On Tuesday, San Francisco residents voted overwhelmingly to recall District Attorney Cheza Boudin. one of the most progressive peak of the country prosecutors.
Partial results from the San Francisco Department of Elections on Tuesday evening showed a recall rate of − also known as Proposition H – had support of almost 60% of voters with 40% of votes against It.
Boudin sought to reform criminal justice systemend use of cash bail, dismissal of juveniles as adults, and focused on decline jail population among COVID-19 pandemic. Boudin also became first San Francisco counties to file murder charges against city police officers.
At a meeting on election night, Boudin told his supporters that he just beginning in push for criminal justice reform.
“We have two cities. We have two systems of justice. We have one for rich and connected and different one for other. And that is exactly what we are fighting for,” he said.
“We know what is this system which systematically failed usno just for decades, but for generations.”
Noah Berger / AP
San Francisco Mayor Landon Breed will choose Boudin’s replacement.
The one who is appointed must run in in general elections to fill the remainder of Boudin term which was supposed to last until 2023.
Supporters of claimed recall Buden – old public defender – did not aggressively pursue criminals and said that his introduction of progressive policies puts safety of residents in risk. They spend over $7 million to get this message out to voters in San Francisco throughout the course of in campaign.
“This election does not mean that San Francisco has shifted to the extreme right. on our approach to criminal justice”Mary Young, chair of review campaign said in statement. “In fact San Francisco was national lighthouse for progressive criminal justice reform for decades and will continue to do so with new leadership”.
The momentum for recall chosen by Boudin up during 2021 as hate crimes against Asian Americans in San Francisco skyrocketed and victims accused Boudin of defecting with criminals. Call back the supporters also pointed to car break-ins and massive robberies at major retail chain stores, claiming they are becoming common events as consequences of Boudin’s policy.
Boudin team maintained throughout campaign that there was no direct connection between spike in some crimes and the policy of the District Attorney. But Tuesday night results indicate that the voters are not buy this message.
review in San Francisco could have consequences for other progressive, reform-minded prosecutors across the country. Boudin narrowly won in 2019 as progressive prosecutors committed to focus on alternatives to imprisonment and hold police officers accountable.
In Los Angeles, the organizers are already close to collecting enough signatures to force review vote for their district attorney, George Gascon. He was elected in 2020 and previously served as District Attorney of San Francisco. His resignation and subsequent move laid in Southern California way for Buden take office.
Is there some more votes for counting and election results will need to be certified before Breed nominates a replacement.
The breed has not been officially weighed. in on response from the district attorney. In October 2019, Breed appointed Susie Loftus former the president of San Francisco Police Commission as interim district attorney following Gascon’s resignation.
In the November elections, Boudin received 36% of the vote. of in support in original tally, but San Francisco ranking vote system led him to victory over Loftus less than 3000 votes.
Last month, 2nd District Inspector Katherine Stephanie became first elected official in in city approve the review. Several politicians involved with the recall effort told CBS News that Breed would likely consider Stephanie as a potential replacement.
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