Campaign Launched to Recall SF District Attorney

The San Francisco Department of Elections has cleared the way for a campaign to recall San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin.  Evan Symon of the California Globe reports that the campaign will need to gather at least 51,000 signatures in order to get the recall before San Francisco voters.  Boudin was elected District Attorney in 2019.  Prior to his election, his only job as a practicing lawyer was as a deputy in the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office.  Recall proponents cite Boudin’s reluctance to prosecute criminals in numerous crime catagories which they claim has led to increased crime, including a 46% increase in burglaries, and an increase in robberies.  Earlier this week a San Francisco television reporter was robbed in broad daylight while broadcasting live.

Boudin, the son of two Weather Underground members sent to prison as accomplices to the murders of two police officers, was raised in Chicago by adoptive parents Bill Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn, who founded the Weather Underground.  Since his election, Boudin’s focus has been on deincarceration, including his refusal last year to prosecute an armed robber on parole for multiple new offenses before he get drunk, stole a car and ran down two women in a crosswalk last New Years Eve, killing them both.

According to recall proponents, they already have 10,000 San Franciscans ready to sign petitions when the campaign starts on Friday, May 12.