After re-election loss, Donald du Bain eyes return to courtroom in San Francisco
DONALD du BAIN.
File photo
Du Bain, who narrowly lost his re-election bid June 3 to Deputy District Attorney Krishna Abrams, sent his letter of resignation to Solano County District 2 Supervisor Linda Seifert, chairperson of the county Board of Supervisors.
Seifert, who represents Benicia, was in Long Beach Thursday to attend meetings when the announcement was made. She said the chief deputy district attorney would become acting district attorney once du Bain has left. After that, the board would consider appointing an interim district attorney to complete du Bain’s term, which ends Dec. 31.
“The resignation isn’t effective yet,” she said.
“The board has the authority to appoint a successor,” du Bain said in a telephone call Thursday. However, if the board declines to appoint an interim district attorney, the duties would fall to Deputy District Attorney John M. Daugherty, he said.
Jeffrey C. Kauffman and Terry A. Ray are other deputies in the office, and Scott Paulin is its chief investigator.
In his letter, du Bain said he accepted the position in San Francisco “so that I may continue to prosecute crime on behalf of the people of the state of California.”
A prosecutor since 1991 in both Sacramento and Napa, du Bain was a Solano County deputy district attorney from 1993 until he was elected district attorney in 2010. He ran unopposed that year.
This year he lost re-election by a little more than 1,000 of the approximate 29,500 votes cast in the race.
“I leave this office with enormous gratitude for the contributions that the members of my office have made toward protecting our community’s safety,” he wrote Seifert.
“The county is fortunate to have so many dedicated and hard-working employees, including attorneys, investigators, victim advocates and support staff, employed within the district attorney’s office.”
He campaigned on his accomplishments — instituting a strict ethics policy, a collaboration with the Superior Court and the Solano County Office of Education to reduce truancy, and expanding the Family Justice Center — but it was other issues that most affected the election outcome, he said.
One, he said, was the submission of incorrect information to the Administrative Office of the Courts about Solano County’s conviction rate. Another was the controversial retirement of Dr. Susan Hogan, forensic pathologist in Solano County cases, after concerns were aired about her professional protocols and the timing of when defense attorneys were told of those concerns.
However, in his letter to Seifert, du Bain focused on his office’s accomplishments, including how it used its resources “to crack down on real estate fraud that targets seniors and other vulnerable members of our community.”
Seifert characterized du Bain as “a very, very strong district attorney. He implemented a number of programs that are going to be helpful to Solano County and its citizens.”
She said his innovative truancy program already is showing positive results, and said his establishment of the Family Justice Center means that individuals and families who are being victimized by domestic abuse have “a one-stop center” where they can go to have their needs met.
“Those are great programs that will live beyond his time,” she said. “San Francisco is going to reap the benefits” of du Bain’s experience as a district attorney.
Du Bain said Thursday that he will commute to San Francisco from Fairfield. “My family is here,” he said.
The new job, which will start Aug. 18, puts du Bain back in the courtroom, where he will be prosecuting felony crimes for San Francisco County.
“That’s the main difference,” he said, comparing his current job and the new post. “I’m looking forward to returning to the courtroom and representing the people of the state of California.”
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