Brooke Jenkins
- Office: District Attorney
- Election Date: November 8, 2022
- Candidate: Brooke Jenkins
- Due Date: Friday, August 19, 2022
- Printable Version
Thank you for seeking GrowSF's endorsement for the 2022 District Attorney election! GrowSF believes in a growing, beautiful, vibrant, healthy, safe, and prosperous city via common sense solutions and effective government.
The GrowSF endorsement committee will review all completed questionnaires and seek consensus on which candidates best align with our vision for San Francisco and have the expertise to enact meaningful policy changes.
We ask that you please complete this questionnaire by Friday, August 19, 2022 so we have enough time to adequately review and discuss your answers.
Vision
GrowSF believes in a growing, beautiful, vibrant, healthy, safe, and prosperous San Francisco. We work to propose and pass laws that align incentives of private businesses and individuals to promote shared prosperity for every San Franciscan.
This section of our questionnaire seeks to help us gain an understanding of your alignment with our vision for San Francisco. Note that some of the questions may be outside the scope of the office you're running for.
Short-form questions
Please mark the box that best aligns with your position. You may explain any position if you so desire, but this section is designed to be a quick overview of your governing philosophy and view of the city's problems.
Victims' rights
| In general, is it too hard, just right, or too easy for a victim of crime to… | Too hard | Just right | Too easy |
|---|---|---|---|
| File a police report | X | ||
| Recover a stolen item like a bike or laptop computer | X | ||
| File a domestic violence or rape report | X | ||
| File a burglary report | X | ||
| Receive the support they need | X |
If you want to explain any positions above, please feel free:
Police
| In general, is it too hard, just right, or too easy for the police to… | Too hard | Just right | Too easy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arrest drug dealers | X | ||
| Arrest domestic violence offenders or rapists | X | ||
| Break up & arrest organized theft rings | X | ||
| Identify and arrest suspects | X |
If you want to explain any positions above, please feel free:
The DA's office
| In general, is it too hard, just right, or too easy for the DA's office to… | Too hard | Just right | Too easy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Charge & prosecute known drug dealers | X | ||
| Charge & prosecute rapists | X | ||
| Charge & prosecute domestic violence offenders | X | ||
| Charge & prosecute organized theft rings | X | ||
| Charge & prosecute hate crimes | X | ||
| Hold police accountable, both for performance and misconduct | X |
If you want to explain any positions above, please feel free:
Budget
| Do you think San Francisco spends too little, too much, or just enough on… | Too little | Just enough | Enough, but badly | Too much |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Police and public safety | X | |||
| The DA's office | X | |||
| The Public Defender's office | X | |||
| Homeless services | X | |||
| Drug prevention and treatment | X |
If you want to explain any positions above, please feel free:
What are the top three issues facing San Francisco, and what would you like to see change?
From my perspective, the top three problems facing San Francisco are:
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The Affordability Crisis: The root of most of our problems is the affordability crisis. The lack of affordable housing compounds every other issue, whether it be homelessness, the drug problem, or the shrinking middle class.
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Open-Air Drug Use & Dealing: It's visible everywhere downtown - open air drug consumption and dealing permeates the once-vibrant downtown in ways we couldn't have imagined pre-pandemic.
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Homelessness: The city's homeless population has grown steadily over the last decade with worsening street conditions to match. The pandemic exacerbated the visibility of this problem with office workers and tourists out of the equation.
Tell us one thing you think needs to change in SF that the average voter wouldn't know about.
Long-form questions
This section is optional.
We know your time is short, so please feel free to respond to the questions below which you think are most relevant to the position you're running for (but you are, of course, welcome to answer all of them). It is not necessary to answer these questions to secure our endorsement, but more context always helps us make better decisions.
The DA's office
What are the top issues facing San Francisco, and what do you intend to do to solve them?
My top three priorities are: reigning in the open air drug markets and dealing; prosecuting repeat offenders, and addressing hate crimes.
Recently, I've introduced a new strategy aimed at tackling drug dealing in our City. Drug dealers who are repeat offenders/heavily involved with fentanyl can now be subjected to pre-trial detention to keep them off our streets. Drug dealers can now face sentence enhancements for dealing within 1,000 feet of a school. Finally, drug dealers who are caught with more than 5 grams of illegal substances on them will no longer be redirected to collaborative courts where they can avoid conviction. My office has also revoked 30 plea deals given to drug dealers under my predecessor. I believe we must send a strong message that if people sell lethal drugs in our city, they will be held accountable.
My office will prosecute and ensure that repeat offenders are brought to justice. I have hired and promoted experienced prosecutors such as Julius DeGuia, Nancy Tung, and Ana Gonzalez to help fulfill this mission. We must send a strong message that victims of crimes will receive justice and that repeat offenders will face consequences.
There has been a disturbing rise in hate crimes targeting our Asian American community. I have listened to Asian community leaders, and as someone with experience prosecuting hate crimes, I am committed to bringing perpetrators of hate crimes to justice. My office is currently reviewing cases involving Asian American victims to ensure the offenders are properly charged. Additionally, my office is looking to hire more bilingual interpreters so that Asian Americans who are monolingual/first language is not English are able to easily access my office and contact us for services.
What is your position on first time non-violent drug dealing offenses?
Accountability with respect to first time non-violent drug dealing will depend on the individual facts and circumstances of each offender. We will assess the type of drug, the amount possessed, whether the defendant has any prior criminal history and whether they were in possession of a weapon at the time of their arrest. On the whole, first time offenders should be treated differently than repeat offenders, unless there are aggravating circumstances in their individual case.
What is your position on repeat or violent drug dealing offenses?
Repeat offenders of drug dealing must have graduated consequences. . I have taken steps to enact policies that ensure that we are holding drug dealers accountable. My office has revoked 30 plea deals for drug dealers from my predecessor to ensure there is accountability in these cases. Drug dealers caught with more than 5 grams of illegal substances will no longer be eligible for collaborative courts that are intended to assist those who are addicted with getting substance abuse treatment. Drug dealers caught dealing within 1,000 feet of a school can now face sentence enhancements. The egregious drug dealers, especially those dealing in fentanyl, can now face pretrial detention. As District Attorney, I am sending a clear message that dealing in deadly substances like fentanyl will not be tolerated.
What is your position on drug possession offenses?
Simple drug possession will be treated much differently than drug dealing. We will work to ensure that those struggling with addiction will be diverted into our rehabilitation courts such as Drug Court and Community Justice Courts. I do not believe that incarceration is the solution for those who are suffering from addiction.
How should the DA's office and SFPD interact with homeless individuals?
Although services for people experiencing homelessness are primarily under the purview of the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing, I believe there are opportunities for the SF DA's office to help address the crisis. Currently, the DA's office has a program known as CONNECT through which the office can connect homeless individuals who have been given quality of life citations to social service providers who can help them pay the citations. Connecting homeless individuals to these social service providers gives them access to further services that can help them in the long-term.
What will you do differently from your predecessor?
I intend to take a more realistic and grounded approach to the criminal justice system. The DA's office has an obligation to prioritize public safety and that means holding offenders accountable. For me, accountability comes in many different forms. For more serious and repeat offenders it may be jail but for others it is often rehabilitation and treatment or even vocational training. Unlike my predecessor, I believe that we must be putting offenders in a position to be successful through accountability. Simply releasing someone who has committed a crime due to their addiction or mental health issues does not assist them in treating their issues and engaging in pro-social behavior. As stated before, my approach on drug-related crimes is vastly different, as is my approach to allowing repeat offenders off time and again. I also intend to listen to marginalized communities in high-profile cases that affect them.
How will you reform the criminal justice system while also ensuring residents, tourists, and businesses are safe from crime?
The true goal of criminal justice reform is to create and enhance alternatives to incarceration and to ensure that everyone in the criminal justice system is treated equitably and fairly. I plan to enhance and create collaborative courts that allow offenders more opportunities for rehabilitation. I also plan for the DA's office to engage in more community based crime-prevention work in order to prevent those in marginalized communities from becoming defendants in the system.
What does success look like to you?
Success will not be overnight but is a longer process with ups and downs. My vision of success will be a safer city, a city where our AAPI community feels protected and heard, a city with fewer overdose deaths from Fentanyl and other deadly drugs, a city where residents feel heard and action is taken when they are the victim of a crime. My vision results in fewer people incarcerated, diversion that actually helps for first time and non violent offenders stay out of the criminal justice system and on a path to a successful life.
Victims' rights
Do victims receive adequate support from the DA's office? Why or why not?
I thought that, under my predecessor, victims were not receiving adequate levels of service, attention, or care that they deserve. This was one of the reasons I was so dissatisfied with our former District Attorney's leadership, and something I aim to improve greatly on.
My new head of the Victim Services Division, Monifa Willis, is exceedingly qualified for the job. She's a longtime Nurse Practitioner in Psychology who has experience in trauma-informed services, and with working directly with crime victims and their advocates, in her more than twenty years of providing services. Monifa is going to work with clients through a trauma-informed approach. We will also be expanding our community outreach through victim services so that residents understand what services are available to them should they ever become the victim of a crime.
What would you change about the support victims receive?
Something I am sensitive to and am looking to change is the need for bilingual staffers, to address the language barriers that our monolingual minorities face. Having adequate translators on staff is essential not only to prosecuting existing cases, but to build cases - it has been brought to my attention that seniors often don't know they've been victimized, and even if they thought they had, they did not know where to go.
This is deeply disheartening to me. However, a solution I have in mind is to regularly host outreach sessions at monolingual senior centers and adult day centers, in order to meet these communities where they are, instead of placing the onus on them to come forth.
I believe that through staffing changes and more proactive outreach, I will be able to keep a pulse on our most marginalized populations.
What, if any, crimes would you prioritize when considering the needs of victims? How would you implement this and what would you do?
Physical violence against our elders has become an all-too-common occurrence, which is absolutely unacceptable. To address this issue, I have developed a Vulnerable Victims Unit which will handle violence against elder cases and hate crime cases. This unit will be staffed by senior level attorneys who will be more prepared to assist in investigating these cases and conducting the jury trials as well. This, along with drug dealing - which is not a victimless crime - are priorities of mine to send a message to perpetrators that their behavior will not be welcome in San Francisco.
When, if at all, is it appropriate to charge children as adults?
My policy on this issue will be released in the near future.
Public health
Do you support the creation of safe consumption sites in San Francisco?
Yes.
Do you support our current laissez-faire approach to open-air drug usage? What would you change?
No, I do not. See previous answers for approach to drug-related issues. I believe that we should be routing those who are severely struggling with drug addiction into treatment.
Police
What do you consider are some recent successes and struggles of SFPD?
I think, generally, that the SFPD is struggling with their levels of staffing right now. Having around 400-500 vacant positions in a city our size causes slow response times, backlogs of cases not getting solved, and also affects day-to-day operations. This is a public safety problem that must be addressed immediately - if continued to linger, it could have widespread ramifications for all of San Francisco.
On the positive side, I think that SFPD's recent work on fencing operations and Fentanyl dealers has been excellent. Just in July, they seized almost $200,000 worth of stolen goods from local stores from a fencing operation. Then, last October their joint operation with the United States Drug Enforcement Agency and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and Explosives yielded a seizure of 12.5 pounds of Fentanyl, and charges against 18 individuals suspected of drug trafficking.
In what ways can the SFPD shift its priorities to better serve the city?
I believe that SFPD is working diligently to serve the city. They are now trying to prioritize their more limited staffing resources into what the community is expressing they want to be the top priorities.
How do you intend to work with SFPD towards your goals?
I believe the police play a critical role in maintaining public safety in San Francisco. Their role is to investigate crime and arrest those who are responsible for committing crime. Our role is to hold those offenders accountable. It requires collaboration in order to achieve this goal and to create deterrents to crime in San Francisco. As District Attorney, my office will work with the Police Department to ensure that they conduct thorough investigations and provide us with cases that we can charge and move forward with in the court system. Within the past month, the lines of communication between myself and Chief Scott have been completely open and we have already met several times in order to discuss ways in which agencies can improve upon the work that we do. I am also going to be meeting with officers at the various police stations to express my vision for the city and our willingness to partner with them in any way that we can.
How can your office help improve morale and performance at SFPD?
We are taking active steps to meet with leadership at SFPD regarding our respective priorities and ways in which we can partner on certain issues. Specifically, we are working on a joint plan with respect to addressing the open air drug markets. I am also scheduling visits to the various police stations to express to rank and file officers my commitment to assisting in holding offenders accountable and working together with them to promote public safety.
Budget
Is the DA's office adequately funded?
Having just taken office I am in the process of looking at all aspects of how this office is run to ensure we are best situated to deliver the public safety that San Franciscans deserve. One thing that is already clear is that our salary scale is not competitive with neighboring county DA's offices and therefore we will likely need to seek a budget increase to allow for more competitive pay in order to recruit and retain experienced attorneys.
Which DA programs or departments need increased funding? Which could get by with less funding?
My three main budget priorities are increasing the number of attorney positions, paralegal and support staff positions and more victim services personnel so that we can increase our language services/capabilities.
If you could wave a magic wand, how might you change the budget for the DA, Public Defender, and SFPD?
I would make sure that we offered competitive salaries for attorneys and increased the number of attorneys, support personnel and victim advocates.
Policy
Now that we know where you align and differ from our vision for San Francisco, we'd like to get some details about how you intend to use your elected office to achieve your goals.
Why are you running for District Attorney?
With my years of experience as the designated hate crimes prosecutor, and in the Sexual Assault and Homicide Units, I believe that I am uniquely prepared to address the most serious and violent crimes affecting San Francisco. But it's not just violent crime that must be a priority and focus of our office. No longer can we dismiss certain crimes as victimless or view property crimes as a part of big city life. These crimes affect us all, our quality of life and for some who own businesses here, their livelihoods. Under my leadership, the DA's office will work diligently every single day to restore our beautiful city to a place that is safe for everyone.
Holding offenders accountable does not preclude us from moving forward with implementing vital criminal justice reform. As a Black and Latina woman, I have seen the disproportionate impacts of our justice system firsthand. I have had family members on both sides of the courtroom. My family has seen and felt the impacts of police violence and misconduct. The inequity in the criminal justice system is not theoretical for me – it is part of my lived experience. It is a part of why I do this work. Reforms are absolutely necessary to ensure that justice is fairly executed for every person in San Francisco regardless of skin color or where you come from.
I believe with my vision, the San Francisco District Attorney's will be able to balance accountability and compassionate reforms in a manner that achieves public safety.
What is your #1 policy goal?
If elected, my three top priorities are increasing public safety through holding repeat, chronic and violent offenders more accountable. Second, my priority is to advance criminal justice reform through expanding programs and courts that serve as alternatives to incarceration so that we can focus less on incarceration as the main tool of accountability, but provide responsible, supervised and structured programming that allows offenders to change the trajectory of their lives. I specifically want to create an alternative court for female offenders to address the trauma and issues that most often lead women to engage in crime. The overwhelming importance of this is not only to help women improve their lives, but many female offenders are also mothers, and we need to ensure that we are keeping their families together while they engage in rehabilitation. Finally, I would like to work to end the spike in hate crimes in San Francisco through both accountability for those who commit such crimes but also through community outreach that promotes unity and non-violence.
How will you build the coalition and political capital to enact your #1 goal?
This is the type of problem that requires multiple agencies, not just my office - I recognize that. But my work will set the foundation for other agencies including the San Francisco Police Department, the Board of Supervisors, and the nonprofits who do work providing mental health and drug services to all build off of.
As with most things, I will need time to build working, trusting relationships with each agency. If elected, I will continue the work I've already begun to build these relationships to make San Francisco a safer city.
Will the power of the office of District Attorney be enough to achieve this goal?
See above.
What are your #2 and #3 policy goals?
See above.
Will the power of the office of District Attorney be enough to achieve these goals?
Yes. My office is committed to ensuring that we improve accountability with respect to hate crimes and repeat offenders.
In order to create the women's alternative court, it will require cooperation and collaboration with the public defender's office and the court. However, I truly believe that we all share in the desire to provide avenues of rehabilitation for those in the criminal justice system.
What is an existing policy you would like to reform?
I would like to change the way that we are dealing with repeat violent offenders to ensure that we are holding the most dangerous offenders accountable.
I would also like to expand our Young Adult Court which specifically addresses offenders 18-25 and provides case management resources and connects them to services and training. This program has been extremely effective and successful and unfortunately serves a very limited number of our defendants.
What is an "out there" change that you would make to SF / local government / policy, if you could? (For example: adding at-large supervisors, changing how elections work, creating a Bay Area regional government, etc.)
Eliminating rank-choice voting, which I believe allows those who do not receive the support of the majority of voters to win elections.
Personal
Tell us a bit about yourself!
Why did you become a prosecutor?
I became a prosecutor after the tragic death of my infant son. After working in corporate law for many years, I realized at that point that I wanted to serve my community and be an advocate for others, some of whom were the parents of murdered children and were coping with grief just like I was. I also wanted to bring a diverse perspective into the role of a prosecutor. Being half Black and half Latina, and growing up with a single mother, I believed that I could see defendants as more than simply a case file, but as people and treat them fairly and equitably while pursuing justice in my cases.
Why do you have an interest in being District Attorney?
I am running for District Attorney because I believe victims of crime, regardless of skin color or economic status, deserve justice. Since the first day I set foot in the SFDA's office, I have dedicated my life and career to the pursuit of justice, to advocating for victims and to striving to make San Francisco a safer place to live, work, and visit.
Ensuring justice for all is particularly important for me since violent crimes like burglary and gun violence disproportionately affect marginalized and low-income communities. This issue is not just theoretical to me - it has affected my life directly. My husband's cousin was a victim of gun violence in San Francisco, from which he passed away. Every community deserves justice, and offenders who commit crimes and harm our communities must be held accountable.
I truly believe that I represent the balance between accountability and responsible reform that our criminal justice system in San Francisco desperately needs and that this has been demonstrated in my track record as a prosecutor in San Francisco since 2014.
What do you want to be remembered for, and why?
I want to be remembered as a District Attorney that assisted San Francisco in rebuilding itself and public safety while simultaneously making our criminal justice more equitable and allowing offenders to rebuild their lives in a positive way. I want to represent a truth that as citizens we don't have to choose between safety and reform.
How long have you lived in San Francisco? What brought you here and what keeps you here?
I have worked in San Francisco for 8 years and lived in San Francisco for nearly one year. I moved here because I wanted to be closer to the community that I served and my family has truly enjoyed living here. Both of my children were born in San Francisco and I want them to grow up in this amazing and diverse city.
What do you love most about San Francisco?
What I love most about our city is how tirelessly innovative it is - whether it be technologically or socially, San Francisco is always at the forefront of groundbreaking policies and attitudes.
What do you dislike the most about San Francisco?
I think for me, like so many others, the level of crime, open drug use and other illicit behavior is difficult to deal with and see at times.
Tell us about your current involvement in the community (e.g., volunteer groups, neighborhood associations, civic and professional organizations, etc.)
I have been involved in the California Lawyers Association, Criminal Law section and just completed a term on the executive board.
Thank you
Thank you for giving us your time and answering our questionnaire. We look forward to reading your answers and considering your candidacy!
If you see any errors on this page, please let us know at contact@growsf.org.