A hotly-contested district attorney race is underway for the nation’s largest prosecutorial office, as nearly a dozen candidates challenge the incumbent, George Gascón — whose soft-on-crime policies are being blamed for the city’s public safety crisis. 

Voting is already underway for the March 5 primary, with 11 candidates seeking to replace Mr. Gascón. A candidate in the packed field would need more than 50 percent to win. If no one wins a majority, the top two contenders will face off in a November runoff. 

The race is unfolding as Democratic cities across the country face backlash from all sides of the political spectrum for soft-on-crime tactics — from drug decriminalization in Oregon, to migrant attacks on cops in New York, to surging carjackings and homicides at Washington, D.C. — as the Sun has reported. 

At Los Angeles, despite recent slight decreases in violent crime in the city, property crime is on the rise, and homicides, robberies, and carjackings surged during the pandemic. The Public Policy Institute of California found that 69 percent of Los Angeles individuals polled viewed violence and street crime as a problem. 

The enormous Los Angeles County district attorney’s office includes nearly 1,000 attorneys who cover an area with more than 10 million residents, according to its website. 

Mr. Gascón — elected in 2020 and heavily backed by billionaire George Soros — is a former cop and was selected by then-mayor Gavin Newsom to be San Francisco’s chief of police. In 2011, he replaced Kamala Harris as district attorney of San Francisco after she was elected to be California’s attorney general. 

He kicked off his re-election campaign in November, promising to fight for criminal justice reform and “shared values” that include “ending the death penalty, no longer prosecuting children as adults, and holding law enforcement and big corporations accountable.” 

“This campaign is not about me, this is a community movement,” he said in a statement. “This is about looking at the criminal justice system of the 21st Century not with a rearview mirror but looking forward.”

On his first day on the job, Mr. Gascón directed prosecutors to stop seeking cash bail for misdemeanors and non-violent offenses, calling cash bail “as unjust as it is unsafe.” 

He doubled down on his reform policies in a November debate, emphasizing that public safety is about the need to recognize that “prison cannot be the only one answer.”

It’s unclear whether Mr. Gascón will pull together a majority vote in the crowded field, but he has faced low approval ratings for years. 

A Ballotpedia analysis of local press attention and candidates endorsements shows that along with Mr. Gascón, four contenders are leading the race — Jeff Chemerinsky, Jonathan Hatami, Nathan Hochman, and Eric Siddall.

Mr. Chemerinsky is a former federal prosecutor, whose policy priorities read similar to Mr. Gascón’s. He opposes the death penalty and supports criminal justice reform. He says he is against mass incarceration and that he will “prioritize the prosecution of gun crimes” and will use the role to “promote strong and sensible gun policies nationwide.”

He also promises to prioritize environmental crime and wage theft and supports “alternative sentencing options,” including restorative justice courts, diversion programs, and increased rehabilitative programs. 

Mr. Hatami, who is a deputy district attorney and military veteran, also supports a rehabilitative approach. A survivor of child abuse, he supports the death penalty in cases of torture and murder of children, mass murder, and murder of cops. He says he believes in reforms but that they must be balanced by “first and always” following the law. 

Mr. Hochman, who is a former federal prosecutor, is running a campaign that appears tougher on crime and has promised to rescind “all of Gascon’s pro-criminal, blanket policies that have ‘decarceration’ as their primary goal.” His policy priorities include restoring a better relationship with law enforcement and “protecting victims’ interests instead of criminals’ interests.”

Mr. Siddall, who is a violent crime prosecutor, is campaigning on putting “dangerous and violent criminals behind bars” and working more closely with police, citing his work convicting gang members and prosecuting a cop killer. His priorities include combating retail theft, homelessness, and gun violence.