By: Shawna Chen
This article was originally published in Axios.
San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins faces one challenger in her re-election bid: Alameda County prosecutor Ryan Khojasteh, whom Jenkins fired as part of an administration change after inheriting the office from Chesa Boudin.
Why it matters: The rise of anti-Asian hate during the pandemic, accompanied by footage of car break-ins and burglaries that often went viral on social media, has heightened scrutiny of the DA’s role amid concerns about crime and drug use.
Follow the money: Jenkins currently leads the fundraising race with over $328,000 raised, campaign filings show.
- Opponent Khojasteh, who worked under Boudin, has amassed about $75,500.
Meet the candidates: Axios San Francisco asked both candidates the same question: What is the first policy you’d enact or change if elected and why?
- Here’s what they had to say.
Brooke Jenkins, SF district attorney
Background: Jenkins was an assistant DA for San Francisco for seven years and served in several units, including sexual assault and homicide, before resigning in October 2021. That included time under Boudin, who took office in 2020.
- After becoming DA, she raised the city’s conviction rate for the first time in eight years.
- Yes, but: A state appeals court ruled last year that Jenkins committed misconduct in 2021 by disparaging a defense lawyer.
If re-elected, Jenkins said, her top priority would be tackling San Francisco’s drug crisis.
- “Fentanyl dealers had free reign in the city under my predecessor, and that era is over,” she said, pointing to her record combatting open-air drug markets and creating a narcotics prosecution team.
- Her office has secured 314 felony drug-dealing-related convictions in two years, she added. “I know we can save more lives as we fight to eradicate fentanyl from our streets.”
Ryan Khojasteh, Alameda County prosecutor
Background: Khojasteh’s career has been defined by prosecuting violent crimes. He served six years on San Francisco’s Immigrant Rights Commission, where he focused on fighting anti-Asian hate.
- Hired by Boudin in 2020, he was a prosecutor in the DA’s office until Jenkins took over in 2022.
If elected, Khojasteh said, he’d “reduce the top-heavy management structure to put more prosecutors in the courtroom” and “hire an experienced chief of staff who understands criminal law.”
- Doing so would allow for ethical and successful prosecution of more cases — in contrast to the current DA’s “mismanagement and ineffective allocation of resources,” he added.
Catch up quick
Mayor London Breed appointed Jenkins to replace Boudin after he was recalled in June 2022. The former public defender was accused of being too soft on crime as he pushed to reduce incarcerations and refine law enforcement practices.
- Though crime fell during Boudin’s tenure, burglaries and homicides increased. Many Asian Americans also felt ignored as attacks rarely led to hate crime charges.
- Though Jenkins landed in hot water in August 2022 after an income disclosure showed that she received over $100,000 from a nonprofit linked to the recall effort, she fended off two civil rights attorneys to win re-election that November.
- Khojasteh has attempted to distance himself from Boudin since launching his campaign, Mission Local notes.
