Alana Matthews
Thien Ho
Legal Options VOTERS TO DECIDE PROSECUTOR’S PRIORITIES
W
ith incumbent District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert vacating her office to run for state attorney general, voters in June will make a choice on the direction of law enforcement prosecutions in Sacramento County.
HS By Howard Schmidt Inside The County
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The contest is between current Assistant Chief Deputy District Attorney Thien Ho and Alana Matthews, a former member of the district attorney’s office who now works for Prosecutors Alliance of California. The winner will determine whether Sacramento County retains its reputation for law and order or embarks on a journey toward progressive criminal justice reform. Ho served as Schubert’s chief prosecutor on the Golden State Killer case. He has her endorsement, along with support from law enforcement. Matthews has support from criminal justice progressives. The Prosecutors Alliance is committed to criminal justice reform
and has endorsed Matthews. The group’s advisory board includes San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin and his Los Angeles counterpart George Gascon. Boudin implemented a progressive platform that essentially reduced criminal prosecutions. He faces a recall election in June. Gascon is another self-described progressive. The union representing deputy district attorneys in L.A. County sued Gascon over his directive to stop sentencing enhancements. A recall petition is being pursued. Ho and Matthews are both Democrats and graduates of McGeorge School of Law. Ho fled Vietnam as a child refugee with his family. He
attended UC Davis and has been a prosecutor for 20 years. Matthews attended Spelman College in Atlanta, one of the nation’s historic Black universities. After eight years with the district attorney’s office, she worked for the California Energy Commission and state Legislature before embarking on criminal justice reform. The candidates would take different approaches as district attorney. Matthews says, “From the time of arrest through charging and sentencing, the criminal justice system is plagued by systemic racism.” Ho disagrees and says he “has never encountered a prosecutor who made decisions based on race.”
