HollyMatkinSan Diego, CA – Billionaire George Soros has used his financial resources to influence yet another district attorney’s race, and is doling out cash to help an anti-law enforcement defense attorney become the next San Diego District Attorney.
The California Justice and Public Safety Political Action Committee purchased ads in support of deputy public defender Genevieve Jones-Wright, which began airing on Thursday, KGTV reported.
According to the Center for Responsive Politics, Soros Fund Management was listed as the PAC’s donor.
Jones-Wright claimed to be unaware of Soros’ contribution to her campaign against interim District Attorney Summer Stephan.
“I was not aware of the moneys that you speak of,” Jones-Wright told KGTV. “I still am not aware of it.”
Soros has a history of supporting liberal defense attorneys who run on platforms of not prosecuting people, and often funds controversial ads that attack the candidate he doesn’t favor.
Although the first ad in support of Jones-Wright presented more as an introduction for her campaign, Stephan’s campaign manager, Jason Roe, said he expects subsequent ads will be much more aggressive.
Soros has developed a “pattern of negative and dishonest ads,” Roe said, according to KGTV.
“It’s very difficult for us to keep up with the amount of spending that Mr. Soros will spend in San Diego trying to effect this election,” he added. “I expect that we will be outspent probably four to one.”
But Roe and Stephan said they also believed that voters wouldn’t tolerate manipulative tactics based on deceit.
“They will see through any outside influences,” Stephan told KGTV.
On Tuesday, Jones-Wright also sent a letter to the office of the Attorney General, alleging that Stephan’s campaign broke the law.
“She has violated the law numerous times by having uniformed police officers there, participating in politics, on behalf of her campaign,” Jones-Wright told KGTV.
Stephan’s campaign responded by unveiling a new website, Threat to San Diego, which highlighted Jones-Wright’s history of anti-justice agendas.
“We should be closing a prison a year in California,” Jones-Wright said during a candidate forum, according to the website. “By closing prisons, we will not have to incarcerate people.”
Soros’ impact on prosecutor elections is already being felt throughout the country.
In Philadelphia, Soros’ deep pockets helped to tip the scales favor of Democrat Larry Krasner, a civil rights attorney who sued the Philadelphia Police Department 75 times, The New York Times reported.
Krasner ran on a platform of starving the criminal justice system and ending “mass incarceration.”
He won despite twelve active Assistant District Attorneys in Philadelphia publishing an open letter condemning Larry Krasner as dangerous.
Soros dumped nearly $1 million into defense attorney Joe Gonzales’ successful bid as San Antonio’s top prosecutor, according to The Daily Signal.
Florida DA Aramis Ayala, who publically announced she would not pursue the death penalty against cop killers, also received a substantial sum from Soros during her campaign, the Orlando Sentinel reported.
The Threat to San Diego website also lists nearly a dozen other district attorney races involving Soros’ financial influence.
The next San Diego District Attorney will be elected on June 5.