DA candidates aim high, hit low

In an election year noted for lackluster interest in both the candidates and the issues, the district attorney's race may prove to be an exception. The incumbent, called a racist and a "scared rabbit" by his opponents, has responded by calling both of his opponents "liars."

And there's still a week to go.

According to incumbent San Francisco District Attorney Arlo Smith, who's involved in the political fight of his life, the first salvo was fired by a San Francisco Examiner "hit piece" lambasting him as a tired status quo politician, lacking imagination and guided primarily by personal ambition.

But the other candidates have taken their lumps as well. Former San Francisco District Attorney's Office Prosecutor Bill Fazio (who was fired by Arlo Smith the day he declared his candidacy) has often been painted as a law-and-order conservative, a possible liability in a city known for its progressive politics.

Supervisor Terence Hallinan, also in contention for the city's top legal post, has been portrayed as an antiquated liberal, more comfortable defending criminals than prosecuting them.

Not surprisingly, all three candidates reject these images.

According to Hallinan's spokesperson, Ross Mirkarimi, the supervisor's liberal reputation is based on his "compassionate politics," but ignores Hallinan's "streetfighter's guts."

In fact, Hallinan, who goes by the nickname "Kayo" (a reference to a childhood affinity for boxing), recently posed for a Bay Guardian endorsement photo wearing boxing gloves and draped in an American flag.

"Terence has a great reputation for knowing not only how to deal with criminals, but how to get at the root causes of crime," Mirkarimi said.

"He has a long track record of working with at-risk communities to find rational solutions to crime. For example, Terence will make working with the Youth Guidance Center a central part of his office. I know for a fact that Arlo Smith has not visited the Youth Guidance Center in years," he said.

Mirkarimi also criticized Smith for ineffectual and jaundiced prosecution, saying that "Arlo Smith spends thousands of dollars prosecuting T-shirt vendors in Twin Peaks and people possessing dime bags of marijuana. He has no idea of how to keep violent felons in jail."

Mirkarimi added that Smith's fervent prosecution of "Three strikes, you're out" has contributed to a situation that has "incarcerated African Americans at five times the rate of everyone else, and most of them for nonviolent felonies."

Bill Fazio, who worked under Arlo Smith as a prosecutor for 13 years, agrees that Smith's Three-strikes prosecutions are ineffective.

"Arlo Smith feels that he has to file every Three-strikes case he comes across. He prosecuted Three strikes cases for bad checks and stolen bicycles," Fazio said. "He lost them anyway." he said.

Mirkarimi thinks Smith's prosecution of Three strikes cases has deeper implications.

"Terence thinks Arlo Smith is a racist, no doubt about it," Mirkarimi said.

But Smith, who has been the city's top prosecutor for 16 years, sees things differently.

"I was one of only three DA's in the entire state to actively campaign against Three strikes," Smith said. "I try to prosecute the Three strikes cases rationally. I don't go after every one of them. That's ridiculous."

Smith also claimed the charges of racism were "ludicrous," saying that three out of the 11 assistant district attorneys were African American, and 50 percent of the office's investigative staff was made up of "women, minorities, and gays and lesbians."

Irma Ramirez-Tom, president of the Margaret Cruz Chapter of the Mexican American Political Association, said her organization endorsed Smith for district attorney, because he has an "excellent track record with people of color -- including Latinos.

"Arlo Smith has gone beyond the call of duty with the Latino community. He has been fully supportive of bilingual programs for our youth, and has worked hard to ensure that Latinos are represented on his staff, and our community is accessible to his office," she said.

But not every city political organization is satisfied with Smith's track record concerning women and minorities.

Andrea Shorter, chair of the political action committee for the National Organization for Women, said NOW is endorsing Hallinan because of his track record with women and minorities.

"The current domestic violence program in this city is inadequate," Shorter said. "For example, there are more shelters for cats and dogs in this city than there are for battered women."

Shorter said Smith spends too much time and money prosecuting prostitution, when the money could be better spent fighting crimes like rape and domestic violence.

She said Hallinan's rational approach to prosecuting prostitution (which Shorter said NOW is intent on decriminalizing) and his "understanding that the Three strikes law has contributed toward women (especially women of color), being the fastest growing prison population" helped him win NOW's endorsement.

Bill Fazio thinks he's the candidate with the most rational approach for prosecuting crime.

"On one hand, you have someone (Arlo Smith) who hasn't provided leadership or direction for over 16 years.

"And on the other hand, you have a political animal (Terence Hallinan) who decided that he couldn't get elected mayor, so he decided to run for DA," Fazio said.

Fazio said Hallinan's opposition to the death penalty and Smith's inability to prosecute criminals make him the best choice for district attorney.

Fazio said his conservative reputation is unwarranted, and that it calls to mind "somebody who lives in the suburbs with an old station wagon and a bunch of towheaded kids."

Now in private practice, Fazio said his endorsement by 90 percent of the San Francisco Bar Association and by 92 percent of the San Francisco Police Officers Association shows that most of the legal community supports his candidacy.

Al Triguiero, head of the POA, said Fazio won the group's endorsement because his record as a prosecutor "is unquestionable."

"The fact that Fazio won 92 percent of our vote shows clearly that Fazio understands the concerns of law enforcement officials much better than his opponents," Triguiero said.

The candidates, who are in a dead heat, (a Chronicle poll indicated that Fazio leads with 22 percent, followed by Smith with 17 percent and Hallinan with 17 percent -- with the vast majority of voters undecided), have less than a week to go in a campaign that could get even nastier.

Fazio has accused Smith of running from debates "like a scared rabbit," and Hallinan has implied that Smith is using his wife's hospitalization with a brain tumor as an escape route.

Smith called them both "inveterate liars," and said Fazio "takes credit for every innovative idea in this office," and Hallinan "talks about creating new programs that have existed for the past 15 years."

[ Golden Gater Online November 2, 1995 ]

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