Former Mayor Gavin Newsom made a brilliant move to further his own political career by appointing Police Chief Gascon to the post of District Attorney. On paper there were many more qualified people for the job. But this appointment will shore up support for Newsom’s future campaigns with Latino voters and the Law Enforcement Community. With his existing support from the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender communities, he will be a formidable candidate in the future.
Mr. Gascon by all accounts is very bright and has lots of common sense. What he will most likely do, is allow his Second in Command to run the day to day operations of the District Attorney’s Office. He of course will have a full plate dealing with his budget and making community appearances and the other usual duties of the District Attorney. The fact that he has never tried a criminal case should not hinder him, he’s been around criminal courts his entire professional life. The one issue he’ll have to contend with is gaining the loyalty of his attorneys, many who have been toiling in the trenches at the Hall of Justice for many years. Some of those attorneys are contemplating running for D.A. in one year. He could fire any perceived rivals but I doubt that he’d do that. More than likely he’ll banish any perceived rivals to the Siberia of our criminal courts which is known as Juvenile Hall. If he can stay free of any scandals for one year he’ll have an excellent chance of being elected D.A. The fact that he is a career police officer and is not philosophically opposed to the death penalty should help mend the strained relationship between the San Francisco Police Department the District Attorney’s Office. This criminal defense attorney thinks this would help Mr. Gascon with his conviction rate which will help him get elected in one year.
