Former prosecutor Brooke Jenkins named to replace recalled San Francisco DA Chesa Boudin
SAN FRANCISCO -- San Francisco Mayor London Breed has named former district attorney's office prosecutor Brooke Jenkins to replace her former boss, Chesa Boudin, who was ousted in a June recall vote.
Jenkins resigned from the DA's office last October, one of dozens of prosecutors to depart when Boudin took office in January 2020. She was outspoken in her criticism of Boudin's management of the DA's office and became a leading voice for the recall campaign.
Jenkins was formally announced as the new DA by Breed at City Hall early Thursday evening. Many on social media, including the San Francisco Sheriff's Office and San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott, congratulated Jenkins ahead of the announcement.
"I am confident that there is no one better to serve as District Attorney than Brooke Jenkins," Breed said at the press event.
Breed also praised Jenkins as "someone who has the necessary experience to lead this department and, from personal experience, understands both sides of the criminal justice system."
Jenkins is the first Latina and second African American female to hold the position.
Mayor London Breed said she'd spoken to judges, prosecutors and San Franciscans before making her choice, noting that, in many of the conversations she had, people expressed a desire for accountability in the office.
"In talking to what I believe were some incredible candidates the person who stood out the most in this process is the person that will be the next DA for the city and county of San Francisco," Breed said.
In a statement, Jenkins said she is "humbled and honored" to serve as the District Attorney of San Francisco and vowed to "restore accountability and consequences to the criminal justice system in San Francisco, because everyone in our city deserves to feel safe."
"Inequity in the criminal justice system is not theoretical to me—it is part of my lived experience. Working together, I know we can make SF a stronger, safer, and more just place," Jenkins said Thursday.
"I also know that holding offenders accountable does not preclude us from moving forward with implementing progressive reforms," Jenkins added, highlighting voters' calls for progressive justice while cracking down on crime.
The recall push to oust one of the most progressive prosecutors in the country bitterly divided Democrats trying to reconcile police reform and community safety. Boudin was narrowly elected in 2019 as part of a national wave of liberal district attorneys determined to reform a system they called racist and ineffectual.
Just over 55 percent of the city's voters in the June 7 election voted yes on Proposition H, the ballot measure to recall Boudin.
Organizers had gathered tens of thousands of signatures to get the recall on the ballot, arguing that Boudin, who was elected as district attorney in November 2019, was too lenient on repeat offenders and failed to prioritize public safety, while Boudin's defenders said he was being made a scapegoat for a city facing a number of challenges, including some like homelessness that were outside of the purview of a district attorney.
Boudin, a former public defender, vowed to hold police officers and corporations accountable for social ills. But his time in office has coincided with a pandemic in which attacks against Asian Americans and viral footage of rampant shoplifting rattled residents, some of whom launched a recall effort. Critics said Boudin was inexperienced and inflexible, often seeking to avoid charging criminals in favor of alternative treatment programs.
"So he's spent a great deal of time touting his prosecution rates, while hiding the fact that many of these cases are being dismissed, violent offenders are being sent to diversion. and other violent offenders are being given extremely lenient plea deals," Jenkins told KPIX before the recall vote on June 7. "Diversion is generally effective for low-level offenders; it is generally not appropriate for chronic offenders and violent offenders and that is who he is now sending into these diversion programs."
Jenkins has said that she identifies as progressive and is committed to criminal justice reform, but says there still has to be accountability to San Franciscans.
Breed also clashed with Boudin over how best to crack down on unfettered drug dealing and opioid use in the city's troubled Tenderloin neighborhood.
One of Jenkins's vocal critics includes criminal defense attorney and former San Francisco police commissioner John Hamasaki, who sharply refutes Jenkins's contention that she is a progressive prosecutor.
"Unfortunately Ms. Jenkins is probably the least acceptable to people who work around criminal justice reform just because of a long record of ethical issues and poor judgments as a prosecutor," Hamasaki said.
Political observers say Breed's choice was a political one -- an attempt to respond to the frustrations of San Francisco voters.
University of San Francisco professor of politics James Taylor said that, while Boudin should not be counted out in November, Breed's move to elevate Jenkins was based in part on a nationwide tug-of-war within the Democratic Party to establish a coherent approach to criminal justice.
"I think Mayor Breed has read the tea leaves and read the room and the George Floyd moment that created this sense of reckoning has come and passed," Taylor said.
Boudin's supporters say conservative interests poured money into a deceitful campaign that unfairly singles him out for blame in a system in which police and judges also face responsibility. San Francisco has long struggled with property crime and records show Boudin filed charges at roughly the same rate as his predecessor, who also leaned progressive.
Reports of overall crime in the city are down, but incidents of burglary and motor vehicle theft have gone up since 2017, according to San Francisco police data.
Boudin will be officially removed from office on Friday. Jenkins will be a temporary replacement. Voters will elect the new district attorney in November, who will then have to run for a full four-year term in 2023.
Lauren Toms and Sara Donchey contributed to this report
