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Signature-Gathering Approved For Recall Effort Against District Attorney George Gascon

Published on Friday, May 21, 2021 | 5:43 am
 
Image courtesy George Gascon website

Signature-gathering has been approved for the effort to recall Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon, organizers announced Thursday.

Backers of the recall must gather valid signatures from 579,062 registered voters in the county — 10% of the total number of voters in the county — by Oct. 27 for the recall to qualify for the ballot.

Elected officials must be in office for at least 90 days before a recall effort can be started. Gascon was sworn in on Dec. 7.

Gascon has drawn criticism from crime victims and prosecutors over various directives, including not seeking the death penalty, not seeking sentencing enhancements in most cases and keeping cases involving juveniles out of adult courts.

“George Gascon got elected by disguising a radical, dangerous, and pro-criminal agenda as `criminal justice reform,’ but that’s not what he is doing,” said Desiree Andrade, organizer and spokeswoman for the effort to recall Gascon.

“What he failed to mention was that he would cater to the most heinous offenders in our society at the expense of victims and let cold-blooded killers back onto our streets,” she said. “We have no choice but to seek Gascon’s immediate removal from office because his twisted social experiment is jeopardizing the safety of our communities and revictimizing victims and their families all over again.”

In a March 17 Zoom call coinciding with his first 100 days in office, Gascon said his changes were “based on data and science that will enhance the safety for our community while reducing racial disparities and the misuse of incarceration,” and he vowed that the efforts are “just beginning.”

In the call, Gascon also said “the death penalty does not make us safer. It is morally wrong and fiscally irresponsible,” adding that the death penalty requires the families of murder victims to wait through decades of appeals and forces them to relive the trauma “for a sentence that will never be imposed” in a state in which Gov. Gavin Newsom has declared a moratorium on executions.

Gascon also said research suggests “excessive sentences don’t enhance safety but do exacerbate recidivism, leading to more victims of crime.”

The effort to recall Gascon began Feb. 27 with a “victims vigil” outside the downtown Hall of Justice where signatures for an intent to recall were gathered.

The city councils of at least 14 of Los Angeles County’s 88 cities have passed votes of no confidence against Gascon, including Beverly Hills, Redondo Beach, Manhattan Beach, Diamond Bar, Santa Clarita and Lancaster.

Recall petitions will be available by Friday at recallgeorgegascon.com/petition.

The recall attempt has drawn the backing of Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva, former Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley, former Los Angeles County Supervisor Mike Antonovich and former Los Angeles City Councilman Dennis Zine.

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One thought on “Signature-Gathering Approved For Recall Effort Against District Attorney George Gascon

  • Harsh punishment has not stopped crime nor decreased it. Gascon is intelligent and progressive in his area of expertise. Prisoners want to change their lives and we can help them with sentences which are thoughtful and compassionate, that offer a degree of hope and a brighter future. This will bring down the level of crime, so widespread since a prominent politician said, “Hit him again, I’ll pay the bills.”

 

 

 

 

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