By Ozzy Hernandez
SANTA CLARA – The race for Santa Clara District Attorney continues to heat up, with three candidates vying for the position, and the June 7 election inching closer.
Current Santa Clara Public Defender Sajid Khan announced his candidacy in July 2021, and this week picked up key endorsements from the Contra Costa Defender Association and San Diego Public Defenders Association.
These two unions represent the investigators and attorneys working under the Office of the Public Defender in their respective counties and ensure the “high professional standards of its members,” according to a statement released this week.
This is an addition to Khan’s other key endorsements, including San Jose City Councilmember Sergio Jimenez, and Assemblymember Alex Lee.
Khan served as Deputy Public Defender in Contra Costa County in 2007 and then moved to Santa Clara in 2008 in the same role, where he has been ever since.
Incumbent DA Jeff Rosen was elected District Attorney back in 2010 and has gone unchallenged.
Now he faces his biggest challenge. In addition to Khan, Deputy District Attorney Daniel Chung is running. Chung is suing his boss (Rosen) for allegedly retaliating against him for writing an op-ed about the increase in hate crime against Asian Americans.
Local observers said local polling suggests the race is too close to call between Rosen and Khan. However, Chung is not that far behind and could be a dark horse in the race.
These endorsements come during the confirmation hearings for Supreme Court Justice nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson, a former public defender at one point and has risen up the legal ranks to become a federal judge in the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington DC
“It’s more clear than ever how vital public defenders are in the movement to heal systemic racism, end mass incarceration, and ensure justice for all,” said Khan in response to the support from the defender unions.
