News: Progressive prosecution goes on trial

Thursday, June 2, 2022

Progressive prosecution goes on trial

Jun 02, 2022

By Jeremy B. White, Lara Korte and Juhi Doshi

Presented by The Nature Conservancy

THE BUZZ: A local prosecutor election in California's 4th-largest city is among the most nationally consequential races on the ballot Tuesday.

San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin will soon receive the voters' verdict on his progressive approach to pursuing criminal cases. If the polls are even somewhat accurate, San Franciscans are ready to oust their top elected law enforcement official less than three years after catapulting the former public defender and son of leftist radicals into office. It would mean a swift reversal for an electorate that not that long ago embraced Boudin's message of a new course and defied the city's political establishment.

Three key points:

That matters for crime and punishment in San Francisco. District attorneys have more control over outcomes — from the cases that are brought to the punishments that are sought — than any other elected officials. Under Boudin, that has looked like more pretrial diversion for lower-level crimes, for instance. Boudin attributes that partially to state law and partially to the coronavirus narrowing resources. Former SF prosecutors who have joined the recall campaign attribute it to defendant-prioritizing ideology and what they call pressure to pursue plea deals.
It also matters for overarching SF power dynamics. San Francisco Mayor London Breed hasn't taken a public position, but she also hasn't backed Boudin — as in 2019 — and their relationship has flared into open antagonism at times, with Breed regularly decrying the state of public safety in SF. Breed would get to select a replacement should Boudin get the boot; one of her closest allies, Supervisor Catherine Stefani , endorsed the recall and is seen as a candidate. Another twist: San Francisco will also vote Tuesday on a ballot initiative limiting mayoral power by barring people appointed to replace recalled officials from seeking another term.
And it matters for a national movement toward a different vision of prosecution. Boudin's allies see well-funded opponents testing a playbook — exaggerate public safety threats in order to stymie a move away from harsher penalties and incarceration — that is being tested from Virginia to Pennsylvania to Illinois. And in Los Angeles, L.A. District Attorney George Gascón is warning supporters of "a test for our national movement to end mass incarceration" as Gascón fends off recall attempts (Gascón foes said yesterday they had 500,000 signatures of the 566,857 verified they need by July 6).

The anti-Boudin campaign has become a sort of Rorschach test for how San Franciscans — and Americans — interpret rising anxiety about crime. The recall's supporters see a reckless and incompetent prosecutor who has undermined public safety by prioritizing defendants, seeking lesser charges or avoiding jail time with pretrial diversion programs.

Boudin and his backers warn that entrenched interests are exploiting fear and spreading misinformation to throttle a burgeoning national movement away from harsh sentences and over-incarceration. Here's a deeper look at the context and the stakes in POLITICO's The Fifty.

BUENOS DÍAS, good Thursday morning. Assembly Democrats are scheduled to return to the floor this morning for the first time since Tuesday's grueling, six-hour speakership standoff. Meanwhile, HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge will be in Los Angeles to survey the homelessness crisis. Fudge will be meeting with Rep. Karen Bass — a high-profile convening just days before Bass stands in an L.A. mayoral election.

Got a tip or story idea for California Playbook? Hit us up jwhite@politico.com and lkorte@politico.com or follow us on Twitter @JeremyBWhite and @Lara_Korte.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: "It is my hope that people in California and across the United States utilize this report as an educational and organizing tool, as this interim report exceeds expectations in substantiating the claim for reparations for the African American/American Freedmen community on the municipal, state and federal level." Reparations Task Force Chair Kamilah Moore on an initial report.

TWEET OF THE DAY: Sen. @Scott_Wiener on the bigger context for Pride Month: "Today marks the beginning of Pride Month. Particularly now — with so many vicious political attacks against LGBTQ youth around the country — California must be a beacon of hope. Pride is a celebration, but also a reminder: we must fight back."

WHERE'S GAVIN? Nothing official announced.

A message from The Nature Conservancy:

GOV. NEWSOM: CA Needs $1B to Protect Nature.

California is not mobilizing fast enough to protect itself from climate change. A $1 billion investment in the Nature-Based Solutions Budget Package is needed to protect people and nature from climate change. The May Revise funding is not enough -- $200 million more needs to be added with funding directed to the Wildlife Conservation Board and state conservancies. That's a budget that will deliver results on the ground.

Top Talkers

LION ON THE LOOSE — "Mountain lion found in high school classroom taken to Oakland Zoo," by KRON4's John Ferannini: "A mountain lion that entered Pescadero High School on the Peninsula earlier on Wednesday morning has been safely removed and is being taken to the Oakland Zoo, according to a tweet from the San Mateo County Sheriff. KRON4 News spoke to the superintendent of the school district who said the cat, which has been described as a cub, likely entered the classroom before school started and there were no students in the classroom at the time."

— " Reparations could include tuition, housing grants, California task force says," by CalMatters' Lil Kalish: "California's reparations task force released its first of two reports detailing the state's history of slavery and racism and recommending ways the Legislature might begin a process of redress for Black Californians, including proposals to offer housing grants, free tuition and to raise the minimum wage."

SET FREE — "Hinckley to get full freedom 41 years after shooting Reagan," by the AP's Jessica Gresko: "John Hinckley Jr., who shot President Ronald Reagan in 1981, is "no longer a danger to himself or others" and will be freed from court oversight this month as planned, a federal judge said Wednesday, capping Hinckley's four-decade journey through the legal and mental health systems."

STEP INSIDE THE WEST WING: What's really happening in West Wing offices? Find out who's up, who's down, and who really has the president's ear in our West Wing Playbook newsletter, the insider's guide to the Biden White House and Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details that you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today.

CAMPAIGN MODE

MONEY IN POLITICS — "Big-spending billionaires are upending politics. The Los Angeles mayor's race is the latest test ," by POLITICO's Elena Schneider: That barrage of advertisements on TV sets, on phones and in mailboxes has put Caruso — a real estate developer and a former civilian police commissioner whose father was a major Los Angeles-area car dealer — in a strong, top-two position in the mayoral primary. His main rival is Democratic Rep. Karen Bass, a longtime congresswoman and state legislative leader who came into the national spotlight during President Joe Biden's 2020 running-mate search.

MORE ON CARUSO — "The Mall King Who Would Be L.A.'s Mayor," by the New York Magazine's Alissa Walker.

SWITCH TO RED — " This blue Central Valley Congressional seat could be GOP's easiest pickup in California," by Sacramento Bee's Gillian Brassil: "The Hispanic-majority voting-age district that holds Merced County and parts of Modesto and Turlock was formed through redistricting, the once-a-decade redrawing of legislative boundaries based on new census data. And while the race there one is of several in California that leans Democratic — meaning the party has a small edge — analysts say Republicans have reason to believe they can win."

MONEY MOVES — "L.A.'s police union spending big on city elections, seeking to boost City Hall influence," by the Los Angeles Times' David Zahniser: "So far, the union has moved nearly $4 million into an independent campaign committee targeting the mayoral bid of Rep. Karen Bass. That committee is running TV ads criticizing Bass for accepting $95,000 in free USC tuition and highlighting her missed votes in Congress. The union has endorsed real estate developer Rick Caruso, a former police commissioner who has made public safety a centerpiece of his campaign."

AFTER 8 YEARS — " San Jose is Choosing a New Mayor," by KQED's Ericka Cruz Guevarra, Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí, Guy Marzorati, & Alan Montecillo: "For the first time since 2014, the race for mayor in San Jose has no incumbent running, since Mayor Sam Liccardo is term-limited. On June 7, San Jose voters will decide between 7 candidates, ranging from current elected officials to complete outsiders. If no candidate wins a majority of the votes in the June primary, the top 2 finishers face a November runoff."

— "San Diego Race Will Decide New Leadership For California's Deadliest Jail System," by Bolts' Kelly Davis: "The next sheriff will inherit dangerous jail conditions after the previous one resigned under a cloud of scandals."

BOUDIN RECALL — "Op-Ed: If criminal justice reform can't survive in San Francisco, can it survive anywhere?," by the LATimes' Miriam Pawel: "The recall attempt also illustrates a lesson with national ramifications about the limits of relying solely on reform prosecutors to enact change."

CALIFORNIA AND THE CAPITOL CORRIDOR

BUDGET PLAN — "California legislative leaders reach budget agreement, but don't budge on gas," by POLITICO's Lara Korte: With a record $300 billion on the table, leaders in the California Legislature on Wednesday announced a joint budget plan meant to ease the economic woes plaguing Californians and shore up the state's reserves against future economic downturns.

GOING ON STRIKE — "California fast-food workers plan statewide walkout, demand better workplace standards ," by Sac Bee's Alexandra Yoon-Hendricks: "Announced Wednesday, SEIU organizers said the strikes are part of a rallying effort around Assembly Bill 257, which advocates say would create an unprecedented layer of protection for the state's roughly 550,000 fast-food workers."

THE GRASS IS ALWAYS GREENER … — " The death of the American lawn?," by the LATimes' Mel Mecon: "With many Southern California communities now on limited watering schedules, the lush emerald green grasses, the summery smells of fresh lawn clippings, the cool blades squiggling between our toes — all will give way to crispy, dusty lots of dying fescue."

HOW IT WORKS — " Explainer: How SF Hammers Out Its $27.8 Billion, Two-Year Budget," by SF Standard's Mike Ege: "The budget—$27.8 billion spread over two years—includes funding for new police officers, new shelter resources for people experiencing homelessness, economic help for small businesses and families with children, and better pay for city workers and contractors."

CRIME IS UP — "Sacramento crime stats: Homicide, rape, robberies and gun violence all soared in 2021," by Sac Bee's Michael McGough: "Reported rapes increased by 31%, robberies by 27%, motor vehicle thefts by 26% and assaults by 16%, department spokesman Officer Chad Lewis said in the video."

— "A girl fled her war-torn homeland, but found more trauma in San Francisco," by SF Chronicle's Heather Knight: " The attack was shocking, but only to a degree, in a neighborhood with one of the city's highest assault rates. And it would ripple outward: In November, the episode would become one focus of a letter that Tenderloin families delivered to Mayor London Breed, pleading for help."

A message from The Nature Conservancy:

BIDEN, HARRIS AND THE HILL

STUDENT DEBT RELIEF — "White House to announce widespread relief for former Corinthian Colleges students," by The Hill's Hanna Trudo, Amie Parnes, & Alex Gangitano: " The Biden administration is planning to administer widespread relief for former Corinthian Colleges students on Thursday, multiple sources told The Hill exclusively, a move that progressives see as inching towards their goal of broader student loan debt forgiveness."

SILICON VALLEYLAND

SANDBERG STEPS DOWN — "How Sheryl Sandberg lost D.C.," by POLITICO's Emily Birnbaum & Myah Ward: Sheryl Sandberg is leaving Facebook, and closing out a turbulent relationship with Washington — where she both championed social causes and was partially blamed for the platform's role in election misinformation and last year's Capitol Hill riots.

— "Elon Musk lines up growing list of investors to take over Twitter ," by the Washington Posts' Faiz Siddiqui, Elizabeth Dwoskin, Reed Albergotti, & Gerrit De Vynck: "Backers include some of Silicon Valley's most prominent venture capitalists, successful entrepreneurs and small-time investors who've pooled their money together, according to people familiar with the deal, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe sensitive discussions, as well as documents describing the effort to attract investors. Some are forming special purpose vehicles, or syndicates, that aim to steer money to Musk's bid through investing via larger firms directly connected to the deal."

MUSK MAKES IT CLEAR — "Elon Musk tells Tesla staff: return to office or leave," by Reuters' Hyunjoo Jin and Tiyashi Datta: "Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) Chief Executive Elon Musk has asked employees to return to the office or leave the company, according to an email sent to employees and seen by Reuters."

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HOLLYWOODLAND

VERDICT REACHED — "Johnny Depp Wins Defamation Trial; Jury Sides With Amber Heard In One Counterclaim," by Deadline's Dominic Pattern & Ted Johnson: " After less than three days of deliberation, the seven-person panel ruled that the Aquaman star defamed Depp in a late 2018 Washington Post op-ed. In the piece, Heard described herself as the "public face of domestic abuse," more than two years after she accused Depp of physical abuse and obtained a restraining order against him."

MIXTAPE

COMING SOON — "Space shuttle Endeavour is getting its own grand museum in L.A., displayed in launch position," by the LATimes' Rong-Gong Lin II & Andrew Campa.

TURN OF EVENTS — "A Bay Area bakery sold mochi muffins for years. Then came the cease-and-desist letter," by SF Chronicle's Elena Kadvany.

— " Mothers sue CHP over wreck that killed their children after high-speed pursuit," by the LATimes' Nathan Solis.

BIRTHDAYS

Airbnb's Chris Lehane … Crooked Media's Jon Favreau … Ben Zion Kogen

A message from The Nature Conservancy:

GOVERNOR: CA Needs $1B to Protect Nature.

The May Revise proposes an additional $68 million for nature-based solutions including biodiversity, but California needs a bigger down payment on climate resilience to get our state on track. A $1 billion investment is needed in the 2022 Nature-Based Solutions Budget Package to protect people and nature on our warming planet.

To ensure funds are spent efficiently and effectively, investments must be allocated to the Wildlife Conservation Board and state conservancies, which have a longstanding track record of effectively advancing protection and supporting the public use of natural resources.

Invest $1B in the Nature-Based Solutions Budget Package to protect our planet.

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