San Francisco's new interim District Attorney Suzy Loftus begins first day on the job
SAN FRANCISCO - San Francisco's newest District Attorney was sworn in over the weekend and Monday was her first day of work on the job. The Interim District Attorney is still facing some citizens who oppose her appointment, with a protest on the steps of 850 Braynt, the Hall of Justice Monday morning.
Interim District Attorney Suzy Loftus plans to make the most of her time in office, and is already working on her priorities.
"There's so much work that can be done from this office to build a safe city and I'm just excited to get to work," said Loftus.
October 4th Mayor London Breed announced Loftus would fill the remainder of George Gascon's term when he resigned from the office. The move sparked outrage with protesters saying appointing Loftus, who is on the November ballot in the District Attorney's race, to the position for the two weeks before the election is unfair. Loftus today said she plans on working to win over her critics.
"I will be here for as long as the people will have me, and what I will say is to anybody is look, trust, if you have your trust in me already I'm grateful for it," said Loftus. "And if I need to earn that trust I'll work every day to earn your trust."
The mayor defended her choice as well saying it's her responsibility to make sure the the position is filled saying the District Attorney's office is simply too important to leave vacant.
"To make sure that someone is running a very important department, who has worked in that department, who is capable of running that department, is so critical to the success of that department," said San Francisco Mayor London Breed.
For her part, Loftus says she is working on her priorities for the next two weeks, saying she'll be focused on safety and accountability. She says she also wants to see neighborhood prosecutors getting District Attorney investigators and attorneys to work side by side with police and community leaders to work on solution to neighborhood issues and teased a forthcoming announcement about San Francisco's ongoing problem with auto burglaries.
"We've got 70 car break ins a day, those are the numbers as of September. We've got to do better by the people of this city. So, expect some announcements from this office in that regard," Loftus said.
There are four candidates in the running for the District Attorney's office. The most recent poll showed Chesa Boudin with a slim lead among those who'd made up their minds. But the polling said 40% of San Franciscans still haven't made up their minds. The election takes place November 5th.