San Francisco voters have ousted the far-left activist they elected as district attorney in 2019 in response to his excessively soft-on-crime attitude. Democrat Chesa Boudin alienated a majority of voters from his own party by contributing to the city’s epidemic of crime and lawlessness, leading to a recall that has served as a referendum on similarly lenient Democrats serving as elected officials in America’s troubled cities.
San Francisco has had enough
Voters in San Francisco should have known what they were getting with Chesa Boudin, as the district attorney ran explicitly as an anti-incarceration and anti-police choice.
Boudin is the son of two convicted communist terrorists who were partially responsible for three murders in 1981. With his parents in prison he was raised by other members of their extremist group.
He presented himself while campaigning as a victim of the criminal justice system whose parents were unfairly taken away from him by their incarcerations.
One of Boudin’s first priorities once elected was convincing New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, just before he resigned in disgrace, to free his father.
Boudin wasn’t only interested in liberating the criminals in his own family, however. As San Francisco district attorney he has consistently sought to minimize consequences for criminals of every variety.
Crime has skyrocketed in San Francisco and has become especially brazen, with mass shoplifting raids taking place in broad daylight as thieves have realized that Boudin is looking out for their interests.
District attorney recalled in warning to others
Homicides, assaults, and other varieties of crimes have also surged under Boudin and residents who once thought that his promises to dismantle the racist justice system sounded wonderful have now been confronted with the reality of those promises.
Mayor London Breed, who has herself been criticized for letting the city descend into lawlessness, recently vowed that police would do more to fight crime in the decaying city.
Breed will be able to choose Boudin’s successor thanks to the recall, and voters have made it abundantly clear that they want to see her appoint a district attorney who can be tough on crime.
Residents of San Francisco and other major cities under effective single-party Democratic rule have begun to lose patience with their overly tolerant leaders.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who has been partially blamed for a surge in violent crime, is a potential target, though New York does not have recall elections so the process would not be as simple as it was in the case of Boudin.
Republicans, moderate Democrats, and regular citizens worried about crime in their cities are already feeling emboldened by Boudin’s defeat, and he may only be the first far-left district attorney ousted this year.
