Absentee ballots could still affect Hooper Mancino’s apparent
victory
Hollister – District Attorney John Sarsfield transferred the entire criminal caseload of his office to district attorney-elect Candice Hooper Mancino Wednesday in his first official act following a failed re-election bid Tuesday.
Hooper Mancino emerged as the clear winner of the three-way district attorney primary race Tuesday, claiming more than 50 percent of the vote. Since the official polling numbers have yet to be certified, Hooper Mancino may still have to face challenger Arthur Cantu in a run-off election this November. Hooper Mancino had 3,301 votes as of press time on Wednesday, but election officials are still counting more than 3,000 late absentee and provisional ballots. It is unclear if her majority vote will hold as the remaining ballots are counted during the next few days.
Sarsfield’s decision to end his involvement with criminal prosecutions comes as members of the San Benito County Board of Supervisors and local law enforcement officials rejoice over Hooper Mancino’s apparent victory.
“I have transferred the day-to-day criminal operations to Hooper. She has been handed the entire caseload,” Sarsfield said Wednesday. “I’m going to give the people what they want.”
Hooper Mancino, who has worked under Sarsfield for the last three years as a deputy district attorney, was surprised by her ousted boss’s decision, but plans to play ball.
“I think he is trying to assist in the transition and this is part of his plan,” she said.
The decision comes as a surprise considering that Sarsfield demoted Hooper Mancino in 2004 from handling felony cases to handling only misdemeanor cases. A summary report of an investigation into the District Attorney’s office in 2004 concluded that Sarsfield’s demotion of Hooper was politically motivated.
Although unexpected, Hooper Mancino’s takeover of the district attorney’s criminal caseload proved a beacon of hope to some in the law enforcement community dissatisfied with Sarsfield’s criminal work.
“This was a huge win for all law enforcement and the criminal justice system as a whole,” said San Benito County Sheriff Curtis Hill. “This community needs to focus on eradicating drugs and gangs and it now has a prosecutor who will do just that.”
