Nathan Hochman, a former assistant Attorney General under President George W. Bush, has securely won the vote to beat his opponent, Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón.
Independent candidate Hochman secured the general approval of the voters at 61%, while Gascón received only 39% of the votes. This change is because Gascón was elected in 2020 partly because of his reformist platform.
Hochman’s victory is something of a comeback after he lost the 2022 California attorney-general race to the Democrat Rob Bonta. But, due to problems in the liberal stronghold, he had another opportunity.
Hochman noted that safety is the highest priority of the government. Despite several public prosecutor union protests, Gascón survived two recall motions but was defeated by Hochman.
Criminality also contributed to Gascón’s dismissal. The Los Angeles Police Department recorded a 3% increase in violent crime and 9.5% in robberies in March. Hochman’s triumph occurred in parallel with the enactment of Proposition 36, which undid laws that Gascón himself had assisted in drafting by upgrading some crimes to felonies.
Proposition 36 passed with 70% support, and according to Hochman, this will make his work easier. He said that second—and third-time offenders will be even worse off as they may receive state prison terms.
Hochman wants to downplay what he calls ‘soft’ restrictions that hurt victims and prosecutors. He takes a hard middle approach so that all restrictions harming victims and hindering prosecutors are removed.
Some of the key policies Hochman plans to review are as follows: prosecuting juveniles for misdemeanor offenses, adding charges of enhancements for gangs and guns, and allowing prosecutors to assist the families of the victims during the parole hearing. All these changes intend to meet some of the objections made during the reign of Gascón.
He also wants to address homelessness in Los Angeles, where more than 75,000 people were counted as homeless this year. Regarding this practice, his office has a strategy of joining hands with the community to solve the problem.
Nathan Hochman makes a full-fledged plan for his key actions!
Filling up prisons is not his policy! He wants a reduction in crimes!
Nathan Hochman, the new district attorney of Los Angeles County, has said that the priority of the justice system is to strengthen security and help reform offenders.
His aim is not to fill up the prisons but to stop criminal activity from taking place in the first instance. Hochman has his opinion that the core principle of efficacy is crime prevention rather than punishment.
His “Blueprint for Justice” outlines key actions to achieve this, including:
– Restoring Purpose: Clarifying the roles of the DA’s office in crime prevention and ensuring of safety of society
– Restoring Integrity: Guaranteeing such prosecutorial decisions of being independent together with being honest.
– Restoring Trust: Establishing a relationship with the police and focusing on the victim’s rights
– Restoring Opportunities: Offering scouting for those affected with mental disorders and substance use disorders.
The envisioned transformation is supposed to trust Hochman to introduce drastic changes into the region’s law enforcement strategy, which is regarded as presently unable to offer protection against increasing crime rates. Hochman is ready and willing to do good things as district attorney, come December 2.
