Victoria (Tori) Verber Salazar, once a powerful District Attorney in California, recently made headlines again when she introduced Kamala Harris at a border event in Arizona. But there’s more to her story than just being a guest speaker. Salazar’s time as District Attorney was full of controversy, and she was eventually voted out of office after losing the trust of many in her community.
Back in 2022, Salazar faced a big problem – dozens of attorneys who worked directly under her in San Joaquin County publicly declared they had “no confidence” in her leadership. They believed she couldn’t properly manage prosecutions, the core of her job as a DA. Just two months later, voters agreed, and she lost her re-election campaign.
Even though she introduced herself as a Republican during Kamala Harris’s event in Arizona, there’s a twist: Salazar has been a long-time supporter of Harris. In fact, she’s donated to Harris’s campaigns since at least 2016. Despite calling herself a Republican, there’s no record of her donating to any Republican candidates. Additionally, Salazar was actively involved in the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020, some of which were marked by violence.
One of the most controversial aspects of Salazar’s time as DA was her handling of serious criminal cases. Her “soft touch” approach to crime earned her a lot of criticism. For example, she gave businessman Lyle Burgess a plea deal after he sexually assaulted a 5-year-old child. Burgess got just 90 days in jail and five years of probation – and didn’t even have to register as a sex offender. Another case involved Tyrone McAllister, who was caught robbing and beating a man. McAllister only served six months in jail after a plea deal. Just two months after being released, McAllister was involved in another crime – this time, he was charged with shooting a man in Oakland.
Salazar’s lenient approach is also blamed for a tragic murder case during the COVID-19 pandemic, where an infant was killed by its own father.
Salazar’s policies were largely influenced by far-left organizations, including the Soros-funded Brennan Center, which promotes criminal justice reforms like reducing prison time, eliminating mandatory minimum sentences, and diverting serious felonies away from jail time. These principles didn’t sit well with local law enforcement, especially Chuck Harris, the President of the Stockton Police Association. He called out Salazar for having “pro-criminal alliances” and questioned her dedication to protecting victims.
But the controversies didn’t stop there. At the start of 2024, Salazar became the subject of an ongoing fraud investigation. The investigation looks into how her office handled an Auto Insurance Fraud Grant Program going back to 2017. Her successor, District Attorney Ron Freitas, reported potential fraud to higher authorities, and the probe is still underway.
Now, with just 35 days left until the election, Salazar’s involvement in Kamala Harris’s event is raising eyebrows. Many wonder what her connection to Harris says about the vice president’s own views on crime and how she might handle criminal justice if she were to become president.
