Flipping the channels of local news stations or the pages of San Francisco news publications, some Asian Pacific American residents say you would hardly know that several important elections are slated for the November ballot. And with the Oct. 7 recall election casting a shadow over San Francisco’s races, little attention has been given to one of the most important — the district attorney’s seat.
“Frankly, no one is paying attention to the district attorney’s race,” said David Lee of the non-partisan Chinese American Voters Education Committee (CAVEC). “The recall election has sucked all the oxygen out of it, and what’s left is given to the mayoral race. The DA race is not given any attention by anyone at this point.”
Bill Fazio, incumbent Terence Hallinan and Kamala Harris are vying for the district attorney seat and although each have begun minor campaigning, they still have a long way to go.
Lee said he believes people and the media will start focusing in on the DA’s race by the end of October as the dust from the recall election settles.
“Let’s look at it this way, you have coverage of the election up until Oct. 7, then you have the aftermath coverage, which will probably run for about a week,” Lee said. “Right now, no matter how much money you spend on the race, people will not be focused.”
Rippling Effect
Lee said that the DA’s race and the office itself is one of the most important in the city because it directly impacts quality of life in San Francisco. He cites complaints from voters and residents about homelessness and nuisance crimes, items that are handled by the district attorney as opposed to the mayor.
“A good DA is needed in the city to make sure the city won’t be led into the wrong direction,” Lee said. “Something needs to be done and voters have consistently said that their top concerns are crime and safety; the DA’s office is the frontline of defense.”
But there are still many who may not be aware of the importance of the DA’s office or even that such a branch exists. For newly arrived immigrant communities and many APAs, the American justice system is still one that is distant and complicated.
“Many APAs don’t understand how the criminal system works,” Lee said. “Less attention will be placed on the APA community, and the Chinese media isn’t really covering the DA’s race, especially this year because of the recall election.”
Independence and Ideology Count
Still, the candidates have already participated in debates, forums and public appearances, and a small but growing number of APAs are paying close attention to the race.
Joe Julian, president of the Filipino American Democratic Club, said that for this year’s election, as in past years, the APA community represents a bounty of diverse ideas.
“APAs aren’t monolithic, and there’s a lot of diversity within each community,” said Julian, whose club hasn’t endorsed any DA candidate yet. “In our club, there are people who support Fazio, Hallinan and Harris. Being an old-time and longtime progressive, I personally support Terence Hallinan.”
Julian said Hallinan is the most progressive of all three candidates, and given Hallinan’s positions on medical marijuana, victimless crimes and homelessness, San Francisco may embrace his views.
For Julian, what matters most is that the DA’s office be independent of the mayor. He said Hallinan acted independently when he obtained (and later dropped) indictments of the police chief and his command staff over an alleged coverup of an off-duty brawl by patrolmen.
“I’m not saying he’s perfect, but the fact that he’s independent and that he pursued the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) is a positive,” Julian said. “There’s clearly a problem with the SFPD.”
Prosecution Record: Good or Bad?
Many have cited Hallinan’s low conviction rate, but Julian said that doesn’t necessarily translate to the fact that he’s a bad DA. Hallinan has prosecuted misdemeanor domestic violence cases, which are difficult to get convictions in because they lack physical evidence or injuries. But it does keep them from being prosecuted again.
“You can’t blame the conviction rate entirely on the DA; the cops and the jury pool also have something to do with it,” Julian said. “San Francisco is different from other cities and it’s more complex. Just because there’s a high conviction rate doesn’t mean the office is good.”
Julian said Harris’ background with working with juveniles impresses him to an extent, but added that Harris has no real track record.
“Harris was appointed to two commissions by Mayor Willie Brown and he expects loyalty,” Julian said. “But the DA must be independent of the mayor. I, personally, did consider Harris very seriously, and I think she has a lot of potential especially with her commitment to diversity.
With Fazio, Julian said he was disappointed and surprised because Fazio didn’t approach the San Francisco Democratic County Central Committee — the elected arm of the S.F. Democratic Party. Julian is an elected member of the SFDCCC, which is staying neutral in the DA’s race.
But Robert Jung, a member of the Chinese American Democratic Club (CADC) and a former Berkeley police officer during the Vietnam War era, said Fazio—who the CADC voted on Monday to endorse for district attorney—has always made himself available to the Chinese American community, specifically to parents who are fighting for neighborhood schools in the Sunset and Richmond areas.
“Overall, Fazio has the experience and the record to be a good DA. And he can better mend the relationship between the police department and the DA’s office,” said Jung.
Fazio, who many believe has focused too heavily on the conservative voters on the Westside, has done more to broaden his base of support, including younger voters, the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community and APAs, according to Jung.
Jung said Hallinan’s low conviction rate and his acrimonious comments to the San Francisco Police Department make him unsuitable to carry on the helm at the DA’s office. As for Harris, Jung believes her inexperience, young age and connection with Brown will hurt her at the polls.
“Hallinan, whose nickname is ‘Kayo,’ prides himself on being the fighter, but there’s a time to fight and there’s a time to develop relationships,” said Jung. “Bill knows how to sit down and discuss things and work things out. The recall has taken away from Harris’ campaign, I mean all people can say is ‘Ah-nold, and who’s Kamala?’ ”
Office Diversity and Gender Issues
Tahir Naim, an attorney and past president of the South Asian Bar Association (SABA) said Fazio strikes him as a different type of San Franciscan.
“I think Fazio has more of a knee-jerk, lock-‘em-up mentality that really doesn’t reflect San Francisco,” Naim said.
Naim believes Harris is the best candidate because many of her values reflect those of San Francisco, and while Hallinan also has shown that during his tenure, Naim believes Harris will be a better administrator.
Julie Soo, an attorney, said Harris tackles the big issues such as looking after abused children and women in the sex slave trade, a problem that starts in Southeast Asia and ends in San Francisco.
“This really affects APA women, especially with our culture being more reticent and women being more afraid to speak out,” Soo said.
Soo, who supports Harris, said one of Hallinan’s weaknesses is maintaining diversity within his office. She said almost all of the minorities that Hallinan had hired have left.
Well-Defined Candidates
David Lee, on the other hand, said Harris is the newcomer and it may be difficult for her to break through the clutter of the recall election and the heavy focus on the mayor’s race. Hallinan’s power is his incumbency, Lee said.
“Conventional wisdom is that the recall will benefit the incumbent, who is Hallinan,” Lee said. “He will benefit even with the bad press. But what will hurt him is that he’s got a very narrow base with the progressives, and it’s hard for him to move to the center to get support from moderate voters. He has painted himself in a corner because he’s so defined.”
Having run twice for DA already, Fazio enjoys name recognition on the city’s west side, which has more moderate and conservative voters. But Lee said since Fazio lost both times, some may perceive him as the perennial loser.