Voters eye LA's George Gascón after historic DA recall in San Francisco
San Francisco, once considered one of the world’s most beautiful cities, has become a decaying hub of rampant drug use, daytime retail theft, and skyrocketing crime under District Attorney Chesa Boudin.
When Boudin was elected with the help of billionaire George Soros in 2019, he ended cash bail, refused to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials, began to aggressively prosecute police misconduct, eased up on prosecuting drug offenses, and instituted other policies that allowed crime to spike.
“284 different individuals were arrested for selling drugs more than once,” according to a May report. “Of those, 89 were arrested [three] times, one individual was arrested seven times last year. Of the 30 or so individuals who make up the most repeat arrests, not a single one of them is currently in custody.”
Since Boudin took office in January 2020 burglaries have risen 45% and homicides have increased 37%, according to the Wall Street Journal.
In October 2021, Walgreens announced the closure of five stores due to open retail theft.
Also in October, it was reported that 150 families pitched in to hire private security to patrol the streets of San Francisco due to unchecked home burglaries and car break-ins.
In November, a Safeway branch changed from operating 24-hours to 6 AM – 9 PM due to theft.
It was also reported in November that the B8ta tech store was paying $30,000 per month for security after organized robberies left employees wounded and merchandise stolen.
In December, the father of a slain 6-year-old accused Boudin of making “the justice system a complete joke” when it was revealed that the murderer would spend less time in jail than the child was alive.
At least one-third of DA attorneys left their jobs since Boudin took office, citing his unwillingness to prosecute crime.
But on Tuesday, Boudin’s reign ended as a coalition of Republican, Democrat and Independent voters recalled the DA in an historic move.
“Voters strongly endorsed ousting the reform-minded D.A. as partial returns showed about 60% of voters supporting the recall,” the Wall Street Journal reported.
Boudin is the son of two members of the terrorist group Weather Underground who were involved in a fatal 1981 robbery which left two police officers and one guard dead.
The recall may have sparked a movement as Los Angeles DA George Gascón appears to be next in voters’ firing line.
Gascón, also a Soros-backed prosecutor, is the target of a recall effort that has reached over 400,000 signatures and raised over $6 million.
“George Gascon, you’re next,” warned LA County Sherriff Alex Villanueva.
Some of Gascón’s policies include treating 13 crimes – including trespassing and resisting arrest – as misdemeanors and treating repeated offenders as first-time offenders.
Lawlessness has become so pervasive in Los Angeles that 98% of Gascón’s own line prosecutors are supporting the recall effort.
