Will San Francisco Voters Recall DA Chesa Boudin?

San Francisco voters decide Tuesday whether or not District Attorney Chesa Boudin keeps his job or is ousted in a Recall Election.

Things aren’t looking good for the Soros-funded former public defender.

District Attorney Chesa Boudin claimed last week that he never supported police defunding, despite evidence that he has.

As the Globe recently reported, “Were Boudin standing trial rather than election – the kind of trial his office has been woefully reluctant to perform — the evidence for conviction is overwhelming. Boudin took office in January 2020. Today, burglaries are 40% higher than they were in 2019. Homicide is 20% higher. Hate crimes against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders soared from 9 to 60.”

Boudin, who has been fighting against being recalled since November 2021, is currently trying to reverse a major tide of support in favor of ousting him. Recall supporters, galvanized by high crime figures, numerous policy changes aimed at “decarceration,” and other factors, have led a charge that have gone better than they had planned for, with recent polls showing that 2 out of every 3 San Franciscan voter is in favor of recalling Boudin.

Boudin endeared himself to his Assistant District Attorneys by firing seven of them on day-two in office. “I had to make difficult staffing decisions [Friday] in order to put in place a management team that will help me accomplish the work I committed to do for San Francisco,” Boudin said in a statement. And then hired new four attorneys on Monday. Two formerly worked at the public defender’s office, SF Gate reported.

The “Recall Chesa Boudin — Yes on H” campaign has pages full of stories from the victims of family members Boudin refused to prosecute, including “Mrs. Abe’s:”

On New Year’s Eve, Hanako Abe was killed by a drunk driver while she was crossing the street. That driver was repeat offender Troy McAlister, whom Boudin released early while he was facing a possible life sentence. In the months that followed his early release, McAlister was arrested four more times and never charged. This culminated with the high-speed crash that killed Hanoko and Elizabeth Platt. If Chesa held McAlister accountable, Hanako and Elizabeth would be alive today. Mrs. Abe has met with Chesa personally, felt dismissed, and now feels strongly that he should be recalled.

Lorrie French tells her story:

Ed French was killed on Twin Peaks one morning while taking pictures of the city he loved. The previous District Attorney was ready to prosecute his killers, but when Chesa Boudin took office, he fired the prosecutor assigned to the case. And it has languished ever since. Recall Chesa now – he is failing too many families.

David and Sheree tell the story of Emma Hunt:

Emma Hunt was killed in the Tenderloin, and even though it was all caught on video, Chesa Boudin chose not to prosecute the case. In their own words, the grieving parents believe Chesa thought she was “just another Tenderloin druggie and not a person.” Chesa Boudin is failing too many families.

There are stories of Asian hate crimes caught on cameras, yet DA Boudin let the attackers go free. Horrible stories:

• Chui Fong Eng was one of two Asian American women stabbed in the Mid-Market area while waiting for the bus in May 2021.
• San Francisco mother “Valeria,” was kidnapped and attacked while on a jog in Potrero Hill and managed to get away. Her attacker was arrested for raping a woman in a parking garage while wearing an ankle bracelet.
• 84-year old Rong Xi Liao was kicked out of his seated walker onto the ground in San Francisco’s Tenderloin, while waiting for the 31 Balboa bus near the area of Eddy and Leavenworth Streets. Liao said he blacked out, needed six stitches, and spent four nights in the hospital. The accused attacker, 24-year-old Eric Ramos-Hernandez, spent seven months in jail and was then “diverted” – meaning instead of being prosecuted for the crime, he returned home and is getting mental health treatment.

“There were nearly 500 fentanyl deaths in San Francisco last year,” the Globe reported. “Try to guess the number of successful prosecutions for dealing fentanyl in San Francisco in 2021.”

“The number is zero. Chesa Boudin prosecuted zero fentanyl dealers last year. In fact, he secured only three felony convictions for ‘possession with intent to sell’ drugs in 2021, again, none for fentanyl.”

The decline of San Francisco has been greatly facilitated by Boudin’s refusal to prosecute violent criminals. And voters from all walks of life and political ideologies acknowledge that the city is hitting rock bottom. Over 83,000 San Franciscans signed the petition to recall Chesa — that’s nearly 1 in 6 registered voters, the recall campaign reported.

As the Globe recently said: “The city has become a national laughingstock, its videos of lawlessness and shoplifting and the accompanying store closures serve as worldwide examples of how not to run a city. Its police demoralized to the point of duty dereliction, and no one who has seen the way the DA supports criminals could reasonably blame them.”

And as the “Yes on H” campaign says, “We’re Democrats. District Attorney Chesa Boudin is telling you we’re racist, anti-Chinese, Republican billionaires, but the truth is we are proud Democrats and Progressives uniting together to recall Chesa now. He’s failing to do his job, and San Francisco deserves better.”