Very Good News on Police Reform

 Police reform coast to coast. San Francisco voters passed a measure to increase oversight of the city’s sheriff department. San Francisco Examiner They also voted to abolish mandatory staffing levels for the police. The Appeal Voters in San Diego endorsed the creation of a new police review board. KPBS Voters in Columbus, Ohio, overwhelmingly approved more civilian oversight for the police department. Columbus Dispatch So did voters in Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette In Portland, Oregon, voters, by a large margin, passed a sweeping police reform measure. Willamette Week In King County, Washington, voters appeared to back a restructuring of the sheriff’s office. Seattle Times

Change comes to some DA offices around the country. George Gascón’s win in the high-profile race for district attorney in Los Angeles suggests a faster pace of reform there. Los Angeles Times In Oakland County, Michigan, Democrat Karen McDonald prevailed over Republican Lin Goetz for prosecutor. Detroit News Some incumbents were re-elected. In Chicago, Democrat Kim Foxx won another term as Cook County Attorney. Chicago Tribune And in the race in Arizona for Maricopa County Attorney, Republican incumbent Allister Adel had a small lead over Julie Gunnigle, the Democratic challenger. Arizona Republic

Georgia on their mind. Voters in the Peach State elected three black sheriffs to office—in Cobb, Gwinnett and Henry counties. All three will be the first Black occupants of the office. WSB Other races: Patrick beat Jerry in the battle of McDermotts in the sheriff’s race in Norfolk County, Massachusetts. MassLive Republican Bob Gualtieri won a third term as sheriff of Pinellas County, Florida. Tampa Bay Times Sally Hernandez won a second term as sheriff of Travis County, Texas. Austin American-Statesman Ed Gonzalez won a second term as sheriff in Harris County, Texas, which includes Houston. Houston Chronicle

Decarceration comes to New Jersey. State corrections officials released more than 2,500 prisoners Wednesday—those whose sentences were going to end anyway within a year—to stem the tide of the coronavirus behind bars. The New York Times More: “It’s over, baby,” said the sister of a woman newly released from a halfway house in Patterson. In a single day, the state’s prison population drops 15 percent. NorthJersey.com “The best birthday present I could ask for,” said a mother in Hunterdon County awaiting her daughter’s release. NJ.com