San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Brooke Jenkins:
Jenkins, a former homicide prosecutor under Boudin, is now perhaps the most prominent face of the recall campaign. Jenkins declined to say whether she would seek the top cop role, but said she’d like to return to the office eventually.
“If somebody sees fit for me to serve in a greater capacity than what I was doing, I’d be honored,” she said. “But at the same time, I was perfectly fine (prosecuting) in the courtroom.”
Jenkins initially seemed to back Boudin, heaping praise on his earlier decisions. “When I see things like this, I’m reminded of why I’m so proud to be part of this office,” Jenkins wrote to Boudin in an Aug. 7, 2020, email obtained by The Chronicle, referring to his support of an NFL anti-racism campaign. In another, a month later,
she applauded the office’s new post-conviction unit: “I love this!”
Jenkins said she still supports the post-conviction unit, which helps to free people from lengthy sentences and wrongful convictions. But she said she lost faith in Boudin’s mandates that stripped prosecutors from important discretionary decisions.
Jenkins said she would like to see San Francisco prosecutors regain the power to ask for cash bail, gang enhancements, “strikes” from prior convictions and to charge juveniles as adults. Boudin eliminated or all but did away with these policies just after taking office, arguing that they disproportionately penalized the poor and people of color.
Jenkins said she agrees with the “spirit” of these bans, but believes the tools should be used in certain circumstances.
She is being represented by a talent agency and has appeared on TV shows like HBO’s “Real Time with Bill Maher.”
Jenkins said she is not trying to leverage the recall to further her name recognition. “They’ve never seen me on television other than talking about this recall. Period,” Jenkins said.