What is it?

A recall of District Attorney Chesa Boudin. If Boudin is successfully recalled, Mayor London Breed will appoint a successor who will serve until the November 8, 2022 election. If Prop C passes, the appointed replacement would not be able to run for reelection. (See Guide to recalling local elected officials for more legal details.)

Why is this on the ballot?

A coalition of Democrats and Independents organized a recall campaign, collected over 80,000 signatures, and qualified for the ballot.

Why vote Yes?

We support criminal justice reform. We also want residents to feel safe. We believe San Francisco can have both — but not under District Attorney Chesa Boudin.

Boudin fights ideological battles with politicians when he should be focused on helping victims. Boudin antagonizes the police when he should be charging criminals. Boudin dismisses the completely valid feelings and needs of victims. Boudin is implementing sweeping and unpopular changes that have left people feeling unsafe.

Among our concerns:

• More than 85% of felony domestic violence cases at the end of 2020 were dismissed by Boudin.
• Boudin refuses to prosecute drug dealers responsible for 1,500 overdose deaths in two years.
• Boudin claimed the killing of an elderly Asian grandfather wasn't racially motivated because the suspect was having a "temper tantrum" before the attack.
• One of Boudin's criminal investigators testified she was told to withhold evidence in a case and believed she would be fired if she refused.
• Boudin fired the victim's advocate in his office who spoke out against Boudin giving a man who killed a woman three months probation instead of prison time.
• Superior Court Judge Bruce Chan questioned the stability of Boudin's office, criticizing high turnover, disorganization, and mismanagement.
• More than 50 attorneys have quit — a third of Boudin's office — leaving behind a demoralized and inexperienced staff. Former prosecutor Shirin Oloumi told the San Francisco Chronicle: "The victims of crime did not count among [Boudin's] priorities unless it helped public perception."
• Boudin resisted sharing data about case outcomes. It took media outlets invoking the public records request law to reveal data showing a decline in convictions.

San Franciscans didn't sign up for a social experiment. We voted for criminal justice reform, not criminal justice abolition. Unfortunately, Boudin's radical and irresponsible policies have left us all feeling unsafe, and feeling safe is essential to implementing reforms. Boudin is undermining the very goals he claims to support.

Looking at the data, San Francisco was already a leader in criminal justice reform before Chesa Boudin. San Francisco incarcerates among the fewest people in the nation, according to the Vera Institute of Justice. Nationwide, roughly 630 out of every 100,000 Americans are in prison, but in San Francisco we're around 144 out of every 100,000.

Even back in 2016, long before Boudin's 2019 election, San Francisco arrested the fewest people in the state according to the Public Policy Institute of California — the majority for violent crimes. Chesa Boudin's crusade against arresting and jailing criminals means that we're now arresting and charging fewer violent offenders than before he took office.

Experts in criminal justice reform know that the best deterrent to crime is a high likelihood of getting caught. Long or harsh prison sentences do not deter crime, but knowing that you'll probably get arrested does. San Francisco should be pursuing reforms that guarantee police will catch people breaking into cars and homes — which means many more police officers where crimes are being committed. We don't need to lock 'em up and throw away the key, we just need the police and the DA to work together effectively.

Recalling Chesa Boudin will not solve all of our problems overnight, but it is an important first step. We need to hire more police officers, bringing San Francisco's 233 officers-per-100k residents in line with the European Union average of 299. We need to help people escape drug addiction through well-funded social programs. And we need the police to arrest the criminals doing repeat drive-by car break ins, violent crimes, and selling fentanyl.

Recalls are a tool best used sparingly. When voters decide the costs of waiting for the next election are too high, we must act. We must remove public officials who are doing their job so badly that they have lost not just the trust of the public, but who are actively harming us. Chesa Boudin must go.