San Francisco DA Chesa Boudin to Face Recall After Petition Is Certified

Chesa Boudin (L), Leif Dautch (center), and Nancy Tung (R) deliver their platforms for the office of San Francisco district attorney on Sept. 4, 2019. Nancy Han/NTD

The San Francisco Board of Elections certified a petition on Tuesday in a public effort to recall District Attorney Chesa Boudin.

The board’s certification of the petition will force a 2022 recall election. The election board slated June 7, 2022, for the election, the date of California’s state primary, according to the Department of Elections press release.

“As prescribed under California Elections Code 11225, the Department reviewed 4,174 signatures (5% of the total submitted) that were randomly selected from the 83,484 signatures submitted with the petition,” Director of Elections John Arntz wrote in a letter to petition organizers Tuesday, according to multiple outlets.

“Based on this review, the Department determined the petition contained a number of valid signatures greater than the minimum of 51,325 signatures required for the petition to be deemed successful.”

If Boudin is removed in a recall vote, the city’s mayor, London Breed, would be required to name an interim leader until the November 2022 election.

The more than 83,000 signatures were turned in last month. Only 50,000 verified signatures were required to force a recall election.

The organizers of the petition noted the origin of the movement began on New Years’ Eve 2020.

“Tragedy stuck at 4:00 pm in the SoMa area of San Francisco, when a paroled felon by the name of Troy McAlister, drunk and driving a stolen car, ran a red light, lost control and struck Hanako Abe and Elizabeth Platt,” the organizers wrote.

“Two pedestrians, two innocent lives killed. Both women were simply standing on the sidewalk in the path of the McAlister’s careening vehicle. Police found drugs and a handgun in the car,” they added.

The movement blamed Boudin for allowing McAlister to walk free.

“This has nothing to do with the facts or the real challenges our communities are facing,” Boudin has told supporters. “This has everything to do with disrespecting the will of the people.”

The online group “Friends of Chesa Boudin Opposing the Recall” at StandwithChesa.com also released a statement in support of Boudin.

“We are confident San Francisco voters will reject this Republican-funded and endorsed effort,” wrote Julie Edwards, spokesperson for the group.

“This recall effort is an attempt to reverse the reforms DA Boudin has enacted to keep us safe and make the criminal justice system fairer,” the statement said.

The successful petition follows a failed first petition against Boudin earlier in the year. According to Ballotpedia, “Recall organizers had until August 11, 2021, to submit at least 51,325 valid signatures to put the recall election on the ballot. There were about 49,600 signatures gathered at the time of the deadline.”