LUSD trustee Freitas to run for DA
Wes Bowers
The current president of the Lodi Unified School District’s Board of Education is running for the county’s top law enforcement position in the 2022 general election.
Ron Freitas announced his campaign for San Joaquin County District Attorney last week, looking to unseat his current boss Tori Verber Salazar, who was elected in 2016.
“It’s time we have a District Attorney who reflects the values of our communities and brings common sense back to our District Attorney’s
Office,” Freitas said in a July 1 media statement.
“I’m honored to have such strong support right out of the gate,” he added. “Our public safety officers and first responders know they can count on me to keep our communities safe, take guns off the street and out of the hands of criminals, and create a culture of early intervention and rehabilitation with accountability, not the ‘get out of jail free’ cards the current incumbent likes to hand out akin to her San Francisco and Los Angeles counterparts.”
A deputy district attorney for more than 30 years, Freitas has supervised the office’s Gang Violence Sup
pression Unit, led the Homicide and Gang Divisions, and has served as assistant district attorney during his career. He is currently serving as a juvenile prosecutor.
He was appointed to the LUSD board’s Area 6 seat in 2012, to represent McNair High School, as well as Clairmont, Larson, Mosher and Westwood elementary schools. He was reelected to the board last November.
A native of Los Banos, Freitas earned a bachelor’s degree from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, and a master’s degree from University of the Pacific’s McGeorge School of Law, where he was a member of the Law Review.
He has lived in Lodi for three decades, and currently serves on the Board of Directors for the California District Attorneys Association and was the California District Attorneys Association Instructor of the Year for 2017, and the San Joaquin County Probation Officers Court Employee of the Year for 2018.
Although the next election for district attorney is more than a year away, Freitas has already gained the endorsements of several law enforcement labor unions, including the San Joaquin County Deputy Sheriffs Association and the Stockton and Lodi police officers associations. He’s also been endorsed by the San Joaquin County Correction Officers Association and the Stockton Firefighters Local 456.
“For some 20-plus years I’ve prosecuted a variety of cases, from gangs to murders,” he said Thursday. “And to my recollection, I’ve never prosecuted anyone that has graduated high school. I’ve always believed education is a huge advantage, and I think the voters will see my commitment to youth as a member of the school board as another reason I have the qualifications to lead the District Attorney’s Office.”
To learn more about Freitas’ campaign, visit www.ronfreitas.com.