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James wrote a really good piece about the opinions of various district attorneys, but I want to focus on this one from the head of a controversial lobbying organization called the "California District Attorney's Association" Vern Pierson. https://twitter.com/JamesQueallyLAT/status/1358858690355339265
This opinion stands out for me because it really does represent the straw person "trick" old guard prosecutors like try to play: they're not playing politics, the straw people are.
So here is a little bit about Pierson, the context of his opinions about the "identity politics" dog whistle, and the CDAA.
Pierson represents El Dorado County, and his office is in the city of Placerville, with the Lynching Tree on its seal. https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2020-07-30/placerville-city-council-lynching-tree-logo
Pierson represents El Dorado County, and his office is in the city of Placerville, with the Lynching Tree on its seal. https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2020-07-30/placerville-city-council-lynching-tree-logo
The total population of El Dorado County is 193,000.
For comparison, that is smaller than the City of Glendale.
In terms of population, Los Angeles County is more than 50x larger than El Dorado County.
For comparison, that is smaller than the City of Glendale.
In terms of population, Los Angeles County is more than 50x larger than El Dorado County.
El Dorado County is much, much whiter than Los Angeles County, and much, much less Black.
El Dorado County: 77% White, 1% Black.
Los Angeles County is 26% White, 9% Black.
El Dorado County: 77% White, 1% Black.
Los Angeles County is 26% White, 9% Black.
To get elected DA, Pierson earned just 27,800 votes. Gascon earned 2 million votes, or about 75x as many votes.
These numbers are quite staggering, and yet because of an organization called the "California District Attorney's Association," the LA Times recognizes Pierson because he has a platform.
But there's more.
But there's more.
Last month, the SF Chronicle reported the "California District Attorney's Association" misappropriated $3m in funding intended complex cases involving environmental and worker safety violations, but instead went to lobbying and political campaigning. https://theappeal.org/the-california-district-attorneys-association-is-failing-californians/#:~:text=Earlier%20this%20month%2C%20the%20San,intended%20for%20public%20services%20programs
None of these facts made their way into the article, but they are certainly relevant to any discussion that would have you to believe the district attorney of two counties that could not be any more different have similar political responsibilities or priorities.
