Source: Ben Marquis
Crime rates have surged in California’s Los Angeles County ever since progressive leftist District Attorney George Gascon was elected and began implementing controversial criminal justice reforms.
An effort to hold a recall vote and remove Gascon from office was launched and it has reportedly collected a significant portion of the signatures necessary to trigger that vote, per a report from Fox News.
More than 400,000 signatures gathered so far
According to organizers of the recall effort against Gascon, more than 400,000 signatures have already been gathered and $6 million raised. The organizers have until a deadline of July 9 to obtain valid signatures from at least 10 percent, or 566,857 signatures, of L.A. County’s registered voters.
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Tim Lineberger, a spokesman for the recall campaign, told Fox News, “We’re starting to see a real light at the end of the tunnel here and there’s a real plausible pathway to get these signatures if we can just keep it up.”
This is actually the second attempt to get enough signatures to trigger a recall vote for DA Gascon, who according to recall organizers has refused to enforce existing laws, has substantially reduced sentencing for convicted criminals, and has dismissed and insulted the expressed concerns of victims and advocates, among other things.
Own deputies want him out
Interestingly enough, substantial support for the recall effort has emerged from Gascon’s own office, as CBS News reported in February that nearly 98 percent of members of the Association of Deputy District Attorneys voted in favor of supporting the effort to remove Gascon from office.
“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 Michelle Hanisee said at the time. “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.”
She was echoed by ADDA VP Eric Siddall, who said, “Over a year ago, Gascón began a massive social experiment by redirecting prosecutorial resources away from enforcing the law while simultaneously ignoring large portions of the penal code. The result is an emboldened criminal element that knows the DA will not hold criminals accountable. This experiment needs to end.”
L.A. sheriff supports recall effort
Also supporting the effort to recall DA Gascon are local law enforcement agencies and officials, chief among them Democratic L.A. County Sheriff Alex Villaneuva, who told Fox News on Thursday that he believed the recall effort was on pace to gather the requisite number of signatures to trigger a special election before the July 9 deadline, according to the local L.A. Fox affiliate.
“It looks like it’s gonna happen. I think that’s a historical moment for this experiment with ultra-progressive DAs who don’t do their job. I think the country has had enough with it. They just want to see basic law and order reinstituted everywhere,” the sheriff said during an appearance on “Fox & Friends.”
Furthermore, just last week, one of Gascon’s top deputies, L.A. Deputy District Attorney Jon Hatemi, told Fox News separately that “I think probably 99 percent of the people in Los Angeles would make a better DA than George Gascon.”
“We have a district attorney right now who’s causing havoc and mayhem in Los Angeles. His policies are making it more dangerous for individuals,” the disillusioned prosecutor added of his far-left progressive boss.
