San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin, a progressive prosecutor, faces a rare recall vote in a majority Democratic city that jeopardizes its mission of criminal justice reform.
remember The effort is being led by a group called San Franciscans for Public Safety, which required more than 50,000 signatures to be recalled on the ballot. If Boudin is removed from his post in the June 7 election, Mayor London Breed will appoint an interim DA until voters are weighed again in the November election.
boudin was Elected to his post in 2019 as part of a movement of progressive prosecutors across the country – including Larry Krasner In Philadelphia — pushing back decades of harsh crime-on-crime policies that increased mass incarceration and criminalized black and Latin people disproportionately.
Since entering office, Boudin – a former public defender whose Parents spent decades in prison – has fulfilled the campaign promises of liquidation of cash bail, holding the police accountable And divert people from criminals legal system.
Supporters of the recall have claimed crime is on the rise in the city and blamed the progressive DA. He has pointed to high-profile incidents that attracted significant local media attention, such as a Robbery in Louis Vuitton last year in Union Square and a Drunk driver released on parole The one who stabbed and killed two women on New Year’s Eve. Some residents of San Francisco have reported feeling unsafe due to a perceived increase in property crime, such as car theft and home burglary.
“It is clear that San Francisco has had enough and we want a new course for our city – one that does not include Boudin as district attorney,” said Mary Jung, chair of the recall campaign. She pointed to a rise in murders and property crimes, saying residents have “enough to make up for Boudin’s failed leadership.”
but one broad sense That crime among city residents is worsening is not supported by the data.
a San Francisco Chronicle analysis Violent crime found in SF actually declined during the pandemic. While there has been an increase in homicides and shootings in recent years, it tracks with trends in major US cities. Most property crimes are also trending towards their pre-pandemic levels.
Boudin’s team The U.S. has dismissed the recall effort as a political tool used to reverse a fairly won election.
“The rhetoric of the recall campaign is not just false, it is dangerously misleading,” said Julie Edwards, a campaign spokeswoman who backs the campaign against the recall of Boudin.
“It tells voters that there is only one answer to any concern about public safety and that recall is the only solution, distracting from the hard-earned and genuine solutions we need to make San Francisco safer.”
Justin Sullivan via Getty Images
The recall is being funded by wealthy donorsIncluding William Obersdorf, a Republican mega-donor.
Boudin. support group Northern California joins with donations against the recall American Civil Liberties Union and local union chapters SEIU,
No elected Democrats have publicly supported the recall. However, recently indicates voting Voters in a majority Democratic City are leaning toward a progressive DA recall.
Some of Boudin’s critics have pointed out that Anti-Asian Violence San Francisco has increased over the past two years, but such hate attacks have been seen in cities across the country amid the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, reported Hate Crimes Against Asian Americans Up 567% In SF compared to 2020. Similarly, in New York City, NYPD found that incidents targeting Asians increased by 361%,
bodin won the hard race In 2019, Mayor London Breed appointed her rival Suzy Loftus as interim DA a few weeks before the election (previous DA George Gascon had stepped in to run for DA in Los Angeles).
During her campaign, she told people about the importance of transitioning from the criminal legal system to programs for mental health, addiction, and housing. According to the Municipal Health Commission approx. 40% of the people in San Francisco prisons are homeless or disproportionately placed, nearly one in five are diagnosed as seriously mentally ill and nearly three-quarters have a form of substance abuse (not marijuana).
,Jail should be the last resort,” Boudin told HuffPost in 2019. We need a district attorney who understands the big picture and what is driving the crime. We can’t close the way out of the problem.
state legislators Emphasis on improving recall system In California, state Sen. Steve Glazer (D) told HuffPost last year that voters want “a more democratic process” that “prevents political sportsmanship.
Last year, a radical Campaign to Call Back Progressive Los Angeles District Attorney Jorge Gascon failed to gather enough signatures to put the question before voters. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom also prevailed against the recall attempt. him from his seat
But earlier this year, three School board members successfully recalled From their posts — the San Francisco recalled for the first time since 1983,
