Criminal justice reformer unseats Los Angeles district attorney
After a bitter race to lead the largest district attorney's office in the nation, reform candidate and former San Francisco D.A. George Gascón unseated Los Angeles County's first Black chief prosecutor.
With nearly 800,000 ballots still to be counted in Tuesday's election, Jackie Lacey conceded to Gascón on Friday in an emotional address attended by her staff and supporters.
"My consultants tell me that while I may close the gap between the two of us, I will not be able to make up enough based on the trending of the ballots to win this election," Lacey said. “I am so thankful to God for giving me this incredible opportunity to serve the people of Los Angeles County.”
The contest was regarded by many, and even Lacey herself, as an extension of the social unrest that spread across the country after George Floyd died in May while in Minneapolis police custody.
Lacey, who was also the county’s first female district attorney, acknowledged that “what happened in my election may one day be listed as a consequence of that” movement.
“It may be said that one day the results of this election is a result of our season of discontent and a demand to see a tsunami of change,” she said.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/criminal-justice-reformer-unseats-los-angeles-district-attorney-n1246871
