It’s tempting to say incumbent Jeff Rosen should keep his position as Santa Clara County district attorney by default.
His two challengers – Sajid Khan and Daniel Chung – represent polar-opposite extremes on the crime-fighting spectrum. Chung, a former prosecutor fired by Rosen last year, believes more people should be prosecuted – a lot more. Khan, a public defender, focuses on crime prevention and everything other than charging suspects with crimes, it seems.
With Khan as DA, we get the impression we not only would not need a new county jail, we wouldn’t need the current one. With Chung, we may need to build an additional jail.
All the more reason to go with Rosen and his proven, moderate approach that balances appropriate prosecution with reform programs that offer criminals opportunities to turn their lives around if they so choose. But Rosen should be your option in the June 7 primary election, not because the other two candidates are underqualified, but because the 12-year DA (and Los Altos resident) has a solid track record.
Among his accomplishments the past four years, Rosen has:
• Created a crime strategies unit that has solved numerous burglaries, robberies and murders. The unit also busted rings involved in a series of smash-and-grabs and catalytic converter thefts.
• Formed a victim service unit in response to mass shootings at the Gilroy Garlic Festival and at the Valley Transportation Authority.
• Responded to an increase in hate crimes against Asian Americans by promoting public awareness and boosting the number of prosecutions of such cases.
He has support from both reform-minded groups and police officers associations. His “hard power and soft power” approach accounts for that support.
It seems to be working. A 2021 report by County Health Rankings – a program of the University of Wisconsin – showed Santa Clara County had one of the lowest violent crime rates of large counties in California and in the U.S. at 264 violent offenses per 100,000 people.
That speaks well for the job Rosen is doing. He gets our endorsement and deserves your vote.
