By Francesca Wright
You can fool some of the people some of the time but not all the people all the time. Yolo’s current district attorney keeps creating spin with misleading county-paid press releases and campaign jabs. But when you look at the data over the past two years, found on Yolo Commons, https://www.measuresforjustice.org/commons/yoloda you see something else.
Mental Health: DA Jeff Reisig accuses his challenger, Cynthia Rodriguez, of opposing mental health treatment, when expanding prevention, early intervention and treatment are among her core tenets. Reisig had 16 years to create robust programs yet, in the 
last two years, Yolo reported only 19 persons referred to Mental Health Court. Rodriguez is committed to expanding mental health court participation and partnering with allied advocates and providers.
Substance Use Disorders: The DA says he wants to address SUDs yet it wasn’t until September of 2021 when he knew he had a challenger that he increased use of Addiction Treatment Court for 39 participants. Instead, he is pushing legislation to grant him rights to grab Yolo’s opiate settlement funds to create another coercive program in his quest for plea bargaining leverage. He is pushing this despite robust opposition by mental and behavioral health experts. Rodriguez supports research and expertise.
Victims’ Rights: While other DA’s collaborate with independent victim rights agencies, our DA keeps this in house as another prosecutorial tool. Yet when community members are harmed by rogue policing, they have nowhere to turn. Spend one day with Rodriguez and you will experience compassion, free of coercion.
What is clear is that the current DA creates narratives that crack under scrutiny. He creates programs that he can control and use as leverage in plea deals. His commitment to recovery is shallow at best. Please learn more about Cynthia Rodriguez. https://www.cynthia4yolocountyda.com/ She is the real deal.
Francesca Wright is a Davis Resident
