Candidate for
District Attorney; City of San Francisco

San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón was born in a working-class neighborhood in Havana, Cuba in 1954. George's uncle was jailed for more than 10 years as a political prisoner and his father was fired from his job for allegedly speaking out against the government. In 1967, on a Freedom Flight, his family immigrated to the United States as political refugees and settled in Los Angeles, California. George was thirteen at the time and arrived with only a change of clothes in a cardboard suitcase. After dropping out of high school, George joined the Army and then the Los Angeles Police Department, where he rose through the ranks to become second-in-command while earning a law degree.

A first generation immigrant, George learned that a safer city begins with building trust and partnerships among diverse communities, law enforcement and the court system. This trust is based on a commitment to fairness, openness and justice.

While commanding more than 8,000 sworn officers and civilians at LAPD, George was selected to lead ethics reforms within the organization in the wake of police misconduct in the late 1990's. George's program posted the Bill of Rights in every classroom, integrating an understanding and respect for civil rights with police training, challenging officers to make the connection between their everyday actions and the US Constitution.

As Police Chief in conservative Mesa Arizona, George risked his job to take on Arizona's right wing anti-immigrant movement, created Mesa's first LGBT outreach group and protected protests by anti-Prop 8 groups in the face of pressure from the city's conservative political leadership.

As Chief of Police in San Francisco beginning in 2009, George worked quickly and efficiently to revamp training and improve police procedure. During his tenure San Francisco saw a significant drop in crime while at the same time reducing arrests.

Appointed San Francisco District Attorney in January 2011, George Gascón is leading with innovative programs, including Neighborhood Courts that will cut recidivism rates and costs by moving people cited for misdemeanors into community service programs rather than into jail. He is focusing the resources of the District Attorney's office on prosecuting violent criminals, protecting victims, enforcing transparency, safeguarding consumers, and quickly and efficiently handling minor offenses.

George is a member of the Harvard University Kennedy School of Government's Executive Session on Policing and Public Safety and a graduate of the FBI's National Executive Institute. He has testified before the U.S. House; authored numerous articles in national journals; published in the New York Times and is a subject expert on community policing and police accountability.

George is endorsed by US Senator Dianne Feinstein, Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom, California Attorney General Kamala Harris, San Francisco Treasurer José Cisneros, Supervisors Sean Elsbernd, Carmen Chu, Malia Cohen, Mark Farrell and Scott Wiener, former Supervisor Bevan Dufty, and many others.