Landslide rejection of pro-crime prosecutor
Progressive prosecutors who back criminals over public safety have fueled chaos and lawlessness in cities across America, and now even left-leaning San Francisco voters have had enough: On Tuesday, they booted their progressive District Attorney Chesa Boudin in a 60-40 landslide recall election that should be a warning to similar prosecutors nationwide.
Many of those radical DAs — Chicago’s Kim Foxx, Philadelphia’s Larry Krasner, Los Angeles’ George Gascon, New York City’s own Alvin Bragg — came to office with the help of cash (more than $40 million since 2014, per one estimate) from billionaire George Soros, who essentially seeks to end consequences for crime. Now their cities are paying the price: In LA, crime’s up 12% this year; Philly, 22%. In Chicago, major crime has soared 34%; New York, 43%.
San Francisco voters were sick of it. Sick of rampant homelessness and drug-dealing on the streets, the spike in murders (37%) and burglaries (45%) under Boudin and the endless break-ins, property crimes, shoplifting and auto thefts.
And they linked it all, rightly, to their DA’s radical view of criminal justice, including bans on cash bail, tough sentences for perps and prosecutions of older youths as adults.
Boudin “is mismatched to his job description of prosecuting habitual criminals and working with the police,” fumed one Democratic voter, Maureen Hurley. “He was a complete failure.”
Indeed, even after his humiliating loss, Boudin refused to accept the election’s message: The vote was the result of “a Republican- and policeunion-led playbook to undermine and attack progressive prosecutors” nationwide, via “fear-mongering and recalling,” he weaseled.
Sorry, Mr. Now-Ex-Prosecutor. It wasn’t right-wingers (does Frisco even have any?) and cops who ousted you; it was Democrats. Asian Americans. Other minorities. Workingclass folks.
Boudin and his ilk just can’t admit they’re hurting the very people they claim to champion. Nor that, as Tuesday’s vote suggests, those people are taking notice.