In a surprise move, Gavin Newsom appointed SFPD Police Chief George Gascon to District Attorney on Sunday after Board of Supervisors President David Chiu rejected the left vacant by Attorney General Kamala Harris. According to SF Weekly, who broke the story, "Gascon -- who has a law degree and, for that matter, ran a car dealership, too -- will be taking over an office mired in scandal and with a reputation for underperformance."
Though Gascon has never actually tried a case, he did get his law degree from Western State University College of Law in Fullerton.
Matier & Ross report: "Newsom went back and forth between Gascón and the safer selection of retired Judge Harry Low. But once the ball got rolling, bold won out. After all, putting in a police chief as D.A. is the sort of out-of-the-ballpark move that Newsom loves to pull."
A surprised Gascon told M&R, "Frankly, it just wasn't something I was thinking about." He will be San Francisco's first ever Latino District Attorney.
What does this all mean? It means we will need a new Police Chief. Assistant Police Chief Jeff Godown will take over as interim Chief of Police until a "nationwide search" to find a new Chief gets underway.
This was, as the SF Examiner points out, "Lt. Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom’s last interim appointment before he is sworn into office Monday."