We’ve elected 35 bold leaders over the years – let's elect more in the new year to bring more change to our justice system

 

In case you’re new here or haven’t heard from me yet, my name is Becky Bond, the co-founder of Real Justice PAC. 

I’m writing today to talk to you about the progress we’ve made since we launched in 2017. 

When we wrap up this year in a couple of days, we’ll have elected 35 District Attorneys and other local leaders across this country.

That’s a BIG jump from when we started back in 2017. But give me a few minutes to really explain to you how far we’ve come.

We started Real Justice PAC in 2017 because too few people were talking about their local races for District Attorney, even though this is one of the most important elected offices in the entire criminal justice system. 

DAs have the power to end the mass incarceration machine, curb the war on drugs, hold police accountable, and stop locking up the poor. And that’s only about 10% of what a good reformer District Attorney might be able to accomplish. That’s a lot of power, don’t you think?

So we started 5 years ago by supporting Larry Krasner and Stephanie Morales, who were running in heated races in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Portsmouth, Virginia. They both WON their races and have been working to transform the system and pursue justice in their cities ever since. 

The following year, 2018, we built on this work by electing FOUR more district attorneys in Boston, San Antonio, Dallas and St. Louis. In Boston, Real Justice DA Rachael Rollins of Suffolk County, MA, implemented a no prosecution list of 15 low-level offenses, ranging from trespassing to disturbing the peace.  This policy helped end the criminalization of poverty and shut down mass incarceration in Boston, and has since become a model implemented by pro-justice DAs nationwide.  

It was clear that we were building SERIOUS momentum. Over the next two years, we expanded our movement even more by electing 14 more DAs and judges nationwide!

We put civil rights-minded prosecutors in power in major cities including Austin, Orlando, New Orleans, Los Angeles, San Francisco and more. Our Real Justice DA in Los Angeles, George Gascón, immediately began holding police accountable, ending carceral policies like three strikes laws, and pursuing justice instead of jail cells. 

Electing 20 DAs and judges over the course of 4 years was a huge accomplishment, and with your help, we almost DOUBLED the strength of our movement between 2021 and 2022, and now have 34 leaders elected in big cities across the country. 

I am so proud of our work here at Real Justice because we see first-hand how electing local leaders who work to transform our injustice system can change everyday people’s lives. But there is so much more work to be done.

There are 2,400 DAs in the country. Nine-in-ten are white. Eight-in-ten are male. Only 1% are women of color. They are also, as you can imagine, overwhelmingly conservative. Hundreds of them are effectively serving what amounts to unofficial lifetime appointments because they basically run unopposed term after term.

Competing in every county is what we need to do. That’s why Real Justice needs your help right now. 

And our success definitely caught the eye of conservative right-wing opponents. Since then, they have attacked our DAs left and right with recalls, suspensions, and impeachments. 

Those conservative opponents spent millions to recall San Francisco DA Chesa Boudin — a loss that I take personally.

They’re attacking many of our DAs in major cities, calling us soft on crime, pro-criminal, spreading rumors and false information backed by millions of dollars.

But we’re standing firm.

Our work has gone beyond just recruiting and helping to elect progressive DAs to also defending them and making sure they remain in power to continue fighting for everyday folks in their cities.

To continue our work, will you make a contribution today to fund our efforts into the new year to elect more District Attorneys nationwide and defend the ones in power?

Thank you for taking action,

Becky Bond
Co-Founder, Real Justice PAC

 

 

Pol. Adv. Paid for by Real Justice PAC, realjusticepac.org

Not authorized by any federal, state, or local candidate or a committee controlled by a candidate.

Email us: info@realjusticepac.org

Email is the most important way we stay in touch with you.