George Gascon, the District Attorney of Los Angeles, should be voted out of office for his role in allowing an increase in crime.

Seeking to maintain his position as Los Angeles County district attorney since December 2020, progressive prosecutor George Gascón is facing a tough challenge from independent candidate Nathan Hochman.

The root cause is simple: Gascón, backed by the liberal billionaire George Soros, is a divisive figure with a soft-on-crime stance that allows violent offenses to thrive, impacting the most vulnerable in Los Angeles.

On the contrary, Hochman, supported by a bipartisan coalition including prominent Democrats like Rory and Max Kennedy, children of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, aims to uphold the law fairly and independently while holding criminals accountable.

Gascón previously served as the DA in San Francisco from 2011 to 2019.

During his tenure, he co-authored Proposition 47, a reform measure passed by California voters in 2014.

This led to the reclassification of non-violent felonies, resulting in the release of numerous inmates and weakening law enforcement’s ability to deter repeat offenders.

Gascón’s intention with Prop. 47 was to reduce incarceration rates and address systemic inequalities, turning the legal system ‘upside down.’

His radical policies, then and now, are based on the idea of not prosecuting crimes in the name of social justice, ultimately failing to enforce the law equally.

The outcome is consistent: an increase in crime.

Under Gascón’s leadership in San Francisco, property crimes rose by 49%, and his office only pursued misdemeanor charges in 40% of cases presented by the police department.

In essence, Gascón dismissed 60% of SFPD arrests as if they never happened.

As a result, California is grappling with a surge in assaults, robberies, car thefts, and shoplifting, which increased by 39% statewide in the last year, largely attributable to Gascón’s policies.

My experience living in Los Angeles from 2017 to May 2020, with the hope of returning to one of the world’s great cities, was marred by rising crime rates and the incidents of friends being victims of armed robberies, deterring my return.

During Gascón’s tenure as DA in Los Angeles, shoplifting surged by 133%.

Additionally, reports of violent and property crimes have risen in LA County, with crimes on the LA Metro system alone increasing by more than 65% in the first quarter of this year.

Such chaos prompted me to establish the Caldwell Institute for Public Safety after my innocent teenage brother was murdered in 2022, with the mission to combat crime and violence nationwide through innovative strategies, community partnerships, and challenging lenient prosecutors and legislation. 

We are not alone in this endeavor: Even some of California’s most progressive prosecutors and politicians are advocating for a rethink of Prop. 47, seeking a revision of the measure.

Gascón, however, remains steadfast in his support for the measure.

His controversial “Day 1 Directives” in LA included the elimination of cash bail for most offenses, abolishing sentencing enhancements, resentencing old cases, and refraining from charging juveniles as adults, irrespective of the crime committed.