LA County DA Race: George Gascon, Former San Francisco DA

Today on KPCC we’re profiling George Gascon, one of the three candidates running for Los Angeles County District Attorney. The story is the second in a three-part series; tomorrow we profile incumbent DA Jackie Lacey. Yesterday we profiled public defender Rachel Rossi.

The DA race is drawing national attention; it’s the latest chapter in a national push to elect reformist DA’s across the U.S.

Gascon, 65, is running as a reformer. After a career at the LAPD and stints as chief of police in Mesa, Arizona and in San Francisco, he became San Francisco DA in 2011 and served nearly nine years before stepping down to run for the L.A. job.

He says the criminal justice system is unfair to people of color, and he has backed numerous reforms, such as Prop. 47, which reduces a number of non-violent felonies to misdemeanors, and Prop. 57, which gives some non-violent felons easier access to parole.

Listen to the profile:

GO DEEPER:

• George Gascon Has Said 'We Need To Turn Our Court System Upside Down.' Now He's Running To Be LA's Next DA

• Your Guide To The LA County District Attorney's Race

• Race for LA District Attorney: Key Takeaways From A Contentious — And Disrupted — Debate

MEET THE CANDIDATES:

• Rachel Rossi, The Public Defender