Web exclusive: Q&A with Bill Fazio, candidate for SF District Attorney

One of the more important and most overlooked races going on in San Francisco right now is the campaign to be the city's next district attorney. When Kamala Harris left the post for state office last year, outgoing Mayor Gavin Newsom appointed then-Police Chief George Gascon to take her place. Now, Gascon is running for a full four-year term, but faces stiff competition from four other candidates. Why does this race matter so much? The district attorney is essentially the county's top policy maker when it comes to criminal justice, deciding who gets charged with which crimes, and has an impact well beyond the courtroom. Theoretically, at least, a district attorney could choose to not make marijuana possession a local crime, or decide that police can or can't engage in undercover operations, or decide that police should focus on murders and rapes above all else--all by virtue of being the one who decides whether or not to charge crimes. So how do the candidates stand on these issues? We'll be posting interviews with all five of the candidates for district attorney this week. First up, Bill Fazio, a longtime prosecutor and defense attorney who grew up in San Francisco.