1. What is your position on the death penalty? Under what circumstances would you pursue the death penalty? Do you think that three strikes cases with capital punishment should include any nonviolent crimes? If so, what prior crimes that are not violent should be considered in charging decisions?

I am the only candidate who has consistently and unequivocally opposed
the death penalty, and I will not seek it under any circumstances if I
am elected. My whole career has been about looking beyond the politics
that dominate law enforcement and finding proven solutions based on
facts and data.

Here are the facts - the death penalty does not make us safer. It is
not cost effective. It is not fair and equitable. We would save $1
billion over 5 years if we moved everyone on death row to life in
prison without the possibility of parole - resources that could be
spent on things that actually make us safer, like more cops on our
streets, more teachers in our schools, more services in our
communities, and more support for our victims.

I respect the deeply held views of those who support the death
penalty. My service as Police Commissioner has helped me better
understand these views and given me an even deeper appreciation for
those in the law enforcement and victim communities who support the
death penalty.

But I am running for DA to move this office and the entire public
safety community towards proven safety solutions. And the death
penalty simply has not been shown to make us safer.

State law gives local prosecutors enormous discretion in deciding what
to charge. I would use this discretion to seek permanent incarceration
in the most serious cases, including violent third strike
violations. My strategy will mean more certain punishment and more
available resources directed to keep us safer.

2. Would you support proposals to limit the length of time of MOUs negotiated during mayoral election years to one year? How would you have improved the most recent police department MOU?

I would support proposals to limit the length of time of MOUs
negotiated during mayoral election years. We need to separate labor
agreements - which are crucial to reform - from political
considerations. The recent police department MOU should have been more
flexible to changes due to changing economic conditions.

3. Do you support the foot patrol legislation passed by the Board of Supervisors?

I strongly support the new community policing legislation being
drafted by Supervisor David Campos in collaboration with community
leaders and Chief Suhr. This kind of collaborative approach is the
most effective way to build partnerships between law enforcement and
community to make us safer.

4. Do you support the "sit/lie" law? Will you prosecute people charged under "sit/lie?"

I voted against the Sit/Lie Law. I think it was a political solution
to a public safety problem and was extremely divisive, with no proven
safety benefit. We would have been better off using all the time,
money, and resources that went into the ballot fight bringing people
together to find collaborative solutions to the issues Sit/Lie
intended to address. As DA, I will not prosecute people criminally
under the Sit/Lie law - if more serious crimes are being committed by
people violating Sit/Lie, they should be charged as such; minor
infractions should be handled in alternative ways and not clog up our
already overburdened court system. Simply put, we should focus our
resources on serious and violent crimes.

5. Would you prosecute simple possession of marijuana cases? What marijuana cases would you prosecute? What steps would you take to protect those who are providing medical marijuana from prosecution by federal authorities?

The satirical magazine the Onion summed up the War on Drugs with this
apt headline: "Drugs Win Drug War." The War on Drugs has been a
complete failure, and we need to try a different approach. I support
the legalization of marijuana - but only if done collaboratively, with
law enforcement, the medical marijuana community and the treatment
community at the table. I will not prosecute low-level marijuana
possession and will instead focus resources on serious and violent
crime. My focus will be on stopping the violence associated with
open-air drug markets. As San Francisco District Attorney I will
absolutely not prosecute people who use or provide marijuana for
medicinal purposes. I am a strong supporter of medical marijuana, and
have extensive support in the medical marijuana community.

6. What is your position on cooperation with federal authorities, including homeland security, regarding violations of the Patriot Act
and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)?

I have stated clearly and emphatically that we should seek to opt out
of Secure Communities, following New York, Massachusetts and Illinois
- and I am the only District Attorney candidate who has done
so. Secure Communities does not make us safer and does not make us
more secure. We have seen in San Francisco how Secure Communities can
lead to the deportation of domestic violence victims who were
mistakenly arrested, and how it deters victims and witnesses from
working collaboratively with law enforcement to protect public safety.

I am also a very strong supporter of the Sanctuary City ordinance and
of David Campos' legislation on undocumented juveniles. I will work
with state and federal officials to make sure that our Sanctuary City
policy is respected.

7. How do you define "quality of life crimes"? How would you pursue quality of life offenses such as prostitution, drug possession,
vehicles parked in the middle of the street, aggressive panhandling,
public urination, and sleeping outdoors?

My primary focus will be on serious and violent crimes, because that
is what makes us safer. As the father of two young daughters, I am
concerned about quality of life crimes like those listed above, as
many San Franciscans are.

However, an exclusively criminal justice approach will not solve these
types of problems. They are best addressed through alternative means
like our collaborative courts, in concert with city agencies and
community-based organizations that can provide services and support.

8. Do you believe that retrieving resalable recyclables from blue bins left on the curb should be cause for arrest?

I think that anyone who has a lucrative business of hiring others to
go out and steal recyclables - and there are reports of just this type
of activity occurring in San Francisco - should absolutely be arrested
and prosecuted to the fullest extent. However, a criminal justice
response is not going to be the best solution for a poor, homeless
individual who is stealing on their own to help feed themselves - that
would be better handled through alternative means.

9. How would you pursue alleged corruption and wrongdoing in city government?

I will make public integrity a top priority in my office. Our current
DA's office is rife with conflicts of interest. I will have strict
conflict of interest policy and recuse myself if there are any actual
or perceived conflicts. I believe in transparency and accountability,
and that self-serving crimes by public officials should be
aggressively investigated and prosecuted.

10. Given the possibility of cuts in diversion programs, what crimes
are you going to make it a priority to pursue: Are you going to treat a robberies in the Pacific Heights the same as robberies in other
neighborhoods?

I will focus on serious and violence crimes, as stated above. I will
treat a crime that occurs in one neighborhood exactly the same as a
similar crime that occurs in a different neighborhood.

11. Is a high conviction rate more important to you than prosecuting the most violent and serious crimes?

My job as District Attorney is to make our city safer - which means
prosecuting the most violent and serious crimes based on the facts and
the law, without political considerations like concern about
conviction rates.

12. In what ways to you plan to improve the office of the District Attorney?

My top priority will be to reform the juvenile unit of the DA's
office. I will implement a restorative justice program for juveniles
that will shift the focus of the juvenile system to repairing the harm
done by an offender's actions. This approach puts the victim's needs
and offender accountability to those needs at the center of a
community-involved process to repair the harm.

I will internally reorganize the District Attorney's office to make
juvenile justice a top priority. I will elevate the juvenile unit to a
full Division within the District Attorney's Office, headed by a
Juvenile Division Chief deeply knowledgeable about all aspects of
approached to juvenile crime and offenders and committed to working
closely with affected communities. This prioritization of the juvenile
division within the office will also include enhanced Assistant DA
recruitment, training, and retention for this unit.

Building collaboration with the community is the key to reforming our
broken criminal justice system and improving the DA's office. Numerous
stakeholders from community-based organizations, city agencies and
other law enforcement agencies must be involved - that is the core of
my philosophy and is already the core of my campaign. We must work
with educators, community leaders, law enforcement, city agencies,
service providers, and every other concerned community to implement
broad policy and operational changes.

13. Who has endorsed you?

I have earned the endorsement of over 2,000 public supporters. I am
honored to have such a diverse coalition of supporters behind this
movement to reform our broken criminal justice system.

I am honored to have earned endorsements from:

San Francisco Democratic Party
San Francisco League of Conservation Voters
United Educators of San Francisco
Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club
SEIU Local 1021
Sheriff Michael Hennessey
Tom Ammiano, California State Assemblyperson
John Rizzo, President, Sierra Club, San Francisco Bay Chapter
Johanna Wald, Member, San Francisco Environment Commission
Susan King, Director, Sunday Streets

Please see the attached list of more of the 2,000 endorsements.

14. What other information should we know about you and your candidacy?

I am running for District Attorney to make San Francisco the safest
and fairest city in the country.

I am a graduate of Stanford Law School, and began my career at
community-based organizations like Walden House Adolescent Facility
and Legal Services for Children, helping to keep young people in
school and out of the criminal justice system.

At the National Council on Crime and Delinquency and the W. Haywood
Burns Institute, I focused on alternatives to incarceration and
reducing racial disparities in the juvenile justice system. In the
Mayor's Office of Criminal Justice, I spearheaded a study to address
gun violence, which lead to the "zone strategy" that helped
dramatically reduce homicides. And as the Police Commissioner, I
fought for modern upgrades such as CompStat. I am the founding
Executive Director of the Berkeley Center for Criminal Justice, where
I developed criminal justice reforms and best practices from around
the country.

As your District Attorney I will focus on building strong partnerships
between law enforcements and the community. I've earned the
endorsement of over 2,000 supporters and would like to bring that
community strength into the city's DA's office to effect real change
in our broken criminal justice system.