LA County DA Race: A look at the candidates trying to unseat George Gascón
LOS ANGELES - Eleven candidates are hoping to unseat current LA County District Attorney George Gascón.
Gascón, who was elected in 2020, is up for reelection and several prosecutors, including his own employees, are looking to take his job.
His challengers include local prosecutors Jonathan Hatami and Eric Siddall and former federal prosecutors Jeff Chemerinsky and Nathan Hochman. The other candidates are David S. Milton, Debra Archuleta, Maria Ramirez, Dan Kapelovitz, Lloyd "Bobcat" Masson, John McKinney and Craig J. Mitchell.
In the March 5 Primary, the top two vote-getters, regardless of party, will move on to the November General Election.
Experts believe Gascón will survive the primary but are less optimistic about his chances in November.
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Since taking office, Gascón has faced backlash for his sweeping policy changes and soft approach on crime. Under Gascón, the county has seen a drastic increase in crime including follow-home robberies, smash-and-grab robberies, homelessness and homicide.
After being in office for less than a year, Gascón faced a recall -- however, despite strong support, the recall attempt failed. A second recall attempt also failed.
A recent USC Dornsife/ Price Center for Urban Politics and Policy poll, released before the DA debate in early February, had Gascón in the lead with 15%. Hatami trailed behind with just 8%. Meanwhile, 64% of voters are still undecided.
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What his challengers say:
John McKinney
Deputy DA John McKinney said he is running because LA needs a change in leadership and direction.
"We're at a crossroads now where we have a district attorney who refuses to follow the law, apply the law, he has removed public safety as a legitimate concern of the district attorney, he has ignored victims and all of this has resulted in rise in crime in the form of record number of homicides, in recent memory, thefts are out of control. The people are having to make lifestyle changes, for example, people won't leave the house with their everyday jewelry on. It's just chaos on our streets and chaos in the district attorney's office," McKinney told FOX 11 News in 2023 after announcing his candidacy.
McKinney was hired as a prosecutor by then-LA District Attorney Gil Garcetti in 1998. He has served under four district attorneys, including Garcetti, Steve Cooley, Jackie Lacey, and Gascón.
Jonathan Hatami
Deputy District Attorney Jonathan Hatami has been an outspoken critic of Gascón, particularly on his policies regarding special enhancements.
Hatami, who serves on the Complex Child Abuse unit, says he is running to protect the safety of all children. He has prosecuted over 80 felony jury trials including the high-profile cases of Gabriel Fernandez and Anthony Avalos.
"I'm going to fight for the safety of everyone's children. We have a major increase in crime here in Los Angeles, especially gun violence. We have an increase in crime in public transportation, people are afraid to use public transportation," Hatami said.
He was hired as a Deputy District Attorney in LA in 2006. In both 2016 and 2019 he was named prosecutor of the year.
Nathan Hochman
Former US Assistant Attorney General Nathan Hochman said under Gascón, Los Angeles is evolving into a ‘dystopia' where lawlessness reigns supreme.
"I, like millions of Angelenos who love this place and do not want to move away from it, are prepared to fight for it. And we are disgusted and disappointed with the pro-criminal blanket policies that our current DA George Gascón has enacted," Hochman told FOX 11.
He said Gascón's policies are moving "from the county of Angels to a dystopian, Gotham-esque sort of existence where lawlessness is reigning supreme."
He called Gascón's policies dangerous and said he is playing ‘politics with people’s lives'. He believes the DA's role is to enforce the law, not create them.
Hochman served as an Assistant US Attorney for the Central District of California. From 2007 to 2009, he served as an Assistant Attorney General of the United States overseeing the Department of Justice’s Tax Division.
Eric Siddall
Deputy DA Eric Siddall is a violent crimes prosecutor. He is also a board member of Justice for Murdered Children and served as vice president of the Los Angeles Association of Deputy District Attorneys.
He says with crime in LA, specifically smash-and-grab robberies, the prosecutor's office has a policy of catch and release. So those originally arrested for the crime are soon released. He also said the county has a backlog of 13,000 unfilled felony cases--about one month of crime in LA.
"People are not facing consequences, people are not being held accountable, and they are also not being held in custody, so they can recommit these smash-and-grabs," Siddall said during an interview with FOX 11.
"I'm running for DA because I want to make sure that our public spaces, the place where our diversity is most heightened, are safe for all people. And I want to make sure that people can feel they can walk through the streets of Los Angeles without being harassed by the homeless, and I want to make sure that our criminal justice system treats the homeless in a humane fashion, does not criminalize them, but gives them a path of leaving that scenario."
Jeff Chemerinsky
Jeff Chemerinsky is a former federal prosecutor and served as chief of the Violent and Organized Crime Unit for the Attorney General's Office for the Central District of California. He oversaw all violent crime prosecutions and convicted the head of the MS-13 street gang and the head of the East Coast Crips gang. Chemerinsky said he has never lost a case.
He is now running for LA District Attorney because he says LA needs new leadership and accountability from the DA's Office.
"The reality right now is that the people of Los Angeles have lost confidence in the district attorney. They've lost confidence in him both to provide public safety and to provide criminal justice reform. And I want to provide a vision that offers the voters of Los Angeles County both of those because I think they are both incredibly important," Chemerinsky told FOX 11 when he announced his campaign run.
Chemerinsky says he strongly believes in criminal justice reform because mass incarceration does not work. He said Gascón is failing to take gun crimes seriously, and if elected as DA he would aggressively pursue gun crimes from day one.
Chemerinsky has received multiple awards for his service, including the U.S. Department of Justice's Director's Award.
Maria Rameriz
Deputy DA Maria Rameriz spent 33 years in public service, including as Director of Specialized Prosecutions and became the first Latina promoted to Head Deputy.
As Director of Specialized Prosecutions she oversaw operations for seven divisions: Major Crimes, Hardcore Gang, Sex Crimes, Family Violence, Crimes Against Peace Officers, Target and Juvenile.
She said the one thing that separates her from all the other candidates is her managerial experience. She has worked her way up the ranks in the DA's office by working her way up from a trial attorney to supervisor, then to senior management.
"I have an idea of what it takes to fix the issues we are having right now," Rameriz said on FOX 11.
She, like many of the other candidates, say it is time for change in the DA's office.
"What we need is a strong leader, a strong district attorney who is going to do the job that they are supposed to do and that is enforce the laws and apply them fairly and equally and do something about the safety in our communities. And that's something that I'm passionate about," Rameriz added.
Her top issue are homelessness and mental health and plans to collaborate with other departments in addressing the issue.