EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — Four years ago, George Gascón campaigned as a progressive crusader, ready to take on justice reform.

This year, as public safety has become a top issue for voters, his challenger — former federal prosecutor Nathan Hochman promised a tougher approach to fighting crime and defeated Gascón by a resounding margin.

District Attorney-elect Hochman joined “Inside the Issues” host Amrit Singh to discuss his agenda on day one in office and explained why safety was the crossover issue of 2024.

“Basically, people from all different parts of the spectrum — political spectrums, demographics or geographic, they care about the safety of their family,” he said. “What we’ll do is we will eliminate pro-criminal, extreme policies. For instance, with juveniles stealing just under $950 that Gascon said won’t be prosecuted, or gun enhancements that won’t be prosecuted, or gang enhancements that won’t be prosecuted. But we’re not going to roll that into and turn that into mass incarceration, extreme policies. Both sets of extreme policies just don’t work. What we’re going to do is focus on the facts and the law.”

While Gascón has raised concerns about racial bias disproportionately effecting Black and brown defendants, Hochman says he plans to enforce a recent Assembly bill that strips the ethnicity of defendants from investigative reports before any filing decisions are made.

He also wants to focus on the victims that he says are also disproportionately Black or Hispanic, saying, “71% of victims of violent crimes are black or Hispanic. And although 4% of the population of LA county is represented by Black women, they represent over 28% of the victims of violent crime… I will be focusing on the victims to make sure we take steps to make sure they stop being victimized.”

The newly elected district attorney also answered questions about the Menendez Brothers’ case after Gascón said last month he will ask a judge to re-sentence the brothers in the brutal slaying of their parents back in 1989.

Hochman called it a politicized move by the current DA claiming, “The motions that triggered this potential re-sentencing were filed eight months ago. So, at any point before the election, he could have filed a re-sentencing request, or he could have done it immediately after the election because he’s going to be the DA until December first. He did it twelve days before the election, down 30-points in the polls, with no money in his bank to get the media attention.”

As far as the substance of the case, Hochman says, “I will do a thorough review of the facts and the law and I’m not in position right now to have done that.”

Watch the full interview with Los Angeles County DA-elect Nathan Hochman by clicking the arrow in the video above.

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