Dear Editor:
We are some of the criminal defense attorneys who practice in Contra Costa County. We are the individuals who defend people accused of crimes. We have worked with the District Attorney’s Office for decades, and are in a unique position to know what qualities are most important for the District Attorney to possess.
We believe in the Constitution, in fairness and colorblind justice, and that every person accused of a crime deserves competent and zealous representation so that the police, the prosecution, and the system are held to the highest standard.
As the top law enforcement official in the County, we believe our next District Attorney should share these values. They should keep our community safe, but also do the right thing even when it’s not popular.
We need someone honest, trustworthy, fair, ethical, diligent, and compassionate.
We need Paul Graves.
Paul Graves’ energy, ideas and fresh approach to the office as outlined in his public application to the Board of Supervisors reveals the dedicated and honorable public servant that we already know him to be.
What really sets Paul Graves apart is that he has dedicated his professional life as a prosecutor to Contra Costa County, and that he has earned the respect of all partners in the criminal justice system, because he treats every defendant as an individual and is fundamentally fair.
Paul Graves’ judgment has always made him stand out as a fair and ethical prosecutor we can trust. Even though we represent opposing sides in the courtroom, we know Paul Graves is everyone’s partner in fair and equal justice.
Paul Graves provides the character, experience, and integrity our community needs to move forward. We want the Board of Supervisors to know that as defense attorneys dedicated to the Constitution, fairness and colorblind justice, Paul Graves has our highest recommendation.
Blackie Burak
Derek Ewin
Dan Horowitz
David Larkin
Thomas McKenna
Tom O’Connor
Dan O’Malley
Chris Varnell
Graves is clearly qualified to run the DA’s office,. Problematic is the fact he was disgraced ex-DA’s Mark Peterson’s longtime right hand man . While Graves is trying to distance himself from his former mentor-boss Peterson – he’s not doing a very good job making the case that the machiavellian Mark Peterson didn’t rub off on him.
Peterson, of course, was legendary for his scorched earth political tactics. In 2010 Peterson overcame the fact that entire law enforcement community opposed his candidacy by getting Seeno, Hoffman, and Garaventa to pour huge amounts of money into his campaign, how much money nobody will ever know. Peterson also smeared the law enforcement backed candidate in that race, trumping up a ludicrous “fake” scandal that placed a cloud over the law enforcement backed candidate, which paved the way for Peterson’s upset win.
While Graves hasn’t trumped up any scandal on the other applicants he’s competing with – yet, you can see some parallels with Graves behavior and Peterson. For starters Graves announced last week he’s raised 100K for his expected run for the DA’s job, presumably from some of the people who financed Mark Peterson’s campaign. The message he is trying to send out is this; :”Look, even if I don’t get the appointment I am coming after whoever does in a year” Clearly this an effort to get the two Judges who have applied to think twice about accepting the appointment, if offered. This tactic, I think, is very Mark Peterson like. No other candidate for the DA’s job is using money – campaign funds – as a hammer like this -just Graves. So while Graves is trying to claim he’s not Mark Peterson – I think he’s fooling fewer onlookers than he thinks.
In addition to this though there is this sneaky behind the scene effort Graves and his supporters are making to try and get the two women Judge candidates “disqualified” on a technicality. Apparently there are restrictions on judges running for political office. While it’s a reach to claim Judge Becton and Judge Douglas are “running for office”, Graves and his supporters are quietly pouring over legal cases to try and come up with a way to apply this restriction to Becton and Douglas, who are probably the front runners for the appointment. It does not appear that they were successful, but they tried.
Graves, of course, has been emphasizing from day one that he’s not Mark Peterson. I would describe his campaign theme as “I’m not Mark” but he was Peterson’s right hand man for years. He can’t run from that. But more troubling is the underhanded scorched earth tactic Graves has been using to try and win the appointment, such as the way he is trying to use campaign funds to get others to drop out, and this business of going after the judge applicants – both highly qualified for the DA’s job – on a technicality. These tactics, I think, are just so Mark Peterson! What did Yogi Berra say? It’s DeJaVu all over again.
Personally I think the Board of Supervisors should select one of these women judges for the job, selecting either one would be a triumph. They are both super qualified for the job, both are also women of color as well. The DA’s office, of course, has been run by white guys for a 100 years. It’s time to shatter the glass ceiling at the DA’s office, which the board can do by appointing Becton or Douglass.
This is exactly the type of leadership we need in the DA’s office, someone who works collaboratively with all sides to ensure that cases are filed in an ethical manner and justice is served.
All of the authors of this letter are white male private defense lawyers. They do not speak for all defense lawyers in Contra Costa County.