Visiting the Palisades Farmers Market was DA candidate John McKinney (right). He is supported by Deputy District Attorney Jason Lustig, Krishna Thangavelu and Sue Kohl (red shirt).
(Editor’s note: Krishna Thangavelu is a Pacific Palisades resident, who won a Golden Sparkplug award in 2021 from the Pacific Palisades Community Council for building a district wide coalition to stop Will Rogers Beach from becoming a site for homeless housing.)
By KRISHNA THANGAVELU
You may have seen me at the Farmers Market with a McKinney banner raising awareness about THE MOST IMPORTANT local election on the ballots this March 5.
The District Attorney is Los Angeles County’s top law enforcement officer for 10 million plus residents and workers in Los Angeles County.
DID YOU KNOW?
- The murder rate in Los Angeles is up 50% since 2019.
- Assaults, burglaries, auto thefts, and commercial thefts are all significantly higher than a few years ago.
- “Smash-n-grab” shoplifting is de facto legal in most parts of Los Angeles County
- Auto thefts reached historic levels in the City of Los Angeles in 2022, with 25,400 vehicles stolen.
- There is an epidemic of auto break-ins and stolen catalytic converters. 2022 saw a record number of auto parts thefts in the City of Los Angeles, with over 7,000 reported thefts. That number represents a 40% increase over 2021.
- Serious crimes on the Metro Transit Watch App increased by 24 percent in 2022, transit operators assaulted at the rate of 14 per month.
- Many criminals are being cited and released in the field, often returning to commit additional crimes in short order.
INCUMBENT DA GEORGE GASCON MUST GO!
Los Angeles County has eighty-eight cities. Thirty-five of those cities have voted no confidence in George Gascon as our District Attorney. That would be entire city councils saying they do not trust this guy to manage our criminal prosecution.
Eighteen of Gascon’s most senior deputy DA’s have filed retaliation lawsuits against him. The first jury has already awarded $1.5 million of our taxpayer’s money to a prosecutor whose retaliation lawsuit is just the tip of the iceberg facing the County under Gascon’s leadership.
MCKINNEY FOR DISTRICT ATTORNEY?
In a crowded field of candidates, who do you pick?
I am a former executive recruiter…colloquially known as a “headhunter.” We get paid to scour the nation, and sometimes the world, to find the best candidates for senior executive roles.
When finalists are vetted for character, accomplishments, and experience… one factor identifies the winner.
Reference checks!!!
In a recent vote of front-line deputy district attorneys, the dedicated public servants who do the hard work of prosecuting crime, one candidate was overwhelmingly favored by internal staff who know all the candidates the best: Supervising District Attorney John McKinney.
There were 355 (67.4%) of 527 district attorneys who voted in this ballot.
| Option | Votes |
| John McKinney | 229 (64.7%) |
| Eric Siddall | 54 (15.3%) |
| Maria Ramirez | 44 (12.4%) |
| Jonathan Hatami | 8 (2.3%) |
| George Gascon | 6 (1.7%) |
| Nathan Hochman | 5 (1.4%) |
| Craig Mitchell | 4 (1.1%) |
| David S. Milton | 1 (0.3%) |
| Debra Archuleta | 1 (0.3%) |
| Jeff Chemerinsky | 1 (0.3%) |
| Lloyd Masson | 1 (0.3%) |
| Dan Kapelovitz | 0 (0.0%) |
I’m standing alongside the best possible references in this election for DA: 229 attorneys in the District Attorney’s office who would support their leader in managing tough public safety cases. I’m voting for John McKinney.
Case closed.
Everything that is stated herein is true. My question……..why did only 355 of 527 DAs vote in this internal vote? One thing that comes to mind knowing Gascon’s record and history would be fear of retaliation or other things. Who in the DA’s office put the survey forth?