George Gascon has comfortable lead over incumbent LA DA Jackie Lacey

By Craig Anderson

Former San Francisco County District Attorney George Gascon was leading by what appeared to be a commanding margin as ballots were counted Wednesday in his challenge to two-term incumbent Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey.

As of press time, Gascon was leading by more than 211,000 votes in Tuesday's general election, winning 53.8% of the vote, according to the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk's office. Lacey, the county's first Black and first woman district attorney, was trailing with 46.19% of the vote.

Mike Sanchez, a spokesman for the registrar-recorder, said Wednesday all of the early ballots, in-person ballots and ballots left in dropboxes had been counted. The remaining ballots are mail ballots postmarked by Tuesday, provisional ballots, and ballots cast via conditional voter registration, he said.

He could not say as of press time how many ballots are outstanding. An update was scheduled late Wednesday.

If Gascon prevails, he would join three other district attorneys in the state who have departed from traditional law-and-order campaigns to propose dramatic changes in how criminal cases are prosecuted.

He already has joined San Francisco County District Attorney Chesa Boudin, who succeeded Gascon as that city's top prosecutor, San Joaquin County District Attorney Tori Verber Salazar and Contra Costa County District Attorney Diana Becton to form the Prosecutors Alliance of California.

The group is an alternative to the California District Attorneys Association, which Verber Salazar left earlier this year after describing the 58-member group as "out of touch and unwilling to find new approaches to criminal justice."

The breakaway prosecutors, along with Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeffrey Rosen, filed an amicus brief with the California Supreme Court last week arguing the state's death penalty law has been applied in an unfair, racially biased manner. People v. McDaniel, S171393 (Cal., filed Aug. 6, 2015).

Matthew Szabo, a spokesman for Gascon, hailed the outcome thus far but voiced caution Wednesday despite his candidate's lead in the vote count.

"It was just one year ago that Mr. Gascon, a first time candidate in LA, entered this race to challenge a well-funded two-term incumbent in the largest county in America," he wrote in a statement.

"While the initial results are promising we are not prepared to declare victory, but this community's demand for justice, equity and change was heard loud and clear on Election Day," Szabo added.

Walter A. Koch, a spokesman for Lacey's campaign, did not return telephone calls and emails seeking comment as of press time Wednesday.

The campaign between Gascon, a former Los Angeles Police Department officer, and incumbent Lacey has been a classic battle over issues such as the death penalty -- which Lacey supports in some cases and Gascon opposes -- and police accountability.

Candidates for district attorney who refer to themselves as progressives have succeeded in several elections across the country, including the voters' choice of Boudin in San Francisco last year.

Lacey was backed by two law enforcement unions, which donated $1 million to her campaign. Gascon received a $1.5 million contribution from billionaire investor George Soros, who has backed the campaigns of a number of other progressive candidates for district attorney positions.

In the March primary, Lacey appeared to have a strong edge in a three-candidate race that left her just short of winning an outright majority.

But Gascon, despite controversy over his tenure as San Francisco County district attorney and steadfast opposition from law enforcement groups, appears to have turned the tables in the high-turnout general election after the George Floyd killing by a Minneapolis police officer focused attention on the issue.

Lacey has drawn criticism from Black Lives Matter activists who say she has refused to prosecute police officers who shot suspects. Gascon, however, never charged a police officer when he was San Francisco's district attorney.

During the campaign, Gascon pledged to reopen investigations of four fatal police shootings Lacey declined to prosecute.