SAN FRANCISCO — On Thursday, March 4, the San Francisco Department of Elections approved a petition submitted by a recall campaign against District Attorney (DA) Chesa Boudin.
The Recall Chesa Boudin campaign posted a letter on its website signed by John Arntz, Director of the Department of Elections, approving the petition and stating that the campaign has “160 days to circulate and submit this petition” or “until August 11, 2021” which “must contain the names, residential addresses, and signatures of 51,325 people” and “must match the signers’ voter registration records.”
The Recall Chesa Boudin campaign is a “committee of registered San Francisco voters united to recall” Boudin. The campaign wants to stop the DA’s “malicious actions” and said SF “has seen an astronomical increase in crime, even under COVID-19 restrictions,” according to its website.
The campaign believes that “violent crimes, home invasions, rampant and unchecked drug dealing and business property theft” turned SF “upside down” in the year 2020.
The Recall Chesa Boudin campaign mentioned other reasons why they believe Boudin should be recalled, including “dereliction of duties; malfeasance; egregious waste of taxpayers’ funds to the tune of nearly $400,000 annual compensation” and “distorting of criminal justice data,” noted its website.
In addition, the campaign posted dozens of comments from SF residents on their views on the DA. Many residents said the crime rate increased under Boudin’s watch, with one resident saying he/she “have NEVER been so afraid to live in my own city” and another claiming that because of Boudin, “criminals are now the victims.”
One resident also blamed SF Mayor London Breed, claiming that she “is destroying the City as well.”
Richie Greenberg, the campaign’s Media Spokesman, wrote a letter to Mayor Breed on January 8 explaining why there is a petition against Boudin that concluded with:
“With all due respect, Madam Mayor, you often proclaim we citizens must ‘be bold’ when dealing with a difficult situation, and we undersigned now firmly assert you join our growing voice as you yourself must be bold and demand Chesa Boudin resign immediately.”
Aside from Boudin, who became the city’s DA in January 2020, California Governor Gavin Newsom is facing a recall effort started by the Recall Gavin Newsom campaign with a March 17, 2021 deadline to submit 1,495,709 signatures.
Randy Economy, Senior Advisor to the Recall Gavin Newsom campaign, spoke with San Francisco News back in December 2020 and expressed confidence that the recall effort against the governor would work, saying, “Absolutely! Oh my gosh, absolutely!”
San Francisco News reached out to the Office of Mayor Breed and the Recall Chesa Boudin campaign and has yet to receive a response.
