Yolo County has an ideal district attorney. Voters should feel confident reelecting him

Yolo County District Attorney Jeff Reisig has been a model chief prosecutor for much of his 16 years in elected office, demonstrating the power of enacting what he calls “smart reforms” that can create needed change from the inside. Recognizing the undeniable racial disparities of the criminal justice system, Reisig has launched innovative programs that boost transparency, adapt charging practices and reduce recidivism rates.

For many voters in an agrarian but liberal county like Yolo, that’s not necessarily enough. Reisig was reelected to his fourth term with a little more than 2,000 votes in 2018, defeating progressive public defender Dean Johansson, who was a late entry in the race after another candidate dropped out. This year, Reisig faces another fierce challenge from the left in Cynthia Rodriguez, a veteran criminal defense attorney giving a dissatisfied constituency an impassioned voice.

While some of Rodriguez’s critiques are fair — and her calls for deeper investment in Reisig’s reforms warrant consideration from county policymakers — she fails to offer policy ideas equal to her eagerness to oust her opponent. Reisig, the president of the California District Attorneys Association, is as well-positioned as any prosecutor in the state to deliver on the reforms many of his detractors seek — with bipartisan appeal and public safety in mind. Yolo County voters across the political spectrum should feel confident electing Reisig to a fifth term.

Reisig, who interned at the Yolo County Public Defender’s Office before being hired as a deputy district attorney in 1997, has allowed his views on criminal justice to evolve and avoided both extremes of the ideological spectrum.

His office still prosecutes most cases. Of the 646 it reviewed last September, roughly 60% were prosecuted, according to county figures. It rejected roughly 19% and diverted 21% to a drug court or Reisig’s restorative justice initiative, which has successfully processed cases ranging from petty theft to battery outside the courtroom since 2013.

Last year, Reisig instituted two groundbreaking initiatives that were the first of their kind. Yolo County launched a transparency portal called Commons, which provides the public unprecedented access to charging statistics and the office’s progress toward certain goals. Reisig’s office also partnered with Stanford University to implement a charging system that removes race-related information from the case review process to eliminate bias.

The district attorney has also pursued statewide reforms effectively. This year, he is sponsoring legislation to require every district attorney to launch a data portal similar to Commons and, with Sacramento Assemblyman Kevin McCarty, to create a treatment facility for repeat offenders with substance abuse disorders. Reisig is also one of the few prosecutors in California who have used state resentencing laws to petition for early release of inmates deemed rehabilitated.

Rodriguez has practiced criminal law for 40 years, working as a public defender in Solano and Orange counties, in the State Public Defender’s Office and for agencies such as the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and CalPERS. Most of her criticisms of Reisig take issue with the broader criminal justice system, mass incarceration and the scale of Reisig’s reforms rather than any legitimate shortcoming of the incumbent.

Still, Yolo County has shown a willingness to cast aside its most successful elected officials. Longtime West Sacramento Mayor Chris Cabaldon, who helped transform the county’s second-largest city, faced that reality in 2020, when he was voted out of office after 18 years.

After a narrow win four years ago, Reisig seems to be aware of that. That may account for his resorting to unbecoming campaign tactics, including attack ads that accuse Rodriguez of being soft on crime because of donations she received from two men convicted of sex crimes. Rodriguez told The Bee’s Editorial Board that she returned one contribution and donated the other to charity.

The bitterness of the campaign should not distract voters from Reisig’s irrefutable experience and record of innovative and influential reform.

This story was originally published May 19, 2022 at 11:11 AM.