South Gate City Council issues vote of no confidence in DA George Gascón
LOS ANGELES - South Gate is the latest city in Los Angeles County to vote "no confidence" in DA George Gascón's policies.
The city council voted 4-0-1 Tuesday night, now joining 32 other cities who also voted for "no confidence" in the district attorney.
Some of the cities include San Gabriel, Santa Clarita, Beverly Hills, Pico Rivera, Whitter, La Mirada, Covina, Rosemead, Azusa, Santa Fe Springs, Diamond Bar, Redondo Beach, Arcadia, Manhattan Beach, Temple City, Palos Verdes Estates and Lancaster.
Since taking office in 2020, Gascón has come under fire by critics for his soft on crime approach.
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Gascón has moved to dramatically overhaul the county's criminal justice system through a series of unilaterally imposed "special directives." The policy changes, which include no longer seeking death sentences and abandoning sentencing enhancements that could lead to lifetime imprisonment for all but the most egregious crimes, have drawn fire and legal challenges from Gascón's own prosecutors and other current and former district attorneys.
There have been multiple attempts to recall the DA; currently members of the association representing Los Angeles County prosecutors have voted in support of an effort to recall their boss.
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The Association of Deputy District Attorneys, the collective bargaining group for more than 800 deputy district attorneys in the county, had previously invited Gascón to speak to the organization as it considered whether to back the recall, but he declined.
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The ADDA contends that Gascón has "refused" to speak with his prosecutors since taking office to explain policies that have sparked the recall drive.
Roughly 83.3% of ADDA members took part in the vote, with 97.9% voting in support of the recall, according to the group.
"This vote is by those who are intimately familiar with how Mr. Gascón's policies actually play out on a day-to-day basis," ADDA President Michele Hanisee said in a statement announcing the vote. "We believe the vote of our members will resonate with the voters of Los Angeles as they decide whether to recall Gascón from office and restore public safety as the priority of the District Attorney's Office."
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A new effort to oust Gascón from office began in December, just months after a similar recall campaign fell short. Recall organizers must collect 566,857 signatures from registered voters in Los Angeles County by July 6 to force a recall vote.
City News Service contributed to this report
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