LA DA Gascón May Get No Confidence Vote From Walnut Council

GASCON, CA — The Walnut City Council may consider holding a vote of no confidence against Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón during its Wednesday meeting.

Councilmembers will discuss Gascón's special directives and their impact on the city and county, according to a city staff report. Some of the directives include eliminating cash bail for misdemeanors and nonviolent offenses, no longer seeking the death penalty for all cases and eliminating sentencing enhancements.

The special directives resulted in four criminal cases involving the Walnut/Diamond Bar Sheriff's Station to be thrown out, officials said.

Walnut would join more than 20 other cities in the county that have passed similar measures if officials choose to pass a vote of no confidence, officials said. A vote of no confidence is symbolic and would not impact the district attorney's office.

Alternatively, officials could elect to send a formal letter to Gascón instead that expresses their concerns about his directives, according to the staff report. Another alternative would be a letter asking the district attorney to hold a public forum on his special directives.

The Walnut City Council will meet Tuesday at 7 p.m., and the meeting will be available to stream on the city's website. Public comments can be submitted before the meeting to tdeios@cityofwalnut.org.