Becton Column Final

Becton Column Final

RESTORE PUBLIC SAFETY IN CONTRA COSTA COUNTY ON JUNE 7

ELECT MARY KNOX AS DISTRICT ATTORNEY

The Contra Costa Board of Supervisors appointed Diana Becton as the Interim District Attorney on September 12. 2017. It is hard to understand why she was selected over a much more experienced prosecutor. She was elected to a full term in 2018. Now is the time to correct this situation by electing Mary Knox as the new DA. This election is final--your only chance to end Diana Becton's pro-criminal administration.

Citation 1

A good reason to unseat Becton is her admitted plagiarism. According to the Contra Costa Herald "The choice by the board of supervisors came despite the revelation that the former judge plagiarized significant portions of her application . . ."

Citation 2

The current DA published the following guidance:

Theft Offenses Committed During State of Emergency (PC 463)

In order to promote consistent and equitable filing practices the follow analysis is to be applied when giving consideration to filing of PC 463 (Looting):

1. Was this theft offense substantially motivated by the state of emergency, or simply a theft offense which occurred contemporaneous to the declared state of emergency?

a. Factors to consider in making this determination:

i. Was the target business open or closed to the public during the state of emergency?

ii. What was the manner and means by which the suspect gained entry to the target business?

iii. What was the nature/quantity/value of the goods targeted?

iv. Was the theft was committed for financial gain or personal need?

v. Is there an articulable reason why another statute wouldn’t adequately address the particular incident?

It would seem that these questions should at least be balanced against asking similar questions of the victims such as how badly they needed to keep the item they had stolen from them, and how they felt about being a looting victim? Remember, these victims were being targeted by criminals during a state of emergency, yet Becton appears to want to excuse their conduct rather than holding them accountable for their crimes.

Citation 3

The current Contra Costa DA is a founding member of the Prosecutors Alliance which describes itself as "An organization committed to reforming California's criminal justice system through smart, safe, modern solutions that advance, not just public safety, but human dignity and community well-being." Chesa Boudin (San Francisco DA) and George Gascon (Los Angeles DA) are also founding members of this alliance and have done their best on behalf of the criminals in their jurisdictions and both are now the subjects of recall efforts. Even a bunch of progressive-left Hollywood elites are supporting the Gascon recall because of the out-of-control crime in LA. You tend to get less progressive when crime has an impact on you personally.

Citations 4 and 5

The current DA administration has been sued for gender discrimination by five female deputy district attorneys, one of whom is Mary Knox The case was allowed to proceed after a federal court in San Francisco found they adequately detailed their gender bias claims. Four of the women can also pursue age discrimination claims. The court also declined to dismiss the five women’s retaliation and state law failure-to-prevent-discrimination claims.

Citations 6 and 7

In the Spring of 2021, the Contra Costa County Merit Board ruled that the current DA has engaged in a pattern of political retaliation.. The current DA has used her office to promote people with little or no experience, and to retaliate against people who disagree with her. This is consistent with the plagiarism she admitted to committing in her application for appointment in 2017 as interim District Attorney. The Board of Supervisors appointed her anyway.

Citations 8

Conclusion

Diana Becten was the wrong choice for District Attorney four years ago and she is the wrong choice now. Elect Mary Knox who you can depend on to do the job right. Candidate Mary Knox is committed to restoring public safety and protecting crime victims in Contra Costa!

ELECT MARY KNOX AS CONTRA COSTA DISTRICT ATTORNEY

CITATIONS

1--https://www.contracosta.ca.gov/3123/District-Attorney-Biography.

2--Contra Costa Herald: https://contracostaherald.com/05271801cch/

3--Response to a Public Records Act Request to the Contra Costa District Attorney, January 10, 2022.

4--Prosecutors' Alliance: https://prosecutorsalliance.org/

5--The Los Angeles Magazine, Feb. 4, 2022. https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=does+hollywood+support+gascon

6--Bloomberg Law, May 21, 2021. https://news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-report/female-prosecutors-can-sue-california-county-for-sex-age-bias

7--20-1449 - Knox et al v. Contra Costa County et al. United States District Court Northern District of California.

https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/USCOURTS-cand-3_20-cv-01449

8--Merit Board Decision. Contra Costa Merit Board Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law, and Decision, dated May 26, 2021.