San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
Differences in the DA’s race
Candidates’ stances on a variety of the issues spelled out
The two candidates for Bexar County district attorney stood feet apart on the makeshift stage at St. Mary’s University’s School of Law, where more than 100 students, faculty and voters had gathered to see them face off.
In some ways, the candidates appeared similar. Both were dressed in suits, white dress shirts and striped ties. Both have roughly 30 years experience serving as Bexar County assistant prosecutors and later as criminal defense attorneys.
But as the debate commenced, the differences between Democrat Joe D. Gonzales and Republican Tylden Shaeffer became apparent. Asked by the moderators whether bail reform was needed in Bexar County, the candidates diverged.
“I challenge anyone to tell me that there’s someone who’s innocent in Bexar County Jail on the first offense, nonviolent, that is stuck in there because they can’t afford bail,” Shaeffer said. “We have a program where these cases are reviewed.”
Minutes later, Gonzales responded: “Mr. Shaeffer, I’ll take that challenge because in the last 22 years, I’ve had a number of clients come to us and hire us after their loved one has been sitting in jail for months because they didn’t want to take a plea bargain.”
Gonzales, 59, has described him- self as a hard worker from a family of modest means who relied on part-time jobs and financial assistance to pay for college and law school. Throughout his campaign, he has advocated for criminal justice and bail bond reform. The race, he said, is about issues and “the difference in our vision.”
Shaeffer, 55, sees himself as a “tough-as-nails prosecutor” who will take violent criminals off the street and put them behind bars. He wants to create a cyber crime unit to protect individuals and businesses from telemarketing and internet scams.
Both have said they intend to direct more resources toward a growing number of domestic violence cases in Bexar County and to make the district attorney’s office more transparent.
Here are the candidates’ positions:
The decision to run: Gonzales and Shaeffer shared the same motivation to run for the office. Both believed District Attorney Nico LaHood, a controversial first-term incumbent, was not suited for the job.
Gonzales said that became clear when LaHood, while in a judge’s chambers, allegedly threatened to “shut down” Gonzales’ private practice.
At the time, Gonzales and his partner were defending a murder suspect and told LaHood they might raise issues of prosecutorial misconduct about the case. LaHood denied he made a threat. Gonzales defeated LaHood in the Democratic primary by nearly a 20point margin.
Shaeffer, meanwhile, said he was concerned about LaHood’s role in a financial services company with a partner, Gary Cain.
That company did work for FourWinds Logistics, a startup oil field services company that hired Cain as a consultant. When an investor went to LaHood, while he was district attorney, to alert him to possible wrongdoing at FourWinds, LaHood didn’t disclose his own connection to the firm, federal prosecutors said. They exposed FourWinds as a Ponzi scheme that defrauded investors. Cain and former state Sen. Carlos Uresti were found guilty of federal charges related to wire fraud and money laundering.
Their experience: Shaeffer, who graduated from Brown University and the University of Texas School of Law, has eight years of experience as a county assistant prosecutor. For the past 19 years, Shaeffer has worked in private practice. He is board certified in criminal law — a distinction that only seven percent of licensed attorneys in Texas hold.
Gonzales received both his degrees from St. Mary’s University before serving as an assistant prosecutor in Bexar and Harris counties for eight years. He opened his private practice in 1998 and has served as a magistrate and municipal judge for the city of San Antonio.
Criminal justice reform: Gonzales centers his platform on the need for bail and criminal justice reform in Bexar County. He said an “overwhelming” number of inmates are in jail while awaiting trial because they can’t afford to post bond. Pretrial incarceration should be limited to those deemed too dangerous to release, Gonzales said. He supports the use of personal recognizance bonds for nonviolent offenders. A personal recognizance bond does not require the defendant to pay — he or she simply must agree to appear in court as required.
Gonzales wants to establish policies and procedures focused on treating addiction and mental illness among certain nonviolent offenders. He says communitybased treatment programs, rather than prison, are more effective in reducing crime and save the county money.
Shaeffer has criticized Gonzales’ focus on bail and criminal justice reform, saying the county already has established programs that
aim to divert nonviolent offenders from jail. He said it’s the district attorney’s job to enforce the law, not pick and choose what crimes to prosecute. If criminal justice reform is needed, it should be done on the state level, Shaeffer said.
Cite and release: Gonzales said he believes in a cite-and-release program to divert some people charged with low-level misdemeanors — including those caught with small amounts of marijuana — from jail to a pretrial diversion program, similar to one that LaHood announced this year but seldom has been used.
Shaeffer said he’s not opposed to such a program but said there needs to be clear guidelines in place to guaran- tee the program’s success. He said the initiative unveiled by LaHood’s office didn’t work because the district attorney’s office rushed into it. Shaeffer also said there should be some sort of consequence for individuals who are caught with small amounts of marijuana. “Do you really learn anything if you get a ticket?” he asked.
Combating domestic violence: Both candidates have emphasized the need to address family violence in Bexar County, which has one of the highest rates in Texas.
Shaeffer said he plans to hire a full-time chief dedicated to overseeing the Family Violence Unit, thus increasing communication among assistant prosecutors who handle family violence cases. He said it’s also important to provide increased counseling and services for assistant prosecutors in the Family Violence Unit, many of whom experience burnout due to the difficult nature of the cases and the high caseload.
Gonzales has said there are only four trial prosecutors assigned to handle misdemeanor family violence assault cases, which each one handling more than 1,000 cases a year. He would like to “beef up” the Family Violence Unit by reallocating personnel from other divisions. He also would like to increase training for victims’ advocates — professionals trained to guide victims through the process and provide emotional support.
Cyber crime: Shaeffer has used his campaign to highlight the problem of criminals preying on the elderly through telemarketing and internet scams. He said he would like to create a cyber crime unit to target such fraudulent activity and prosecute it. Gonzales has said he does not believe there is enough cyber crime in Bexar County to warrant a specialized unit, but he agreed such criminals should be prosecuted. Capital punishment: Shaeffer has criticized Gonzales for his response in February during a Democratic candidate forum at which Gonzales said he would not seek the death penalty knowing that minorities are more likely to be selected for death than white people. Gonzales said he thought he was being asked about whether he opposes capital punishment based specifically on racial disparity. He said he reserves the right to seek the death penalty, but only with “overwhelming evidence of guilt.” Shaeffer has said he would seek the death penalty but reserve it for “a small percentage of the cases out there.” Juveniles in adult court: Both candidates agree that juveniles only should be charged as an adult if accused of a serious, violent offense. Shaeffer has said he would like to see the age of criminal responsibility raised from 17 to 18, but ultimately that would be up to the state Legislature.
Use of force cases: Both candidates have said they won’t hesitate to prosecute law enforcement officers accused of excessive force or crimes. Shaeffer has pointed to his time as an assistant prosecutor during which he successfully prosecuted two law enforcement officers accused of crimes.
Gonzales has said he would like to establish a community review board to look over cases involving law enforcement officers. He said a review board will help build trust and provide community input on critical cases. Shaeffer said he’s opposed to such an idea, as that’s the job of a grand jury, but he said he would have an open-door policy for anyone in the community who wants to discuss concerns.
Financial backers: Gonzales has raised roughly $1.4 million since December 2017, when he announced his candidacy. Nearly $1 million came from the Texas Justice & Public Safety political action committee, a group funded by liberal billionaire George Soros. Shaeffer has raised about $277,000 in that same time, most of it contributions from the local business community. Shaeffer has accused Gonzales of being beholden to liberal interests, while Gonzales has warned that Shaeffer will be indebted to the local business community.