Veteran Deputy District Attorney Candice Hooper announced Friday
that she will seek a position as San Benito County’s top prosecutor
in 2006.
Hollister – Veteran Deputy District Attorney Candice Hooper announced Friday that she will seek a position as San Benito County’s top prosecutor in 2006.
“I’m a career prosecutor, this is the natural progression,” Hooper said. “My family comes first – this was a joint decision by all of us.”
Hooper will be running against local defense attorney Arthur Cantu and could be forced to duke it out on the campaign trail with her boss, District Attorney John Sarsfield, if he decides to run for re-election.
Although she has not fully developed a platform for her campaign, Hooper said she plans to focus on public safety and gang suppression.
“I’m very involved in this community,” she said. “I want this community to be safe not only for my family, but for all members of the community.”
Hooper, who has worked as a deputy district attorney for the last 18 years in San Benito County, is also a member of the Spring Grove School District Board of Trustees. She ran for district attorney in 2002, but was narrowly defeated by Cantu in the March primary. Sarsfield later took the majority of the vote over Cantu in the general election contest – earning 72 percent of the vote that year.
Hooper said she is counting on her experience and reputation as a fair prosecutor to win her the position this time. After graduating from the University of Santa Clara Law School in 1985, Hooper was a deputy district attorney in Santa Clara County for a year before moving to San Benito County. She and her husband, George Mancino, have lived here with their two children, Joey and Kellie, since then. While Hooper has prosecuted cases running the entire criminal gamut, her focus is on drug and environmental cases.
While she believes her candidacy will not affect her relationship with Sarsfield, she declined to comment on whether she would change any of his policies if she was victorious this year. Sarsfield said he would let Hooper “have her day” and declined further comment on her announcement.
“My goal is to have a good working relationship with all the departments and to mend any bridges that might have been broken,” Hooper said.
The District Attorney’s Office has been the focal point of considerable controversy over the past couple years. In 2004, two women in the Victim Witness Department filed a sexual harassment suit against Sarsfield, which the county eventually settled for $35,000. Included in the settlement was an independent investigation, commissioned by the Board of Supervisors, into allegations brought forth by the women. A summary of the investigation obtained by the Free Lance sustained a number of the allegations the women made, including that Sarsfield retaliated against several of his employees, Hooper included, for political reasons because he believed they were aligned with the previous administration.
That incident and several others lead the San Benito County Bar Association to record a “no confidence” vote in Sarsfield’s abilities to handle his post last February, issuing a statement that the prosecutor had “abused the power of his office and that his conduct constitutes a threat to the public’s ability to exercise their constitutional rights.” Bar Association President Paul Breen, who is also a local civil attorney, had considered challenging Sarsfield and Cantu this year but later decided not to run citing family and work-related issues. Breen could not be reached for comment regarding Hooper’s announcement Friday.
Cantu, who has faced off against the veteran prosecutor in the courtroom many times, was not surprised by Hooper’s decision.
“I met with her (Thursday) night,” he said. “And I think it’s the consensus of the entire legal community that there needs to be a change in the leadership of the District Attorney’s Office.”
Cantu said Hooper’s decision to join the race would not affect his campaign.
“My strategy won’t change,” he said. “My No. 1 priority is gang suppression, my No. 2 priority is gang suppression and my No. 3 priority is gang prevention.”
Although the race is starting to shape up, Cantu said it was too early to tell what kind of opponent Hooper would be on the campaign trail.
“I look forward to debating and discussing what changes need to be made in the district attorney’s office with Ms. Hooper,” he said.
Former District Attorney Harry Damkar, who has worked with both candidates for nearly a dozen years and currently is a local defense attorney, recently endorsed Cantu.
“I’ve worked with Candice for many years and she is a very good attorney,” Damkar said Friday. “But I’m going to support Mr. Cantu because I believe he has the backing of the local bar and civic leaders, and would do an excellent job.”
Brett Rowland covers public safety for the Free Lance. He can be reached at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or [email protected].
