San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan announced Monday that she will seek re-election.
According to her campaign, Stephan has raised around $240,000 in the first few months of fundraising to retain her post.
Among her key accomplishments as the county's top prosecutor, Stephan's campaign listed the establishment of the North County Family Justice Center to support domestic violence victims, work to clear the county's rape kit backlog, creation of the DA's first Animal Cruelty Division and the launch of the Sentence Review Unit, which aims to correct unjust sentences and lift outdated gang injunctions.
"As District Attorney, I'm fighting every day to protect our children, seniors and families by holding violent criminals accountable, giving a voice to crime victims, and keeping San Diego one of the safest urban counties in the nation," she said in a statement released by her campaign.
"I've championed smart reforms and innovations that are diverting hundreds of first time, non-violent offenders, especially young people, away from incarceration and into treatment to address the root cause of criminal behavior, providing second chances without compromising the safety of our neighborhoods," she said.
"To me, justice means safety, fairness and dignity for every San Diegan in every neighborhood. But increasingly, we're seeing district attorneys elected in California and the nation, who are funded by deep-pocketed political interests, sidelining victims and failing to uphold the law amid a disturbing rise in violent crime. I'm running for re-election because I've spent my life protecting San Diego families, and I won't let anyone play politics with our community's safety."
Stephan, who was first elected in 2018, previously worked as a deputy district attorney for 28 years, during which she tried homicide, sexual assault and human trafficking cases, among others.
