Following a failed attempt earlier this year, the critics of Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón launched a new bid on Monday to recall the county’s top prosecutor.
The latest attempt to oust the district attorney follows opponents of Gascón failing to gain the minimum number of signatures to initiate a recall earlier this year.
From the steps of the Hall of Justice on Monday, supporters of the effort announced that they would once again try to reach the roughly 580,000 signatures they will need to recall the district attorney.
“The only way to remove L.A. D.A. George Gascón from office is at the polls, either by recall or an election in 2024,” said longtime critic of Gascón and Santa Clarita resident, Deputy District Attorney Jon Hatami, on Monday. “The longer we wait, the more vulnerable victims will suffer.”
“No matter what political aisle you stand, we all deserve safe homes, safe schools, and safe communities,” Hatami added. “But, when it is your child, your loved one, your friend or your family member, don’t you want a DA fighting for justice for you? After one full year, Gascón has completely failed us all. We deserve better.”
In a news release on Monday, the organizers for the effort said they had reached their goal of raising $2.5 million for their recall campaign and that they had formally served Gascón with papers of intent to recall.
“This formal step means we can file the official petition with the Los Angeles County Registrar for approval and public circulation of the petition,” read the release. “The approval process is generally 10-14 days.”
“Once the recall petition is approved, we will have 160 days to collect roughly 800,000 signatures to make sure we have the 579,062 required to trigger a recall election,” the release added. “If successful, a recall election will likely appear on the November 2022 ballot.”
Gascón could not be reached for comment as of the publication of this article.
