Race for Los Angeles district attorney increasingly bitter

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Their target is Lacey, the two-term incumbent, and their candidate is former San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon, who was a police officer and chief in two cities before becoming a prosecutor. “You might find young African-American women who are very active in the justice movement strongly support Gascon," while older Latino voters who want a tough-on-crime DA might back Lacey even though Gascon is Hispanic. In his endorsement, Garcetti said Gascon would “help our county shift the burden from the criminal justice system and jails toward diversion, intervention, and re-entry programs that save money and save lives.” Garcetti's father, Gil, who was a two-term DA and once Lacey’s boss, also backs Gascon, as do Gov. Gascon, who spent most of his career at the Los Angeles Police Department and then became chief in Mesa, Arizona, and San Francisco before becoming DA there, has said Lacey hasn’t held police accountable because she is beholden to them for their financial support, a claim she denies.