How L.A.’s progressive ‘godfather’ wound up struggling to keep his job as D.A.

Los Angeles Times ^ | Oct. 24, 2024 3 AM PT | Connor Sheets and James Queally

[E. Pluribus Unum]

• George Gascón is trailing his challenger, former federal prosecutor Nathan Hochman, in recent polls, and much of the incumbent’s support from 2020 has vanished.
  
• Hochman has unleashed a media blitz blaming Gascón for high-profile crimes, but the county race reflects a broader shift among voters across the state.
  
• Gascón has tried to maintain a positive spin, noting that he came from behind to defeat then-Dist. Atty. Jackie Lacey in 2020. This year’s election is on Nov. 5.

It’s a Saturday morning in late September, and Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. George Gascón’s voice is hoarse as he struggles to film a TikTok video.

A staffer rushes to grab a water bottle as Gascón alternates between explaining his position on the death penalty and repeatedly trying to sync his voice and awkwardly gesticulate along with a viral audio snippet as one of his campaign’s teenage interns captures it all on her cellphone camera.

“This is one of the most difficult parts. If my kids ever see this they will laugh,” he says during a break in filming before he speaks at SEIU Local 2015’s headquarters in Rampart Village.

Public speaking, whether for social media or to a room full of supporters, isn’t Gascón’s strong suit. The “godfather of progressive prosecutors” has been in the public eye for more than a decade through three terms as district attorney in San Francisco and L.A., but he’s always maintained a nervous, at times combative presence in front of crowds — swallowing words, glowering over pointed questions and laughing at his own jokes before the punchlines.

In 2020, Gascón’s idiosyncratic public presence mattered little compared with his vision for the district attorney’s office. Preaching criminal justice reform and police accountability in the months following the killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, Gascón received millions in contributions...

[E. Pluribus Unum]

[leaning conservative]

Perfect.

[hillarys cankles]

If SF could get rid of Chesa Boudin, LA should easily rid themselves of Gascon.

[fella]

Not to worry;

The Big Cheat will insure that he wins in a landslide at about 2 AM September 6th. It’s a phenomena that will be seen all across the nation election night.

[dowcaet]

I have friends in LA who hate Gascón and plan on voting for Hochman, but they’re also big Harris supporters. As usual Democrats fail to see their hypocrisy. DA George Gascón is more in line with Harris and nationally elected Democrats when it comes to dealing with law enforcement than Hochman is

[caddie]

Gascon... saw him on TV re: Menendez Bros.

He is really a dim bulb.

Hugely permissive and unable to make the right choice if there is "pressure from lots of people" or "a documentary was made about the Bros. so we should reconsider their sentence."

Pathetic, weak minded, cowardly jerk.

Should never have been admitted to law school.

Has no place in any position of power. I hope, going forward, that people like him are excluded entirely from the political and legal processes of the country.

[coalminersson]

IIRC there was a billboard on the I-5 south just where you lave LA and enter Orange county. It said something like, this is Orange County, commit a Crime and you will go to jail