Elections

RECENT POSTS

October 24, 2011 | 11:32 AM | By

Q&A: Candidates for district attorney, Part I

Bill Fazio

One of the more important and most overlooked races going on in San Francisco right now is the campaign to be the city’s next district attorney. When Kamala Harris left the post for state office last year, outgoing Mayor Gavin Newsom appointed then-Police Chief George Gascon to take her place. Now, Gascon is running for a full four-year term, but faces stiff competition from four other candidates. Why does this race matter so much? The district attorney is essentially the county’s top policy maker when it comes to criminal justice, deciding who gets charged with which crimes, and has an impact well beyond the courtroom. Theoretically, at least, a district attorney could choose to not make marijuana possession a local crime, or decide that police can or can’t engage in undercover operations, or decide that police should focus on murders and rapes above all else–all by virtue of being the one who decides whether or not to charge crimes. So how do the candidates stand on these issues? We’ll be posting interviews with all five of the candidates for district attorney this week. First up, Bill Fazio, a longtime prosecutor and defense attorney who grew up in San Francisco. [Note: an abridged transcript after the jump; full audio above]

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FILED UNDER: Politics, Bill Fazio, Elections, San Francisco District Attorney
October 10, 2011 | 1:06 PM | By

Q&A: Jeff Adachi’s mayoral quest

Our executive editor at KALW News, Ben Trefny has been making his way through San Francisco’s mayoral pool and had this sit-down with candidate and current Public Defender Jeff Adachi. Adachi, currently one of the few elected public defenders in the country, has taken up the mantle of pe

nsion reform–earning him the ire of the city’s law enforcement unions. Why does Adachi want to become mayor? The pension issue is high among the reasons, but there are others. Listen to KALW’s interview above. (Transcript after the jump.)

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FILED UNDER: Politics, Elections, Jeff Adachi, Pension Reform
August 11, 2011 | 2:11 PM | By

New candidates join SF district attorneys race

Stan Rule

San Francisco's Hall of Justice

In addition to Vu Trinh, who entered the race for San Francisco district attorney in time to participate in the latest candidates’ debate, the competition has two new entrants:

  • Bill Fazio, a former assistant district attorney who now runs his own criminal defense practice. Fazio has run for the DA spot in the past (three times). As a defense lawyer, Fazio has has some high-profile clients: former Supervisor Ed Jew, who is now in prison for corruption, and San Francisco Police Captain Greg Corrales, who was cleared of conspiracy accusations in the Fajitagate scandal.
  • Maurice Chenier, an attorney with a Los Angeles address whose nephew, rapper Max Chenier was apparently murdered in SF in 2005.

Fazio’s first act as a candidate was to sign onto a letter, along with fellow candidates Sharmin Bock and David Onek, calling on the incumbent District Attorney George Gascon to recuse himself in the campaign finance investigation of the “Run Ed Run” Committee.

Thus far, George Gascon and David Onek are currently the only two candidates who’ve submitted all their paperwork with San Francisco’s Department of Elections to appear on the November 8 ballot.

FILED UNDER: Politics, Elections
August 5, 2011 | 2:12 PM | By

What we learned from the latest district attorney debate

There have been many district attorney debates already in the run-up to the November vote. On Wednesday night, however, a coalition of civil rights organizations hosted a particularly entertaining one at the African American Arts & Culture Complex in the Western Addition. Why was this debate more fun than most? Yes, it had the usual back-and-forth between the candidates, with current DA George Gascon telling criminal justice reformer David Onek that Onek’s “never had a real job.” And then Onek and Alameda County Assistant DA Sharmin Bock teaming up on Gascon to badger the former police chief with conflict-of-interest claims when it comes to police misconduct. What made this debate different than the others was a new face. Meet candidate Vu Trinh, a former public defender in Orange County, and UC-Hastings grad who grew up in the Tenderloin:

LCCR: San Francisco D.A. Debate- Vu Trinh from New America Media on Vimeo.

Trinh, as they say, stole the show with his awkward pauses, seeming non sequiturs, and ultimately, his matter-of-fact insights. The audience was completely taken in when, asked whether he’s ever been arrested, Trinh revealed that yes, he has–twice, for thefts he didn’t commit and ultimately was not charged with. It’s horrible to be arrested for a crime you didn’t commit, Trinh said. And kind of ironic, in his case, because “I was a thief all my life,” Trinh continued, as the audience roared with laughter.
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FILED UNDER: Politics, Elections, San Francisco District Attorney
August 3, 2011 | 11:42 AM | By

Tonight: DA candidates debate

George Gascon, Sharmin Bock, David Onek, Vu Trinh

In an interview with the Fog City Journal, Assemblyman Tom Ammiano said this of the San Francisco mayoral race: “As many people as we think know about this, even if it’s a thousand or so, we’re all insiders and it doesn’t really click with the electorate until around after Labor Day and October.” When you consider there that Ammiano there is talking about the competition to become the city’s top public official, it’s hard to believe how much attention the race for a considerably more obscure office, district attorney, is already getting.

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FILED UNDER: Politics, David Onek, Elections, George Gascon, San Francisco District Attorney, Sharmin Bock, Vu Trinh
August 2, 2011 | 3:24 PM | By

Bock winning the race for contributions (by a squeaker)

According to new filings, Sharmin Bock has raised the most campaign contributions of any candidate for San Francisco district attorney thus far. Between the first of the year and the end of June, Bock, a current assistant district attorney in Alameda County, brought in $240,337 to incumbent DA George Gascon’s $234,000 and candidate David Onek’s $126,386. The Fog City Journal has totals for additional campaigns. In the mayor’s race, Supervisor David Chiu has raised the most and Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi is on top, moneywise, in the race for sheriff.

FILED UNDER: Politics, Elections
August 1, 2011 | 11:25 AM | By

Second strikers and prison overcrowding

Characterization of California's three strikes law by those looking for reform.

California’s Three Strikes law is often referred to as one of the toughest in the nation. That designation comes in large part from our approach to the second strike in the process. Under California’s version of the popular law, those who have one strike–meaning one serious or violent felony conviction–can earn a second strike for any new felony, whether serious or not. That means that if a prosecutor successfully seeks a “second strike” conviction, the offender’s sentence for the new crime is automatically doubled.

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FILED UNDER: Politics, Elections, Prison Overcrowding, Realignment, Three Strikes