A recall has been brewing for San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin, but there hasn’t been data to suggest he would be in real danger. That has since changed, and if a new poll is any indication, Boudin will be looking for a new job in three months.
An EMC Research poll found that 68% of likely voters back the recall of Boudin, with 73% disagreeing with the notion that he “is keeping San Francisco safe.” A majority of voters think Boudin is untrustworthy, and 68% think crime has gotten worse in the past year. The numbers are bleak for Boudin up and down the board, with 52% of voters saying they are “very concerned” about violent crime and just 31% buying into the notion that the recall is a partisan GOP operation.
The recall numbers Boudin is facing are nearly the same as the results of the February recall of three San Francisco school board members. It turns out that even liberal San Francisco residents want their children in school and criminals in jail. School board members lost their jobs for failing on the first issue, and now Boudin is looking at the same fate for failing on the second.
The truth is that Boudin should have never been put anywhere near the district attorney’s office. His sympathies were always with repeat criminals, not the victims of their crimes. Boudin’s view of criminal justice was shaped by his parents, two terrorists who took part in a robbery that killed three people. All of this was obvious when he was elected, but voters either didn’t know or didn’t care.
This poll and the recall suggest this has changed. Just as they did with the school board, San Francisco voters appear ready to fix another electoral mistake. Boudin ignored public safety to push his ideological reforms. Being cast out in disgrace is exactly what he deserves.
