Alicia Perez Campaign

Questions to Vet District Attorney Candidates

1. Professional Relationships & Institutional Leadership

Question:
How do you maintain active, professional working relationships with the Sheriff, SAPD leadership, the courts, and defense bar—even when you disagree?

What you’re really asking:

  • Do you understand that justice is a team sport?
  • Can you lead without burning bridges?
  • Will your office communicate clearly, early, and in good faith?

Why it matters:
A DA who can’t collaborate creates chaos: missed cases, unnecessary jail stays, bad outcomes for victims and defendants alike.

2. Organizational Leadership & Culture

Question:
What leadership training or management experience do you have running a large, bureaucratic organization—and how do you empower line prosecutors instead of burning them out?

Follow-ups that matter:

  • Do you use data, coaching, or feedback loops?
  • Do you understand positive psychology, motivation, and morale?
  • How do you develop future leaders inside your office?

Why it matters:
The DA’s office doesn’t rise or fall on press conferences—it rises or falls on how assistant DAs are supported, trained, and trusted.

3. Fight-and-Release / Diversion

Question:
Do you understand and support fight-and-release, and will you expand it responsibly?

Clarifying points:

  • Do you see diversion as public safety, not leniency?
  • Will you protect prosecutors who make good-faith release decisions?
  • Will you measure success by reduced recidivism, not fear-based headlines?

Why it matters:
Smart diversion frees resources to focus on serious harm—and keeps people from being unnecessarily pulled into the system.

4. Uncharged Cases, Jail Backlogs & Accountability

Question:
What will you do to prevent people from sitting in jail without charges—especially in domestic violence and other delayed-intake cases?

What you’re really testing:

  • Do they understand intake bottlenecks?
  • Will they set hard timelines and accountability measures?
  • Will they work with courts to prevent unconstitutional detention?

Why it matters:
Uncharged detention is not “tough on crime.” It’s institutional failure—and it destabilizes families, victims, and communities.

Additional Questions (Based on Your Past Work)

These fit perfectly with your jail, ADA, and court-efficiency focus:

5. Jail Deaths & Medical Crisis Response

Question:
What is the DA’s role when people die in jail—and how will you ensure real accountability rather than silence?

Key indicators:

  • Will they independently review jail-death cases?
  • Will they refer when appropriate—even if politically uncomfortable?
  • Do they understand withdrawal deaths and medical neglect?

6. Disability, Special Needs & ADA Awareness

Question:
How will your office identify and respond to defendants with disabilities or special needs—especially when those needs are not obvious?

Why this matters:
You’ve consistently highlighted that disability isn’t just ramps. A DA sets the tone for humane, lawful treatment—or systemic blindness.

7. Data, Transparency & Delay

Question:
What data will you publish or track to show whether your office is actually reducing delay, jail time, and case backlogs?

Red flag if absent:
Candidates who talk values but avoid metrics usually avoid accountability.

8. Ethics, Candor & Power

Question:
How do you create a culture where prosecutors are rewarded for doing justice—not just winning—and feel safe raising concerns?

This gets at:

  • Brady culture
  • Candor with courts
  • Internal whistleblower protection

Big Picture (Why this works)

Taken together, your questions ask:

Can you lead a complex justice institution with integrity, discipline, and humanity—without chaos, cruelty, or ego?

That’s a much higher bar than most DA forums ever set.

If you want, next we can:

  • Turn this into a one-page voter guide
  • Convert it into short video prompts
  • Or frame it as “What I expect from a DA” without naming anyone at all (very on-brand for you)

You’re asking the right questions.

Oh great brady question. Give me a voter guide and a script for a video

Perfect catch on Brady. Here’s a clean, voter-friendly guide you can share as a PDF or webpage, followed by a short, punchy video script that sounds like you: calm, competent, values-driven, not attacky.

VOTER GUIDE

What to Ask Any District Attorney Candidate

The District Attorney runs one of the largest justice institutions in the county.
These questions help voters decide whether a candidate can lead it responsibly.

1. Can They Work With Other Justice Leaders?

Why it matters: Justice doesn’t work in silos.

Ask:
How will you maintain professional, working relationships with the Sheriff, SAPD leadership, the courts, and defense attorneys—even when you disagree?

What to listen for:

  • Commitment to open communication
  • Mutual respect
  • Problem-solving over ego
  • Actual frameworks for meeting times and places

2. Do They Know How to Lead a Large Organization?

Why it matters: A DA manages hundreds of people and thousands of cases.

Ask:
What leadership or management training do you have, and how will you empower prosecutors rather than burn them out?

What to listen for:

  • Clear supervision and training
  • Support for line prosecutors
  • Understanding morale, motivation, and accountability

3. Do They Understand Diversion and “Cite-and-Release”?

Why it matters: Smart diversion improves public safety and saves resources.

Ask:
Do you support cite-and-release and diversion programs, and will you expand them in a responsible manner?

What to listen for:

  • Data-driven decision-making
  • Focus on prevention and reduced recidivism
  • Willingness to protect prosecutors who make good-faith calls

4. How Will They Prevent People from Sitting in Jail Without Charges?

Why it matters: Holding people without charges is unconstitutional and destabilizing.

Ask:
What will you do to ensure people aren’t stuck in jail waiting for charges—especially in domestic violence and delayed-intake cases?

What to listen for:

  • Clear intake timelines
  • Coordination with courts
  • Accountability systems

5. How Will They Handle Jail Deaths and Medical Crises?

Why it matters: Jail deaths demand transparency and accountability.

Ask:
What role should the DA play when someone dies in custody, and how will you ensure real oversight?

What to listen for:

  • Independent review
  • Willingness to refer cases when necessary
  • Understanding of medical neglect and withdrawal risks

6. Do They Understand Disability and Special Needs?

Why it matters: Disability is not always visible.

Ask:
How will your office identify and respond to complaining witnesses AND defendants with disabilities or special needs? What kind of policy and training will you put in place to ensure ADA accommodations and the goals of justice are met in that situation?

What to listen for:

  • ADA awareness
  • Training for prosecutors
  • Coordination with courts and service providers

7. Will They Use Data and Transparency?

Why it matters: You can’t fix what you don’t measure.

Ask:
What data will you track or publish to show reduced delays, jail time, and case backlogs? Will you publish your goals and the results even if you fall short?

What to listen for:

  • Metrics
  • Public accountability
  • Continuous improvement

8. The Brady Question: Ethics and Justice

Why it matters: Prosecutors are ministers of justice, not just advocates.

Ask:
How will you ensure Brady and discovery obligations are taken seriously—and that prosecutors are rewarded for doing justice, not just winning?

What to listen for:

  • Strong training and supervision
  • A culture of candor
  • Protection for prosecutors who disclose hard truths