In latest shift rightward, fed-up San Francisco voters recall progressive Boudin

San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin seems headed for recall, as preliminary results show an energized opposition has mobilized to reverse his election in 2019.

Preliminary results from the San Francisco Department of Elections show Proposition H passing with 61.3 percent of voters choosing to recall the embattled district attorney and 38.7 percent voting no. The results released at 8:45 p.m. Tuesday night included voters who returned their vote-by-mail ballots before Election Day.

The effort to recall Boudin began in 2021 with two different groups gathering signatures to put the recall on the ballot. A first effort failed to gather enough signatures, but a second group called the Safer Without Boudin campaign did with the Department of Elections announcing the campaign had enough signatures for the June 2022 ballot back in November.

Critics of Boudin have said alleged criminals are getting off easily due to Boudin’s progressive philosophy of prosecuting crime in The City. Former prosecutors from his office who joined the campaign to recall him also have criticized the way he runs the District Attorney’s Office, as seen in campaign television ads.

Supervisors Catherine Stefani and newly-appointed Matt Dorsey have announced publicly that they support the recall of Boudin. Mayor London Breed had not publicly taken a position.

Boudin and his supporters have said critics misrepresent the facts, including crime data in The City, and his charging rate of alleged criminals. Supporters of his have also said that the campaign against Boudin have pointed to the funding backers of the campaign for the recall, which include prominent Republicans.

A number of attorneys, former San Francisco police commissioners and several city supervisors are in support of keeping Boudin in office.

Boudin was out Tuesday morning in District 5 with Supervisor Dean Preston.

Voters elected Boudin in the November 2019 election where he ran against three other candidates, including Breed’s appointee Suzy Loftus. Boudin won the race with 50.8 percent through ranked choice voting.

If Boudin is recalled, Breed would appoint his successor. Nearly three months ago, the mayor appointed three new board commissioners to the San Francisco Unified School District’s Board of Education after voters in February voted to recall Gabriela López, Faauuga Moliga and Alison M. Collins.

Jerold Chinn

Jerold serves as a reporter and San Francisco Bureau Chief for SFBay covering transportation and occasionally City Hall and the Mayor's Office in San Francisco. His work on transportation has been recognized by the San Francisco Press Club. Born and raised in San Francisco, he graduated from San Francisco State University with a degree in journalism. Jerold previously wrote for the San Francisco Public Press, a nonprofit, noncommercial news organization. When not reporting, you can find Jerold taking Muni to check out new places to eat in the city.