One: Under my administration San Francisco neighborhoods are safer now than eight years ago when I became district attorney. Moreover, according to the Department of Justice and the Judicial Council of California, the proper way to gauge the effectiveness of a DA’s office is to measure the conviction rate based on the number of cases charged, not the number of arrests. By that count, our conviction rate is 62.3 percent, which is about average among Bay Area counties. But more important, the crime rate under my administration has fallen dramatically. San Francisco is now one of the safest cities in America.
Two: Through my many diversion programs for first-time offenders, I have saved the city more than $50 million. This use of diversion programs has become a major trend in cities across the country looking to save money for the high cost of building new prisons.
Three: The quick response of my office following the attack on five young Chinese Americans in Stern Grove last June is one more example of my concern for the Chinese American community. Moreover, last year I initiated a citywide Anti-Hate Campaign, which included posters on 800 bus tails, as well as inside buses and at some 30 bus stops. The posters, which are still in circulation, include the title, “We are not the Enemy…. We are your community.” Also, we continue to prosecute these crimes vigorously, and we encourage the community to bring us any information of a hate crime.
Four: I have hired many Asian Pacific Americans to serve in our office. In addition, I appointed a Chinese American, Sharon Woo, to lead our domestic violence unit. I also doubled the number of assistant DAs to handle domestic violence cases. I appointed another Chinese American, Sean Do, to manage the Elder Abuse Victim Assistance Program, which provides crisis intervention, emotional support and referral services.
Five: I have targeted gangs and criminal elements in troubled neighborhoods throughout my tenure as district attorney. These are often difficult cases to prosecute because witnesses are reluctant to testify. Nevertheless, we have met with remarkable success and we will not be deterred from pursuing these cases.
Six: My Special Prosecutions Unit focuses on insurance and credit card fraud, identity theft, embezzlement and criminal negligence. One example: Young Il Kim, aka Joseph Kim, the owner of Noah Roofing Co., was recently arrested on fraud charges. He worked out of the same building as Christie Binn Chung, owner of 101 Roofing, Inc., who was convicted in August following the accidental death of an employees. Chung was sentenced initially to more than $1.5 million in fines and three years in state prison.
Seven: I have made fighting civic corruption the hallmark of my administration. Time and again, I have gone after public officials who have abused the public trust. For example, our office is prosecuting Hector Chinchilla, the former president of the planning commission. Chinchilla, who was appointed by Mayor Willie Brown, was charged with conflict of interest violations after he offered to serve simultaneously as an attorney, a consultant and an advisor to the developers of various projects around the city.
Eight: I pioneered the use of Community Court to empower neighborhood activists to address many “quality of life” crimes themselves. The newest Community Court opened at Portsmouth Square Recreation Center in October. The courts allow panelists trained in conflict mediation to determine the punishment for such crimes as shoplifting, drinking in public, disturbing the peace and sleeping on the sidewalk in front of stores.
Nine: I have been endorsed by a broad group of powerful members of the community, including Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, Angela Alioto, Board of Supervisors President Matt Gonzalez, Benny Yee, Julie Lee, Pius Lee, state Sen. John Burton, Board of Equalization Chair Carole Migden and the former police chief of San Jose, Joseph McNamara. Also, Public Defender Jeff Adachi commented, “I’m proud to endorse Terence Hallinan. Our offices have worked well together in large part because of Hallinan’s ability to both aggressively fight for victim’s rights and institute community courts and diversion programs for non-violent offenders. Hallinan is the only candidate with the ethics and the courage to prosecute corrupt individuals within city government.”
Ten: My opponent in the race, Kamala Harris, has no experience in conducting large investigations, much less managing an office of nearly 300 people. She paid $34,000 in fines levied by the San Francisco Ethics Commission after she pledged to abide by spending limits and then ignored the limits. She recently took campaign contributions from the owners of welfare hotels in the Tenderloin District, which were being investigated by her employer, the city attorney’s office. While she worked for the DA’s office, she accepted two patronage jobs from Mayor Brown that brought her more than $200,000 over two years. This was in addition to her salary as an assistant DA.
Terence Hallinan has been the district attorney since 1995, and is seeking reelection to a third term on Dec. 9.