Weeks later, she opposed legislative efforts to end “gang enhancement” charges that let prosecutors put much harsher sentences into play with some defendants, nearly all of whom are people of color. A September 2021 analysis by reporter Greg Moran of The San Diego Union-Tribune noted how earlier that year, Stephan had scrapped far-reaching civil gang injunctions that activists saw as profoundly unfair for restricting the movement of 350 local residents with alleged gang ties - as if their criminality was already established. Still, no incumbent should ever avoid a challenge, and Stephan’s record is not impeccable. Her 2019 decision to leave the Republican Party and become an independent carried a powerful message to those in both parties eager to politicize law enforcement.
Stephan’s admirers point to the fact that San Diego County is one of the safest large jurisdictions in the nation, to her aggressive efforts to end backlogs in untested rape kits and to ramp up hate crime investigations, and to her emergence as both an advocate for crime victims and of efforts to redeem young people in trouble with the law. It’s rare for a DA in a large county with big red and blue blocs to coast to re-election.
Meanwhile, San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan drew no primary election opponent and will win a second term automatically in November. With crime on the rise and criminal justice rife with discord this year, Californians recalled a district attorney in San Francisco and threatened to recall another in Los Angeles.
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