Progressive San Francisco DA Chesa Boudin to face recall election

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The California Department of Elections on Tuesday certified a petition seeking to recall San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin, forcing the progressive prosecutor to defend his post in a recall election next summer.

“Today the Department of Elections certified that the petition to recall District Attorney Chesa Boudin contains a sufficient number of valid signatures and that the petition is successful,” said Director of Elections John Arntz, who sent a letter to petition organizers announcing the conclusion of the certification.

In this Jan. 30, 2020, file photo is San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin posing outside his office in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)

As the first petition to recall Boudin failed to garner enough signatures to trigger a special election, news of a second recall effort against Boudin came in August. Last month, prior to the certification of the petition, NBC Bay Area Investigative Unit reported “more than 83,000 signatures” had already been submitted to force Boudin into a special election during the statewide primary election on June 7, 2022.

A view of San Francisco’s famed Painted Ladies victorian houses on February 18, 2014 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

“As prescribed under California Elections Code 11225, the Department reviewed 4,174 signatures (5% of the total submitted) that were randomly selected from the 83,484 signatures submitted with the petition,” Arntz wrote. “Based on this review, the Department determined the petition contained a number of valid signatures greater than the minimum of 51,325 signatures required for the petition to be deemed successful.”

A spokesperson for Friends of Chesa, which opposes the recall effort, said petitioners spent $1.4 million and used “shady tactics” to get it on the ballot. 

“We saw the exact same thing happen with Governor Newsom’s recall,” spokesperson Julie Edwards told Fox News. “We are confident San Francisco voters will reject this Republican-funded and endorsed effort as well. The recall is an attempt to reverse the reforms DA Boudin has enacted to keep us safe and make the criminal justice system fairer. But this will not stop him from continuing to work for all San Franciscans.”

Two prosecutors, Brooke Jenkins and Don Du Bain, stepped down from their posts in Boudin’s office due to his lack of commitment to prosecuting crimes.

San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin poses outside his office in San Francisco on Jan. 30, 2020. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

Boudin drew criticism earlier this year when a parolee — who was released back on the streets due to his office’s actions — killed two pedestrians after running a red light in a stolen car.

Should voters go against Boudin in the recall election, San Francisco Mayor London Breed would be tasked with finding an interim replacement until one could be elected next November.

Fox News did not receive an immediate response from Boudin’s office.

Fox News’ Andrew Mark Miller and Louis Casiano contributed to this article.

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