OPINION: In a few months, the mayor may find herself wishing she had done more to hold onto her one ace and still had Chesa Boudin to blame for The City’s problems, as he was a means to draw attention from her inability to solve them.
The thing about aces in the hole is that you can only play them once — and that is the political dilemma London Breed faces now that District Attorney Chesa Boudin has been recalled.
In general, the mayor did nothing to stop the scapegoating of the now recalled district attorney, and certainly benefited from Boudin being the focus of so many people’s frustration with The City’s problems. This dynamic made it easier to ignore some of San Francisco’s other shortcomings, such as the slow recovery from COVID or the enormous wealth gap in The City, while also allowing San Francisco’s chief executive to avoid most of the blame.
Nobody wants to relitigate evidence, but in San Francisco the data suggesting crime is rising, particularly relative to other cities, is at best unconvincing.
But Breed has bigger problems, because if whoever she appoints to replace Boudin does not get elected on their own this November, it will be a reflection on Breed. The 100,318 people who voted no on H are not automatic votes for Boudin in November. However, the 55% who voted for the recall did so without having to support a candidate. In a November election, particularly if there are more than two candidates, those people will not all vote the same way. This means that Breed must appoint a DA who can win an election in November against a recently recalled, but still surprisingly popular, politician.