Barger supports recall of Gascón as district attorney
Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger voiced her support to recall Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón, on Friday, citing a news report published by the Los Angeles Times as being the tipping point for her decision.
“Learning that our D.A.’s ‘Zero Bail’ policy has interfered with a diversion program’s ability to serve people who are suffering from addiction, mental illness and homelessness is unacceptable and the last straw,” Barger said in a statement.
“Diversion programs like this one seize a narrow window of opportunity to offer treatment and housing to arrested individuals who’ve hit rock bottom. But the quick release option put in place by Gascón’s policies squanders that opportunity. If there’s no rock bottom, there’s no incentive to accept help — instead, we’re left with a squandered opportunity to end suffering and help heal some of our community’s neediest individuals. As a result, I feel compelled to add my voice in support of the recall effort.”
Barger added: “I typically support election outcomes as a way of respecting the public’s right to choose, but our D.A.’s policies have led to disastrous consequences. Public safety in LA County has visibly deteriorated. I believe Gascón must be replaced with someone that is committed to championing victims’ rights, safety and justice. There is no doubt in my mind that recalling Gascón is an essential step so that we can course correct and refocus on creating safe and healthy communities.”
Barger joins the Los Angeles Association of Deputy District Attorneys, the LA Police Protective League and the LA County Professional Peace Officers Association in supporting the Gascón recall effort.
The Recall DA George
Gascón campaign announced, Wednesday, that it has collected more than 450,000 signatures, as of May 13, with thousands more being turned in daily and millions of petitions being mailed out directly to voters.
In order to qualify for the Nov. 8 ballot the campaign must collect 566,857 valid signatures from registered Los Angeles County voters (10% of the total current registered voters). The campaign should actually collect more signatures than that to account for invalid signatures. The deadline for submission to the LA County Registrar is July 6.