By Bill Gore
SAN DIEGO — Everyone needs people in their life they can trust.
As Sheriff, I need law enforcement partners I can trust. And District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis is one of the people I trust the most.
I’ve known Bonnie for more than a decade. I have experienced her leadership first hand, upon my retirement from the FBI and prior to joining the Sheriff’s Department. She appointed me to be the Chief of her investigative unit. We’ve worked closely and effectively together to hold violent criminals accountable for their crimes, protect our kids from sexual predators, and keep our neighborhoods safe.
Bonnie is a tough as nails prosecutor whose office has maintained a 94 percent conviction rate. She’s also launched innovative crime prevention programs like Drug Court and is a statewide leader through her work to stop the revolving door to prison.
How is Bonnie different? She’s the only candidate in this race who worked her way up in the office she now leads. Bonnie began as a clerk typist at a time when there were almost no women prosecutors. She went to law school at night, worked hard, and became an Investigative Assistant, a Deputy District Attorney, a Municipal Court Judge, a Superior Court Judge, and eventually San Diego’s first woman District Attorney.
Bonnie made a conscious choice. She’s dedicated her entire career to public service because she has a passion for it. In February of 2010, that passion and the trust I have in Bonnie helped us solve and prosecute one of the most chilling cases of our careers.
When Chelsea King was found buried in a shallow grave near Lake Hodges, the Sheriff’s department took the lead on investigating the crime and we worked seamlessly with the District Attorney’s Office to hold a killer accountable in record time. In my more than four decades in law enforcement, I have never seen the level of professionalism, skill, and compassion that Bonnie Dumanis displayed in sending the man who murdered Chelsea King and Amber Dubois to prison for the rest of his life.
Bonnie does the right thing for the right reasons. She maintains high ethical standards and holds others accountable when they don’t. She’s not afraid to root out and prosecute political corruption.
Bonnie Dumanis helped write and pass Chelsea’s Law and Jessica’s law to tighten restrictions on child molesters and sexually-violent predators and keep them away from our children.
Bonnie is also a champion for victims’ rights. To this day, she keeps photos of victims on her desk to remind her that the pursuit of justice and the work we do in law enforcement has an unforgettable human face.
There’s something very right going on in the District Attorney’s Office when Bonnie’s own prosecutors want to keep their boss, endorsing her for another term. Bonnie also has the trust and backing of law enforcement with endorsements from the Police Chiefs’ and Sheriff’s Association, Crime Victims United, and District Attorney Investigators.
Under Bonnie’s watch, communication between San Diego County’s many law enforcement agencies is the best it’s ever been. As Sheriff, I can’t stress enough how important that is to maintaining public safety.
At a time when our County is facing a threat posed by new laws that send inmates to our local jails instead of prison, we need a steady, trustworthy hand at the helm.
Trust has to be earned. After working closely with Bonnie for more than a decade, I trust Bonnie. After witnessing her dedication to keeping us one of the safest urban counties in the nation, San Diego County residents trust Bonnie.
This June, I hope you’ll join me in rewarding that trust by re-electing District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis.
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Bill Gore is sheriff of San Diego County and a former special agent in charge of the local FBI office.