Three out of four voters did not back George Gascón in the Los Angeles County district attorney’s race in the March primary, but advocates for criminal justice reform say their candidate — and the movement — remain strong.
Gascón has been forced into a November runoff with former federal prosecutor Nathan Hochman, who has promised to reverse the incumbent’s policies. Gascón won 25% of the vote to Hochman’s 16%.
“A bigger margin of victory would have been more comforting,” said Mark-Anthony Clayton-Johnson, co-executive director of Dignity and Power Now. “But I feel good about Gascón’s chances in November.”
Although the race for district attorney is a focus for many reformers, many told LAist they are also encouraged by results in other races, including the reelection of several elected leaders sympathetic to their cause.
Others were more reserved in their analysis, saying the movement to reduce mass incarceration has a long way to go — especially in diverting people with mental illness from jail to treatment, a concept often referred to as Care First, Jails Last.
‘The movement continues’
Gascón was first elected L.A. County district attorney in 2020, the wake of the murder of George Floyd and amid a national outcry over policing and how the justice system works. Gascón defeated incumbent Jackie Lacey by promising to reduce mass incarceration and racial disparities in the justice system.
On his first day in office, Gascón instituted a wide range of policy changes aimed at reducing criminal penalties and emphasizing rehabilitation at the nation’s largest local prosecutor’s office. Since then, the one-time Los…
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