LOS ANGELES — A high-profile attempt to recall a progressive district attorney in the nation’s most populous county has failed, after organizers were unable to collect sufficient, valid petition signatures to place the proposal before voters, election officials said Monday.
Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón was faulted for criminal justice reforms that critics said fueled rising crime, which the top prosecutor disputed.
The failed attempt comes after San Francisco voters in June recalled another prominent California criminal justice reformer, District Attorney Chesa Boudin.
It was the second attempt to qualify a recall election that could remove Gascón, after an initial attempt also failed last year.
“Los Angeles’ criminal justice reform movement has prevailed because this is a community that prefers facts over misplaced fear,” Cristine Soto DeBerry, executive director of the Prosecutors Alliance that promotes reforms, said in a statement.
Los Angeles County is the most populous in the nation, with roughly 10 million residents.
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