Page 1
Former D.A. Cooley Withdraws Endorsement of Hochman
Says Candidate for Nonpartisan Office Should Not Have Endorsed Harris, Democratic Candidate for President
By a MetNews Staff Writer
|
|
|
Above is a message from former District Attorney Steve Cooley that formerly appeared on former Assistant U.S. Attorney General Nathan Hochman’s campaign website. Cooley has withdrawn his support of the election challenger to District Attorney George Gascón in light of Hochman’s endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris in the race for the presidency. |
Former Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley—who has been a mentor to Nathan Hochman, opponent to District Attorney George Gascón in the Nov. 5 general election—has withdrawn his endorsement of the challenger and has demanded that he remove from his campaign website any reference to the former backing.
Drawing Cooley’s ire is Hochman’s endorsement of Democrat Kamala Harris for president.
Hochman, the Republican Party nominee for attorney general in the 2022 election, became an independent in preparation for running for district attorney in the predominantly Democratic Los Angeles County.
Cooley’s Email
Cooley said in a Thursday night email to Stuart Pfeifer, who is running Hochman’s campaign, with a copy to Hochman:
“Please cause my endorsement to be removed from the Hochman for DA website if it has not already been done. I also insist that any social media ads, text messages, or video messages featuring me or my name be removed from any and all platforms. My name, title, and image should not be used in anyway whatsoever on behalf of Hochman for DA without my advance written permission. Needless to say it is very unlikely that permission will be forthcoming.”
References to Cooley as an endorser have been removed from the website. Neither Hochman nor Pfeifer responded to a request for comment.
Explanation Provided
The three-term district attorney told the MetNews on Friday:
‘’While I hope Nathan Hochman beats George Gascon soundly in the DA’s race I have formally withdrawn my endorsement of Nathan. I will not be involved nor will I participate in several upcoming events involving the campaign. I will not go forward on several projects that I had undertaken to support Nathan’s campaign.
“I have done this because of Nathan Hochman’s endorsement of presidential nominee Kamala Harris after promising often that he would make sure the DA’s Office was non partisan. That endorsement broke that important commitment.
“Many of those whom I had encouraged to support Nathan for DA have expressed to me in the strongest language and terms their anger over Nathan Hochman’s endorsement of Harris. My time and energy will be spent in being available to media outlets to answer questions about Kamala Harris’s limited capabilities and true ideology.”
Reference to Soros
Cooley, a Republican who lost to Harris by less than one percent of the vote in the Nov. 2, 2010 general election for attorney general, made reference to billionaire George Soros, who heavily funds left-of-center causes and candidates, in saying:
“In my view, she is effectively a ‘Soros type’ prosecutor and is wholly unsuited to be president of the United States. It should be noted that George Gascon, the worst district attorney in Los Angeles County history, was endorsed by Kamala Harris and funded by millions of dollars of Soros money.”
Cooley is performing the same role that former District Attorney Robert H. Philibosian, now deceased, did in 2000 when then-Deputy District Attorney Cooley ran for his first term, challenging then-incumbent Gil Garcetti. Philibosian advised Cooley and accompanied him to events.
Hochman’s Remarks
Hochman, a former U.S. assistant attorney general, announced his endorsement of Harris on KTTV, the Fox 11 television station. He told interviewers on Wednesday night:
“So, I will be endorsing Kamala Harris in the presidential race. I didn’t vote for Donald Trump in 2016, 2020, I won’t be voting for him in 2024. I’ll be voting in supporting Kamala Harris.
|
|
|
Nathan Hochman, left, a candidate for district attorney in the Nov. 5 run-off with incumbent George Gascón, is seen during a Wednesday interview on Fox 11. At right are anchors Marla Tellez and Elex Michaelson. |
“I actually announced when President Biden was the nominee that I was going to support him. But my whole point in this race is to take politics out of the D.A.’ Office.”
He went on to say:
“So, I’ve always voted the person rather than the party. My background is 20 years a Democrat, 20 years a centrist Republican. And now I’m an independent running for a nonpartisan position where party affiliation won’t even be on the ballot.
“And so, what if I had to choose, in this race, between a former prosecutor and a convicted felon, I’m going to choose the former prosecutor because that’s the job I’m seeking.
“I’m seeking to be a prosecutor, the D.A., the person who will be in charge of 750 deputy D.A.s doing 180,000 criminal cases every year in this county. So, in that choice, I will choose the former prosecutor.”
Harris was an Alameda deputy district attorney from 1990-98 and state attorney general from 2011-17.
Copyright 2024, Metropolitan News Company