Gascón recall campaign can begin collecting signatures

The 160-day deadline to collect sufficient signatures to qualify a recall election of Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón has begun after the county registrar approved the campaign’s petition for circulation.

After its approval Thursday, the Recall District Attorney George Gascón campaign must collect 566,857 signatures by July 6 from registered voters to qualify the recall election. If the campaign meets the deadline with sufficient verified signatures, the recall would appear on the November ballot.

Gascón did not respond to inquiries for comment before press time Friday. In his response to the recall petition filed with the county, the DA called the recall a “political power grab by well-funded conservative operatives who have fought reforms on juvenile detention, mental health treatment, police accountability in fatal shootings and the death penalty for decades.”

“California does not need another political recall attempt supported by Donald Trump backers and frequent Fox News guests,” he wrote.

“We are sick and tired of living in the pro-criminal paradise Gascón has created,” Desiree Andrade and Tania Owen, co-chairs of the Recall DA George Gascón campaign, said in a joint statement issued Thursday. “Gascón turned his back on us, and now his policies are destroying Los Angeles County right before our eyes and needlessly creating more innocent victims.”

“We need all Angelenos to join us in this effort to restore public safety and end the chaos in our streets. We all deserve to live without fear of criminals running amok, and to have a District Attorney who actually does his job,” the statement read.

The petition is the recall effort’s second attempt to recall the DA following an unsuccessful bid to garner enough signatures last year.

So far 31 cities in Los Angeles County have issued votes of no confidence in Gascón, and the City of Beverly Hills has endorsed the recall campaign.

Gascón is not the only California prosecutor facing a recall effort. San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin will face a recall election in June after the campaign against him collected more than 83,000 unverified signatures.