Chesa Boudin recall, San Francisco, California (2021-2022)

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Chesa Boudin recall
Ballotpedia Election Coverage Badge.png
Officeholders
Chesa Boudin
Recall status
Recall approved (1)
Did not go to a vote (1)
Recall election date
June 7, 2022
Signature requirement
51,325 signatures
See also
Recall overview
Political recall efforts, 2022
Recalls in California
California recall laws
City official recalls
Recall reports

San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin was recalled from office on June 7, 2022. San Francisco Mayor London Breed appointed Brooke Jenkins to serve until a special election was held on November 8, 2022.[1]

Supporters alleged Boudin's approach to crime led to increased crime rates. Boudin said his goal had been reforming the criminal justice system and that the recall was politically motivated. In his statement of defense, Boudin said reform was needed because "the old approaches did not make us safer; they ignored root causes of crime and perpetuated mass incarceration."[2][3]

A group called San Franciscans for Public Safety started the recall effort on April 28, 2021. According to The San Francisco Examiner, the effort was led by a pair of Democratic activists "seeking to prevent the recall effort against District Attorney Chesa Boudin from being framed as a conservative power grab."[4] Organizers had until October 25, 2021, to gather a minimum of 51,325 signatures in order to qualify the recall for the ballot.[5] Supporters submitted approximately 83,000 signatures.[6] Director of Elections John Arntz announced on November 9, 2021, that there were enough valid signatures to put the recall election on the ballot.[1][1] Click here to read more about this recall's path to the ballot.

In their Notice of Intent, recall supporters said:[7]

“

We all agree that we need real criminal justice reform and police accountability now. Chesa Boudin isn't delivering either priority — and since he took office, burglaries, car break-ins, homicides and overdose-related deaths are at a crisis level. Boudin is not keeping San Francisco safe. He refuses to adequately prosecute criminals and fails to take the drug dealing crisis seriously. He doesn't hold serial offenders accountable, getting them released from custody, and his response to victims is that "hopefully" home burglaries will go down. Boudin said he wouldn't prosecute "victimless" DUI offenses, and he failed to charge a repeat offender who then killed two pedestrians on New Year's Eve while driving intoxicated in a stolen car. Boudin has the wrong priorities. He promised to take sexual assault cases seriously. Instead Boudin asked sexual assault survivors about making amends with their own attackers. Boudin hasn't even kept his word on reforms. Three people died in interactions with police, and Boudin failed to prosecute any officers invovled. Recalling someone shouldn't be taken lightly, but San Francisco can't wait two more years to improve public safety and fix our criminal justice system. Chesa Boudin must go -- now.[8]

”

In his statement of defense, Boudin said:

“

This is yet another recall relying on FALSE AND DISPROVEN REPUBLICAN talking points attempting to undo progress and take us backwards. Recalls are not political tools for people who lose elections. Voters thoughtfully and carefully elected DA Boudin because they support his work to reform an unjust system that too often criminalized poverty, addiction, and mental illness; failed to hold violent police accountable; and targeted people of color. The old approaches didn't make us safer - they ignored root causes of crime and perpetuated mass incarceration. In his first year, DA Boudin fought to: 1) Massively expand support for crime victims; 2) Hold police accountable when they commit unnecessary violence; 3) Create an independent innocence commission; 4) Establish an economic crimes unit to protect worker's rights. DA Boudin initiated over 5,000 new cases to hold criminals accountable. Reject this recall's Republican rhetoric — don't provide your signature, money, or personal information. Exploiting recalls for political purposes is an abuse of the process - it disrespects the will of the voters, and costs taxpayers millions of dollars. DA Boudin is COMMITTED TO PUBLIC SAFETY, and to reforming the criminal justice system to provide safety, justice, and fairness for all San Franciscans.[8]

”

Boudin was elected district attorney in 2019, defeating Suzy Loftus 50.8% to 49.2% in a ranked-choice voting election. Previously, Boudin served as deputy public defender in the San Francisco Public Defender's Office.[9] He earned a bachelor's and a law degree from Yale University and a master's degree from Oxford University, in England.[10]

The San Franciscans for Public Safety's recall effort was one of two initiated against Boudin in 2021. The first was started by Richie Greenberg, who previously ran for mayor as a Republican. The effort failed because organizers did not succeed in collecting 51,325 valid signatures by the deadline.

The Boudin recall was the second one to take place against a San Francisco elected official in 2022. In February, a majority of voters cast ballots in favor of recalling San Francisco Unified School District Board of Education members Gabriela López, Alison Collins, and Faauuga Moliga. Before the San Francisco Unified School District, then-Mayor Dianne Feinstein was the last elected official in the city to face a recall election—in 1983. Feinstein survived the recall with 81% of the vote in her favor.[11] In 2021, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) survived a recall election. You can read our coverage of that election here.

Recall vote

Chesa Boudin recall, 2022

Chesa Boudin lost the San Francisco District Attorney recall election on June 7, 2022.

Recall
 Vote
%
Votes
✖
Yes
 
55.0
 
 122,588
No
 
45.0
 
 100,177
Total Votes
 222,765

It has been certified. Source


Path to the ballot

See also: Laws governing recall in California

Recalls of local officials in California start with notices of intent to targeted officials. Each notice requires signatures from 10 city residents, the name of the targeted official, and reasoning for the recall that cannot exceed 200 words. A copy of the notice is delivered to the city clerk, who publishes the notice in at least three public places. Targeted officials have seven days following receipt of their notices to issue statements of defense. A recall petition can be circulated against each targeted official once the notice of intent is published.

In the first recall effort, organizers submitted a notice of intent to recall on February 8, 2021.[2] Petitions were approved for circulation by the San Francisco Department of Elections on March 4, 2021.[12] Petitioners needed to submit 51,325 valid signatures by August 11, 2021, to put the recall election on the ballot.[13][14] Michael Barba of the San Francisco Examiner reported that there were about 49,600 signatures gathered at the time of the deadline.[15]

Recall organizers in the second effort filed a notice of intent to recall on April 28, 2021. Petitions were approved for circulation on May 17, 2021, giving petitioners until October 25, 2021, to submit at least 51,325 valid signatures.[5] There were about 83,000 signatures submitted at the time of the deadline.[6] Director of Elections John Arntz announced on November 9, 2021, that there were enough valid signatures to put the recall election on the ballot. Arntz said he determined enough signatures were valid after conducting a review of 5% of the total number of signatures submitted.[1]

Support and opposition

This section lists high-profile individuals, organizations, and newspaper editorial boards that supported or opposed this recall. Please note that this list is not exhaustive. If you are aware of organizations or individuals that should be included, please email us.

Support

Elected officials

Former officials

  • Frmr. San Francisco interim District Attorney Nancy Tung[17]
  • Frmr. State Sen. Quentin Kopp[18]

Organizations

  • Edwin M. Lee Asian Pacific Democratic Club[19]
  • Chinese American Democratic Club[20]
  • San Francisco Republican Party[21]

Oppose

Officials

Former officials

Unions

  • American Federation of Teachers Local 2121[23]
  • SEIU Local 87[23]
  • SEIU Local 1021[23]
  • National Union of Healthcare Workers[23]
  • California Nurses Association[23]
  • International Longshore and Warehouse Union[23]

Organizations

  • Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club[23]
  • Sierra Club, SF Bay Chapter[23]
  • San Francisco Democratic Party[23]
  • Latinx Democratic Club[23]
  • Rose Pak Democratic Club[23]
  • San Francisco Libertarian Party[24]
  • San Francisco Green Party[23]

Media editorials

  • San Francisco Chronicle[25]
  • Bay Area Reporter[26]
  • Sing Tao Daily[27]
  • San Francisco Examiner[28]
  • San Francisco Bay View[29]

Election spending

Campaign finance

This section contains campaign finance figures from the City & County of San Francisco Ethics Commission covering committees formed in support of and opposition to Measure H, the effort to recall Boudin. Committees submit campaign finance reports to the Ethics Commission. Click here to access those reports.


The tables below summarize the campaign finance data for the official committees formed in support of and opposition to the recall campaign as of May 20, 2022.

Chesa Boudin recall contributions—support
Committee Received funds Spending
Coalition to Grow San Francisco - Grow SF PAC N/A $74,446
San Franciscans for public safety supporting the recall of Chesa Boudin $5,743,273 $3,158,803
San Francisco common sense voter guide, supporting Chesa Boudin recall $223,615 $210,490
Stop all Asian hate, supporting the Chesa Boudin recall, supported by neighbors for a better San Francisco Advocacy $150,000 $134,893
Yes on Recall Chesa Boudin Committee $318, 796 $254,108


Chesa Boudin recall contributions—opposition
Committee Received funds Spending
ACLU of Northern California Committee Opposing the recall of Chesa Boudin $350,000 $240,876
California Nurses Association / National Nurses Organizing Committee (CNA / NNOC) N/A $47,004
No on H: Friends of Chesa Boudin opposing the recall $1,948,889 $924,736
San Franciscans against the recall of Chesa Boudin Sponsored by Real Justice PAC $371,887 $320,500
Tenants and families united to oppose the recall of District Attorney Chesa Boudin Sponsored by Center for Empowered Politics $180,000 $2,464


Election history

2019 election results

See also: District Attorney election in San Francisco, California (2019)

General election

General election for San Francisco District Attorney

The ranked-choice voting election was won by Chesa Boudin in round 3 . The results of Round are displayed below. To see the results of other rounds, use the dropdown menu above to select a round and the table will update.

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 193,196
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.

2019 Candidate Conversation

Chesa Boudin Candidate Conversation.png

2019 Candidate Connection

Candidate Connection

Chesa Boudin completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2019. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Boudin's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all


I want to make San Francisco safer and more just for everyone and here are three ways I’m going to do it:

First, we need to break the cycle of recidivism and treat the causes of crime at the roots. Right now, more than 2/3 of people who are arrested and prosecuted come back into the system within a few years. 75 percent of people booked into county jail are a person suffering from serious drug addiction, mental illness or both. If we treat the root cause of crime and prioritize treatment over jail and conviction rates, we can actually prevent crime and make our city safer. This also includes offering more diversion opportunities to help people move forward with their lives rather than holding them back.

Second, we need to enforce the law equally. We must end the rampant racism that plague every step of the process today. We also cannot have small, privileged groups whether politicians, police officers, landlords, or corporations be above the law. All of us must follow the law and the consequences for failing to do so should be the same no matter the color of our skin, job title, or size of our wallet.

Third, we need to prioritize victim’s rights. That means promoting restorative justice opportunities as often as possible and ensuring that every victim of every crime in this city can participate in the process and have their voice heard.

These broader goals will be accomplished through a range of policies and initiatives including:
Establishing a Wrongful Convictions unit;
Ensuring that the attorneys and victims services staff are culturally and linguistically fluent in the languages and cultures of the communities we serve;
Creating an online dashboard with real time data about every aspect of case management and outcomes to increase transparency, accountability, and to improve policy making;
Focusing on reducing recidivism rates rather than increasing conviction rates;
Partnering with public health officials to treat every arrest as an opportunity to pair people with needed services.

When I was just fourteen months old, both of my biological parents were incarcerated for driving the getaway car in a robbery that tragically took the lives of three men. My mother spent twenty-two years in prison. My father may never get out. I know the destructive impacts of mass incarceration -- I had to go through a metal detector and steel gates just to touch my parents. Although I was lucky enough to end up in a stable, loving family, I watched other friends with incarcerated parents end up in prison themselves.

That’s why I’ve worked my entire life to reform the criminal justice system. In high school I spoke out in support of other children with incarcerated parents. In college at Yale I did research on racial bias and collateral consequences for immigrants in the prison system and studied abroad to learn Spanish. After a Rhodes Scholarship at Oxford, I went to Yale Law school where I defended people against deportation and sued employers for wage theft and unlawful working conditions. After law school I clerked for two federal judges in California and then began working as a public defender in San Francisco to fight to end mass incarceration. As a public defender, I’ve handled hundreds of felony cases and tried dozens of cases to jury verdict. I’ve led the litigation effort to end money bail in California and helped launch the first-ever immigration unit at the Public Defender’s Office.

Throughout my life and legal career, I’ve consistently fought for underdogs. I’ve organized against war, advocated for social justice, and worked to end mass incarceration. I’m running for DA so I can continue my life’s work in pursuing equal justice for all.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.



2022 battleground elections

See also: Battlegrounds

This election was a battleground race. Other 2022 battleground elections included:

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 NBC, "SF District Attorney Chesa Boudin Officially Forced Into Recall Election Next June," November 9, 2021
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Recall Chesa Boudin, "PETITION FOR RECALL," accessed March 15, 2021
  3. ↑ San Francisco Department of Elections, "Response from Elected Official," accessed June 4, 2021
  4. ↑ San Francisco Examiner, "New Boudin recall effort seeks to reframe narrative," April 19, 2021
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Ballotpedia staff, "Phone communication with the San Francisco Department of Elections," June 4, 2021
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 San Francisco Chronicle, "Recall of S.F. D.A. Chesa Boudin likely to head to voters, with many more signatures submitted than needed," October 24, 2021
  7. ↑ San Francisco Department of Elections, "Notice of Intention," accessed June 4, 2021
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
  9. ↑ Post News Group, "Boudin Runs for District Attorney," July 14, 2019
  10. ↑ The Guardian, "Son of jailed radicals, reviled by the police union. Now, Chesa Boudin is San Francisco's top cop," November 17, 2019
  11. ↑ KQED, "‘It's a Question of Competence’: San Francisco to Hold Recall Election of 3 School Board Members," October 18, 2021
  12. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named approved
  13. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named ebar
  14. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named SFN
  15. ↑ SFist, "Original Recall Chesa Boudin Effort Fails To Get Enough Signatures," August 11, 2021
  16. ↑ San Francisco Chroncile, "Recall of Chesa Boudin just got its first endorsement from an elected S.F. official," May 10, 2022
  17. ↑ 48hills, "SF Democrats overwhelmingly vote to oppose Boudin recall," February 24, 2022
  18. ↑ San Francisco Chroncile, "Chesa Boudin and San Francisco’s bitter debate over crime," August 17, 2021
  19. ↑ Twitter, "Recall Chesa Boudin, Vote YES on H," April 4, 2022
  20. ↑ Chinese American Democratic Club, "Current Endorsements," accessed May 1, 2022
  21. ↑ San Francisco Chroncile, "Chesa Boudin and San Francisco’s bitter debate over crime," August 21, 2021
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 22.2 22.3 22.4 22.5 22.6 22.7 22.8 22.9 San Francisco Chronicle, "This is where S.F. politicians stand on the recall election for District Attorney Chesa Boudin," May 11, 2022
  23. ↑ 23.00 23.01 23.02 23.03 23.04 23.05 23.06 23.07 23.08 23.09 23.10 23.11 Reject the Recall: Chesa Boudin, "Supporters," accessed May 11, 2022
  24. ↑ Libertarian Party of San Francisco, "The Mini-Panic Over SF Shoplifting," October 14, 2021
  25. ↑ San Francisco Chroncile, "Endorsement: Chesa Boudin is many things. Incompetent isn’t one of them. Vote no on recall," May 4, 2022
  26. ↑ Bay Area Reporter, "Editorial: Reject the recall of SF DA Boudin," April 27, 2022
  27. ↑ Twitter, "Vote NO on H!!!! - Chesa Boudin 博徹思," October 17, 2019
  28. ↑ San Francisco Examiner, "Editorial: Prop. H will punish Boudin, but it won’t solve San Francisco’s real problems," May 13, 2022
  29. ↑ San Francisco Bay View, "‘Our race depends on it’: STOP the recall of San Francisco DA Chesa Boudin!" March 30, 2022
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