Powerful post hotly contested
The District Attorney’s office plays a powerful role in San
Benito County as the county agency with the sole discretion to
decide which criminals to prosecute and which ones to dismiss.
Powerful post hotly contested
The District Attorney’s office plays a powerful role in San Benito County as the county agency with the sole discretion to decide which criminals to prosecute and which ones to dismiss.
Going into the next term, the D.A. faces a struggle with increasing gang activity, a lack of resources for prosecutions and a need to resolve the Los Valientes civil case. The D.A.’s office handles as many as 2,500 prosecutions a year on a budget of $1.3 million a year. The three candidates in the race come with plenty of years of courtroom experience, but different views on the best focus of the D.A.’s office for the next term.
Art Cantu, a defense attorney for 12 years, is an active member of the San Benito County Bar Association and believes he can switch to criminal prosecution for the good of the county. “The art of cross-examination is how to win jury trials,” he said. If elected, he would focus on staying under budget while going after gang members and working on a victim witness program.
Candice Hooper Mancino, currently a deputy district attorney, has 20 years as a prosecutor. The mother of two, she takes her role in keeping the community safe personally. She is active in her local church as well as community organizations in which her children are involved. Hooper Mancino believes maintaining relationships with other law enforcement agencies are key to making gang enhancements stick and that the D.A.’s office does need to work within its budget. “The key is to continually balance your checkbook so that you do not go over budget,” she said.
Incumbent John Sarsfield has worked as a prosecutor for four offices, including the Monterey and San Benito D.A.’s offices. He feels he understands the strengths and weaknesses of his office as well as local law enforcement. Civil cases fall within the realm of the D.A.’s office in his view. “The citizens of this county deserve the same benefits and rights as the citizens of Gilroy or Salinas,” he said, in regards to civil rights and civil prosecution laws. While he believes his office should stay within budget, he maintains that the Board of Supervisors needs to fund it at an appropriate level.
The candidates answered questions about their experience and their ideas about the office for the Pinnacle.
Arthur Cantu
Years of residence in San Benito: 12
Experience: As a defense attorney, Cantu has cross-examined forensic scientists and top detectives for 12 years.
Reason for running: Cantu believes gang violence has increased over the last several years and remains a threat to local children, schools and cities.
Community participation: As vice president of the San Benito County Bar Association, he attends local gang task force advisory meetings.
Stance on civil cases: The District Attorney should focus on prosecuting violations of the penal code. Civil cases should be left to the Attorney General and the state of California if the need arises.
Budget oversight: Working with the county auditor, county administrative officer and the supervisors, a $1.3 million annual budget would be enough to aggressively prosecute criminals.
Moving forward with Los Valientes: The case will be reviewed and if there were criminal acts they would be prosecuted. If not, the complaints will be dismissed.
Role in the county: The District Attorney needs to be a leader in stopping gang violence while working with other agencies to make sure gang members are prosecuted while witnesses are protected.
Top issues facing law enforcement: Stopping the spread of gangs, maintaining a victim witness program and keeping within budget are the top three issues facing San Benito County law enforcement.
Use of gang enhancements: Cantu would work closely with investigating officers to make gang enhancements are used and has talked to state officials about simplifying the gang enhancement paperwork.
Candice Hooper Mancino
Years of residence in San Benito: 16 years
Experience: With 20 years experience as a prosecutor, Hooper Mancino has worked in two counties and three administrations.
Reason for running: She wants to bring back honesty and integrity to the D.A.’s office, as well as a focus on criminal prosecution and accountability to the taxpayers.
Community participation: She is a school board member in the North County Joint Union School District, as well as an active leader in 4-H, the Hollister FFA booster, Baler Football Booster, Sacred Heart Parish. She is a member of the Farm Bureau, Cattlewomen and the Chamber of Commerce.
Stance on civil cases: Purely civil cases should be handled by county counsel. Cases connected to criminal prosecutions, such as asset forfeitures or the prosecution of sexually violent predators, would be handled by the D.A.
Budget oversight: Prioritizing and evaluating the best use of public funds while also utilizing state and federal funding opportunities will help balance the budget.
Moving forward with Los Valientes: The case should be resolved as quickly as possible and in the best interest of the community.
D.A.’s office role in the county: Prosecute crimes while supporting crime prevention programs to educated children and young adults.
Top issues facing law enforcement: Increase in crime from gangs, drugs and alcohol related offenses, lack of resources from funding and a shortage of staff, and the lack of communication between the D.A.’s office and other law enforcement agencies are the most important issues to address.
Use of gang enhancements: Training of law enforcement and D.A.’s office staff is key to utilizing gang enhancements more effectively, with a good working relationship between prosecutors and gang investigators a key.
John Sarsfield
Years of residence in San Benito: 14
Experience: As a prosecutor since 1989, Sarsfield has worked with four offices including the Monterey County and San Benito D.A.s’ offices, giving him an insight into the way the local justice system works as well as the strengths and weaknesses of the D.A.’s office.
Reason for running: His final bid for D.A. will allow him to finish changes he started in 2003, including increased use of gang enhancements, prosecution of domestic violence cases and a truancy abatement program.
Community participation: He has served on the Hollister Police Advisory Group, the Hollister Hazardous Materials Commission, the United Way, the YMCA and the county fair, among others.
Stance on civil cases: The D.A.’s office should handle civil cases such as civil rights violations, consumer protection violations and other similar laws.
Budget oversight: While the D.A. has an obligation to stay within the budget, the Board of Supervisors should set a reasonable budget that allows the D.A. to meet the demands of the office.
Moving forward with Los Valientes: Sarsfield would continue to represent the interest of the people of the state of California.
D.A.’s office role in the county: The D.A. serves as a legal advisor to the Grand Jury, reviews requests for prosecutions and is an independent check on the police and sheriff’s deaprtments.
Top issues facing law enforcement: Sarsfield believes a lack of funding is the biggest challenge facing law enforcement.
Use of gang enhancements: Gang enhancements will continue to be used and have routinely been used on gang cases.
District Attorney at-a-glance
* Type of race: Non-partisan county race
* Boundaries: San Benito County
* Term of office: 4 years
* Number of constituents: 57,000
* Salary: $120,084.12
