten their jobs.

THE UPSIDE The O.C. oil spill could have been a much bigger disaster. Here is what went right, by the LA Times Hannah Fry and Robin Estrin: The biggest break Orange County got was the one officials could not control: ocean currents. That pushed the plumes of oil south without large amounts breaking onto the shores. Beaches as far south as San Diego County were hit by tar balls but escaped large inundations of oil.

CONFRONTING THE MYTH L.A. moves to make amends to Indigenous people, by the LA Times Julia Wick: Standing with Morales and other tribal leaders on Indigenous Peoples Day, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti announced plans Monday to rename Father Serra Park in downtown Los Angeles one of several policy initiatives intended to right historical wrongs and rectify the citys relationship with its Indigenous people.

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District Attorney George Gascn

Former District Attorney for the City & County of San Francisco, and former Assistant Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department, George Gascon is running for District Attorney to modernize LAs criminal justice system.

In 1967, Gascón, then 13, carried a cardboard suitcase with his mom, Maria, and dad, Marcos, and boarded a freedom flight from Havana, Cuba to Miami. They had nothing more than the clothes on their backs and a change of underwear in their cardboard suitcase. Within a week he and his family moved to Southeast Los Angeles and settled in Cudahy. He had difficulty learning English and keeping up with schoolwork, and Gascón ultimately dropped out of high school and started bagging groceries.

Once he turned 18, Gascón joined the army and quickly became the youngest sergeant in his brigade. He would earn his high school degree while simultaneously taking college extension courses, and after earning a four-year degree in history from Cal State Long Beach, Gascón got a job as a patrol officer in the Hollywood division of the Los Angeles Police Department.

George Gascón was elected the 43rd District Attorney on November 3rd, 2020.

District Attorney Gascón holds a Bachelor of Arts in History from California State University, Long Beach, and a Juris Doctor Degree from Western State University, College of Law.

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1.COVID data shifts again

When the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its masking guidance last week and said that nearly half of Californians live in high-risk counties, it was apparently relying on data more than a month old. In reality, only a small number of counties fall into that category, local health officials told CalMatters Kristen Hwang and Ana B. Ibarra. At stake: Whether counties considered high risk should follow CDC guidelines and keep universal masking requirements in place, or follow the states lead in removing almost all mask rules including for unvaccinated employees in indoor workplaces.

• A shift already appears to be underway: Santa Clara County health officials announced plans Tuesday to let the countys indoor mask mandate expire today, and Los Angeles Countys is poised to end Friday. Los Angeles County also plans to lift some vaccine-or-test and inoculation requirements to enter certain businesses.
• The constant back-and-forth has prompted criticism from Republican lawmakers. Its not the science that has changed, its the political science that has changed, state Sen. Melissa Melendez of Lake Elsinore said after California unveiled plans Monday to lift the statewide school mask mandate on March 12.

2.Dispatch from the California Capitol

• Theresa Taylor, president of CalPERS board of directors, told the Sacramento Bee on Monday that she expects the board to discuss divesting from Russia at its next meeting on March 14-16.

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Can A Republican Become Californias Top Cop

• Susan Crabtree | RealClearWire

In an attack ad blasting California Attorney General Rob Bonta, a woman named Rachel describes her deep frustration over the five-month probation sentence for the juvenile driver who slammed into her and her 8-month-old child in Los Angeles last year.

The disturbing incident was caught on tape and quicklywent viral on social media, cited by countless critics as yet more evidence of a spike in brazen and violent crime across the state.

Rachel, a Democrat, says she will vote for Nathan Hochman, the GOP candidate for attorney general. Even though she and Bonta share other political beliefs, she said the Democratic attorney general isn’t doing enough to stop the surge in violent crime across the state. She’s particularly angry that Bonta has declined to take over her case from embattled Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón.

The kid tried to murder me and my child, and the state couldnt have cared less, and they proved that by only giving him five months of probation, she says. California Attorney General Rob Bonta has the ability to step in and take over from district attorneys like George Gascón, but Bonta chooses not to. Its about voting for the right candidate, and the right candidate is Nathan Hochman.

It’s an enormous power thats somewhat unique to California, and I wouldnt hesitate to use it.

opened up the middle ground. Thats where I exist.