SACRAMENTO COUNTY, Calif. — Sacramento County Assistant Chief Deputy District Attorney Thien Ho has announced he is throwing his hat into the ring in the race to become the next Sacramento County District Attorney.
The current District Attorney, Anne Marie Schubert, announced she is running for state attorney general in 2022, and already the race for her open position is heating up.
Ho joins Sacramento County Deputy DA Paris Coleman, who previously announced that he has already been endorsed by Schubert, and Former Deputy DA Alana Mathews, who announced she is running in early May.
The competition is fierce, with many decades of experience between the three potential candidates.
Additionally, the election will be a particularly diverse one. If Coleman or Mathews were elected, either would make history as the county's first African American District Attorney. Ho himself is a refugee from Vietnam.
"As a refugee who fled Vietnam seeking freedom in America, I understand the importance of a justice system that serves all equally," Ho said in a statement. "I have always defended the integrity of the criminal justice system and safeguarded the rights of victims, making sure that their voices are heard."
Ho is perhaps best known as lead prosecutor on the East Area Rapist/Golden State Killer case, which resulted in convicted serial killer Joseph James DeAngelo sentenced to 11 consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole for 13 murders, and an additional life term for 13 kidnappings.
The Sacramento prosecutor was presented with the Prosecutor of the Year Award from the Sacramento County District Attorney's Office in 2017. Later that same year, he was nationally recognized as the prosecutor of the year by the National Asian Pacific Islander Prosecutor's Association.
Ho is also a UC Davis alumni having graduated in 1995 with a degree in political science and graduated from the University of the Pacigic's McGeorge School of Law in 1998.
"Sacramento County deserves an experienced prosecutor with a proven track record and the veteran leadership skills necessary to protect the public, connect communities and build bridges," Ho said in the statement.
