Petitions have been approved for the effort to recall Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon.
Elected officials must be in office for at least 90 days before a recall effort can be started. Gascon was sworn in on Dec. 7. Recall organizers announced May 20 they had received approval to gather signatures.
Gascon has drawn criticism from crime victims and prosecutors over various directives, including not seeking the death penalty, not seeking sentencing enhancements in most cases and keeping cases involving juveniles out of adult courts.
“George Gascon got elected by disguising a radical, dangerous, and pro-criminal agenda as ‘criminal justice reform,’ but that’s not what he is doing,” said Desiree Andrade, organizer and spokeswoman for the effort to recall Gascon.
“What he failed to mention was that he would cater to the most heinous offenders in our society at the expense of victims and let cold-blooded killers back onto our streets,” she said.
“We have no choice but to seek Gascon’s immediate removal from office because his twisted social experiment is jeopardizing the safety of our communities and re-victimizing victims and their families all over again.”
In a March 17 Zoom call coinciding with his first 100 days in office, Gascon said his changes were “based on data and science that will enhance the safety for our community while reducing racial disparities and the misuse of incarceration,” and he vowed that the efforts are “just beginning.”
Backers of the recall must gather valid signatures from 579,062 registered voters in Los Angeles County—10 percent of the total number of voters—by Oct. 27 for the recall to qualify for the ballot.
Recall petitions are available at recallgeorgegascon.com/petition.
The effort to recall Gascon began Feb. 27 with a “victims vigil” outside the downtown Hall of Justice where signatures for an intent to recall were gathered.
