COUNTYWIDE : Reiner Attacks Foe in Campaign Swing
Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Ira Reiner stopped briefly in Oxnard Thursday to help raise money for Democrats United, a fledgling political action committee, and woo Democratic supporters in his bid for state attorney general.
In a campaign-style swing through Ventura County, Reiner boasted of his record as chief prosecutor in the state’s most populous county and repeatedly attacked his primary opponent, Arlo Smith, the district attorney in San Francisco.
“Mr. Smith says that he aggressively enforces criminal laws, but his record belies what he says,” Reiner told reporters. Reiner said his prosecutors in Los Angeles have a far higher conviction rate than those in San Francisco.
At the press conference, Reiner praised Ventura County Dist. Atty. Michael D. Bradbury’s efforts to prosecute drivers accused of driving drunk whose blood-alcohol level falls short of the .08% mark used to define legal intoxication.
He agreed with Bradbury, a Republican, on actively prosecuting casual drug users on the first offense. Reiner said he opposes the state program to divert first-time drug offenders to drug-abuse classes rather than have them face a jail sentence or other criminal penalties.
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