I’m running to be your next L.A. County district attorney because you live in this county, your children live in this county, my children live in this county, my wife and family live in this county, and my friends and neighbors live in this county. Your safety and the safety of my family are important to me. It means everything.
George Gascón has completely failed to implement real reforms and provide public safety to our county and communities. I’m not leaving my home or moving. I shouldn’t have to. Neither should you. I’m going to stay here and fight. And that means I’m running to be your next district attorney. The passion I bring when I fight for abused and neglected children is the passion I will bring to everyone in Los Angeles County. I will fight for your children and mine.
Many of you know me from my work as a child abuse prosecutor, handling some of the most egregious cases our county has ever seen. As a survivor of child abuse, I dedicate my time to advocating for other survivors and victims. I’m also a 40-year resident of L.A. County and have been proud to call the Santa Clarita Valley my home for over 30 years. I graduated from Canyon High School, I’m an Army veteran and my proudest achievement is being a husband and a father.
When George became DA on Dec. 7, 2020, he implemented 66 dangerous and radical blanket policies. He called them “reforms.” He lied to us all. Risking everything, I choose to step up and speak out. You see, I’m responsible for not only the safety of my children, I’m also responsible for fighting for justice for abused and neglected children and the safety of all children. I wasn’t just going to just sit back and let innocent children be victimized. So, I spoke out and started fighting back. There is no one better to lead the DA’s office in 2024 from the front and by example than me. I’m ready to accept that challenge.
We have important issues that must be addressed. We need a DA to tackle the fentanyl crisis. That means holding drug dealers who prey on our children accountable. We must also address gun violence. That means charging gun enhancements to make our communities safer. And, we must get back to supporting victims and survivors. That means sending prosecutors and victim advocates back to parole hearings to make sure our families aren’t re-victimized and to protect our community from violent offenders.
We must also address reforms, such as our mental health crisis, issues with drug and alcohol addiction, better rehabilitation programs for lower-level crimes, and moving toward a better system to rehabilitate our youth.
We must be an office that is transparent and accountable. That means doing the right thing even when others don’t see what you are doing. It means that the DA’s office is the “People’s Office,” and the entire community has a right to be safe and know what their office is doing. We must be accountable to the people we took an oath to protect, and we must be transparent. That also means everyone is held to the same standard of law, even law enforcement, everyone gets equal justice no matter if you are rich or poor, famous or not, and we must root out favoritism, public corruption, police misconduct and political cronyism anywhere we see it.
George Gascón has run the office like a partisan politician. He doesn’t care about honesty, integrity, justice, accountability, equity or the law. We must hire more deputy district attorneys. We are short more than 200 DDA’s. More DDA’s translates to better services for our community.
We must treat everyone with respect and dignity. There are numerous hostile work environment lawsuits pending. We must make the office a great place to work again. Then, our DDA’s and support staff can better serve L.A. County. We must foster diverse ideas that reflect our diverse community. The office can’t be run by a dictator. It must be run by the People’s DA. A People’s DA who has been a prosecutor for 17 years and can lead from the front and by example.
And, we must have a common mission that, above all, promotes public safety and follows the law
That’s why I’m running to be your next L.A. County DA. I would be honored for your support.
Jonathan Hatami is a 17-year veteran child abuse prosecutor in the L.A. County District Attorney’s Office, and has been a Santa Clarita resident for more than 35 years.
