Solano County District Attorney Donald du Bain is challenged by his major crimes prosecutor Krishna Abrams in the June 3 election.
District Attorney Donald du Bain claims that during his 20 years' experience as a prosecutor in the Solano County District Attorney's Office he has expanded services for crime victims, worked with the courts and schools to reduce truancy in schools, and cracked down on gangs and school violence.
He says his office has an 85 percent conviction rate in felony jury trials, and opened the county's Family Justice Center to provide services for victims of child and elder abuse, domestic violence and sexual assault.
Du Bain also expanded the Real Estate Fraud Prosecution unit to prosecute "white collar predators" who promise refinanced mortgages, but steal homeowners' life savings. He says his office has adopted a "customer service" attitude that places crime victims first.
He has been District Attorney since Jan. 3, 2011. He said his supporters include Solano County Sheriff Tom Ferrara, Crime Victims United of California, the Solano County Association of Deputy District Attorneys and former police chiefs in Solano County.
Abrams has 18 years' experience as a prosecutor and has tried murder cases as a Solano County deputy district attorney.
She was named Solano County "Prosecutor of the Year" in 2012 and the California District Attorneys Association presented her the "Outstanding Prosecutor" award for rural or medium counties in 2012-2013, the first Solano County prosecutor to win the award.
Abrams has been endorsed by the police officers associations of Benicia, Rio Vista, Fairfield, Suisun City and Dixon and by the Solano County Deputy Sheriffs' Association.
Previous: Local Mom Makes Impassioned Plea for Krishna Abrams for Solano County DA.
She is running on her record of obtaining justice for crime victims during her 10 years prosecuting homicides, sexual assault and domestic violence cases. She pledges to restore trust and ethics in the Solano County District Attorney's Office.
She said the public, media and defense attorneys are questioning the ethics of the Solano County District Attorney's Office in the wake of revelations this year that prosecutors and police in the county believe autopsy results should support their investigations rather instead of being unbiased and neutral conclusions on the cause of death.
Solano County defense attorneys have challenged the competency of Dr. Susan Hogan, Solano County's former chief pathologist, who was fired in 2013.
The attorneys claimed Hogan's autopsy conclusions were not supported by independent scientific review, and the lawyers were not receiving evidence from prosecutors in a timely manner.
In response, du Bain said he has instituted a rigorous, new ethics policy to assure all prosecutors and police agencies comply with the duty to provide a fair trial while protecting the privacy rights of police officers and civilian witnesses who testify in court.
The candidate who earns the majority vote will be elected.
Du Bain's web site here.
Abrams' web site here.
--Bay City News
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.