San Francisco DA Jenkins officially launches bid to hold onto office after Boudin ousting

San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins officially filed her candidacy to hold onto her position after she was named DA following the recall of Chesa Boudin in June. 

“Yesterday, I officially filed my candidacy for San Francisco District Attorney! I’m so grateful for the supporters and friends who came out to share this moment with me. It is truly an honor and a privilege to be serving the people of San Francisco,” Jenkins posted on Twitter Tuesday. 

San Francisco Mayor London Breed named Jenkins the city’s new DA in July, after voters recalled Boudin in response to his progressive policies, which critics say emboldened criminals.

Jenkins vowed to “restore” order to the city upon her swearing in, and is now campaigning on that promise.

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“My office is working hard to make our neighborhoods safer, advocate for victims, and work to implement strong, practical criminal justice reform. As DA, I will listen to the concerns of San Franciscans and will do what’s necessary to make sure all of our communities feel safe,” she tweeted Tuesday. 

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Jenkins served as an assistant DA from 2014 to 2021, before resigning from the position in October 2021 over “mounting dissatisfaction with the direction of the office,” according to a press release from the mayor’s office. 

The Bay Area saw a 25% surge in murders in 2020 compared to the prior year, following a national trend of a nearly 30% increase in murders that year, marking the largest single-year increase in killings since the FBI began tracking the crimes. 

In San Francisco specifically, homicides increased by 17% in 2020 compared to 2019, and by nearly 17% in 2021 compared to 2020. Crime in the city has extended beyond violent murders, with the Bay Area being plagued by smash-and-grab crimes over the holiday season that seeped into this year. Shoplifting crimes have been so rampant, that some convenience and drug stores were forced to shutter or shorten store hours. 

Among Jenkins’ first orders of business in her new position was telling staffers to review all unclosed plea offers to see if they should be withdrawn; firing over a dozen staffers employed during her predecessor’s tenure; proposing to overhaul the city’s surveillance ordinance; cracking down on anti-Asian attacks; holding drug dealers accountable, among other initiatives. 

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She has garnered endorsements for her DA run from a handful of local leaders who did not support the Boudin recall effort, including state Sen. Scott Wiener, Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, state Treasurer Fiona Ma and San Francisco Sheriff Paul Miyamoto. 

Boudin announced earlier in August that he won’t run for office this year, “choosing to put my family first” instead.  

The special DA election will be held on Nov. 8. Two other candidates also filed paperwork with the Department of Elections for the special election, including former police commissioner Joe Alioto Veronese, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.