Los Angeles local elections, 2020

[Interlocutor is just not there yet]

Very nice writeups! I'm particularly intrigued by the DA race. I don't have much of a flag to plant in the race, but I am interested in the ramifications of a Gascon win.

Do you know if the DA race goes to a November if no one gets 50%? I can't seem to find that answer

[Interlocutor is just not there yet]

This morning, Sen. Kamala Harris endorsed George Gascón for DA

“George Gascón is a proven leader of national significance when it comes to reforming our criminal justice system. As DA of San Francisco, George led fights to reform the Three Strikes Law, decrease the state prison population and get people convicted of nonviolent offenses greater opportunities to get their lives back on track. As DA of LA County, I know George Gascón will work every day to keep our communities safe and demand real accountability from our justice system and real justice for every Angeleno.”

https://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2020/02/18/george-gascon-gets-kamala-harris-endorsement-in-heated-la-da-race/

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LA Times endorsements


District Attorney:  George Gascón
"Gascón, a former Los Angeles police officer who also served as San Francisco’s district attorney, has championed rational reforms to make people safe and make the system fairer."


Supervisor, District 2:  Holly Mitchell
"An impressive state lawmaker who has focused her work on justice, equity and fiscal issues, Mitchell would be the best person to carry on the county’s work in improving justice and human services."

Supervisor, District 4:  Janice Hahn*
"In her first term, Hahn has shown her commitment to listening to constituents and solving problems and that she’s willing to fight the battles necessary to get homeless housing projects done."

Supervisor, District 5:  Kathryn Barger*
"On a progressive board, Barger is a pragmatic moderate who provides valuable insight on issues such as homelessness and public safety, with the exception of her knee-jerk opposition to certain criminal justice reforms."


City Council, District 2:  Paul Krekorian*
"He’s an intelligent and thoughtful incumbent who deserves reelection, but he needs to speak up and be a stronger advocate for fiscal responsibility in City Hall."

City Council, District 4:  David Ryu*
"Ryu deserves a second term in office for his work trying to reform the city’s ethics and campaign finance system and for tackling homelessness in his district."

City Council, District 6:  Nury Martinez*
"Now the president of the City Council, Martinez needs to channel her bluntness and toughness into standing up for what’s right on homelessness and other issues."

City Council, District 8:  Marqueece Harris-Dawson*
"Running unopposed, Harris-Dawson is a thoughtful leader who wants the best for his community, but we hope he uses his experience as an insider to get more change faster."

City Council, District 10:  Mark Ridley-Thomas
"For this open seat, no other candidate in the race can beat Ridley-Thomas’ experience, knowledge and long list of accomplishments."

City Council, District 12:  Loraine Lundquist
"An astrophysicist and community activist, Lundquist offers a vision for a cleaner, healthier, more humane city. Incumbent John Lee does not."

City Council, District 14:  Kevin de León
"The community and the City Council would benefit from De León’s skills at dreaming up ambitious solutions to major problems and then using his political savvy to get them adopted."


https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2020-02-23/la-times-endorsements-march-3-california-primary-los-angeles

[Interlocutor is just not there yet]

The DA race fascinates me the more I read up on it. Then again, I shouldn't be surprised at the attention it's getting. I guess it's the whole "LA officer returns home from Arizona & San Francisco and not treated like an outsider" approach that's intriguing. I don't know how long he worked in LA, but it doesn't seem as "LA vs SF" as I expected.

DA Lacey feels, to me, like a transitional figure with one foot in the era of Steve Cooley and another foot in the era of progressive criminal justice reforms. Those feet may as well be in different worlds

[Interlocutor is just not there yet]

Well this DA race has taken an odd turn with around 30 hours before polls close

https://twitter.com/carltakei/status/1234576720772173824

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Current results in the DA race. This is with 100% reporting, although there's still an indeterminate number of VBM & provisional ballots to count.


Jackie Lacey*     368,981    52.42%
George Gascón   181,771    25.82%
Rachel Rossie     153,112    21.75%


EDIT

2:45 AM update (40 minutes after this post)

Jackie Lacey*     409,093    51.65%
George Gascón   208,412    26.31%
Rachel Rossie     174,582    22.04%

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3/4

Noon update

Jackie Lacey*     489,835    50.69%
George Gascón   259,307    26.83%
Rachel Rossie     217,165    22.47%


Evening update

Jackie Lacey*     532,583    50.14%
George Gascón   289,082    27.22%
Rachel Rossie     240,534    22.64%

Looking like this'll be a November runoff

[Interlocutor is just not there yet]

Lacey has (finally) gotten under 50% after today's update


Jackie Lacey*     691,958    49.94%
George Gascón   383,183    27.66%
Rachel Rossie     310,412    22.40%

[Interlocutor is just not there yet]

Who would you rather vote for in a matchup between these two DAs, LA DA Jackie Lacey (D) or OC DA Todd Spitzer (R)?

Go start a thread about it.

And stop trying to make Todd Spitzer happen. It's not going to happen.

[Interlocutor is just not there yet]

Now that Jackie Lacey has a plurality, most Rachel Rossie voters will vote for George Gascon in the runoff.

That's kind of a given

[Interlocutor is just not there yet]

Now that Jackie Lacey has a plurality, most Rachel Rossie voters will vote for George Gascon in the runoff.

That's kind of a given

That means Lacey is toast.

Careful with that simple presumption. We must have different definitions of what "toast" is.

Current numbers being what they are, a 50.1 - 49.9 loss could easily be a 50.1 - 49.9 win. Nothing close to "toast".

We got over 7 months to go and it's not clear at all if the GE electorate will be pro or anti-Lacey.

There's also a Prop 47 reform proposition on the November ballot that could come into play, given Gascón's role on the original Prop.