Candidate Spotlight: District Attorney
Voting is an essential part of civic engagement, but it can be confusing, especially in local elections. There are some hyper-local issues that we’re deciding on in the upcoming election in SF on November 5th. TechEquity Collaborative does not endorse candidates, but we are summarizing their backgrounds and platforms to provide some insight into the 2019 ballot.
What’s the background on the race?
George Gascón was the San Francisco district attorney (DA) since 2011, but last year he announced he would not run for re-election, setting up the first open district attorney race in more than 100 years. On October 18th, however, Gascón resigned and Mayor London Breed appointed Suzy Loftus, who is running this year, as the interim DA. Mayor Breed has faced criticism for appointing Loftus, with critics seeing the appointment as an inappropriate attempt to sway voters.
Chesa Boudin
Chesa Boudin is currently a deputy public defender in San Francisco. He worked on the successful effort to eliminate cash bail in San Francisco and supported closing the juvenile detention center in the city. Boudin supported AB 392, which limits when police officers can use deadly force. If elected, he proposes to create a wrongful convictions unit, pledges to make the charging decision following police shootings, and promises to close the jail at the Hall of Justice on Bryant Street. Boudin also proposes cutting back on trials and seeking alternatives to incarceration for low-level misdemeanors including DUIs.
Boudin is endorsed by Supervisors Sandra Lee Fewer, Aaron Peskin, Gordon Mar, Matt Haney, and Hillary Ronen. He is also endorsed by SEIU Local 1021, United Educators of San Francisco, and the San Francisco Tenants Union. See his full list of endorsements.
Leif Dautch
Leif Dautch is a deputy attorney general for California. Previously, he was president of San Francisco’s Juvenile Probation Commission. Dautch supports the closure of the city’s juvenile detention center and wants to convert it into a mental health treatment center. He also supports eliminating cash bail and designating an on-call prosecutor to respond to all traffic fatalities. He favors seeking treatment for drug users while prosecuting drug dealers. Dautch is also emphasizing environmental issues and fighting unjust evictions in his campaign.
Dautch is endorsed by State Treasurer Fiona Ma, San Francisco Deputy Sheriffs’ Association, and San Francisco Fire Fighters Local 798. See his full list of endorsements.
Suzy Loftus
Suzy Loftus was appointed as interim district attorney in October 2019 after former DA George Gascón resigned. Previously, she was a lawyer for the San Francisco Sheriff’s Department. She supported ending cash bail and AB 392’s limits on police use of deadly force as well as the closure of the juvenile detention center. If elected, Loftus proposes creating a civil rights unit to focus on racial disparities. She also plans to address property crime in the city without relying on incarceration. Loftus is a former president of the Police Commission and vows to increase transparency in investigations of police shootings.
Loftus is endorsed by Mayor Breed, Governor Gavin Newsom, State Senator Scott Wiener, Assemblymember David Chiu, and Supervisors Norman Yee, Rafael Mandelman, Vallie Brown, Catherine Stefani, Shammann Walton, Ahsha Safai, Gordon Mar, and Matt Haney. She is also endorsed by the San Francisco Democratic Party, the San Francisco Building and Construction Trades Council, and SEIU 1021 (#2 behind Chesa Boudin). See her full list of endorsements.
Nancy Tung
Nancy Tung is a deputy district attorney in Alameda County. Previously she was a prosecutor for the San Francisco district attorney. Tung opposes the closure of the juvenile detention center and is considering supporting a 2020 ballot initiative that would roll back Proposition 47, which reclassified some offenses as misdemeanors instead of felonies. She has also stated that she would not have charged any of the police officers who shot Mario Woods. If elected, Tung vows to prosecute drug dealers operating in the Tenderloin and crackdown on organized crime groups behind vehicle break-ins.
Tung is endorsed by Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley, Teamsters Joint Council 7, and the San Francisco Small Property Owners. See her full list of endorsements.
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