The City of Palmdale has joined 27 other Los Angeles County municipalities in handing down a vote of confidence in District Attorney George Gascón.
The council voted four-to-one to issue the no confidence vote, with Councilmember Juan Carrillo the lone dissenter.
Gascón, formerly the D.A. for San Francisco, was elected in Nov. 2020 on a platform of sweeping criminal justice reforms, including a more lenient stance on sentencing and the abolition of cash bail for misdemeanors.
The Palmdale resolution was passed in the midst of a recall effort against the D.A., with councilmembers expressing objections to the end of cash bail and the refusal of county prosecutors to pursue low-level charges like trespassing or public intoxication.
Councilmember Richard Loa called Gascón's policies "dereliction of duty." Loa expressed concern for the victims of crimes the D.A.'s office chose not to pursue. "If they're not filed against, then those services are not available," he said.
Councilmember Carrillo said he told The Antelope Valley Press that he believed his colleagues' concerns were valid, but that the benefits of Gascón's reforms outweighed their unintended harms.
"Let's not forget he campaigned on justice reform," Carrillo said, citing a study that showed non-prosecution of low-level offences resulted in lower recidivism rates.
Palmdale residents who spoke at the council session were split on the issue, The Valley Press reported. Those supporting the no confidence vote included loved ones of victims of crime who thought the D.A.'s office should have been harsher on perpetrators. Others saw the vote as an effort to nullify Gascón's legitimate election.
Gascón himself has said the recall effort is being funded by out-of-state interests supportive of former President Donald Trump.
To succeed on a countywide recall of Gascón, supporters of the effort must collect 579,062 signatures from registered voters by Oct. 27.
