Recall Chesa Boudin founder says successful ousting a 'bittersweet victory': We didn't want to have to do this
60% of San Francisco voters recalled progressive District Attorney Chesa Boudin Tuesday
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The founder of Recall Chesa Boudin is calling the San Francisco district attorney's ousting a "bittersweet victory" after 60 percent of voters removed Boudin from office Tuesday.
Richie Greenberg began the campaign to recall Boudin in January 2021, arguing the district attorney's progressive policies emboldened criminals and led to an "astronomical increase" in violent crime.
"It’s a victory, but I’m not going to be popping any champagne bottles," Greenberg told "Fox & Friends" Wednesday. "This is a recall that should never have had to be done."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Greenberg told host Ainsley Eahardt that Boudin was not qualified for the position of district attorney and shouldn’t have been elected in the first place.
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Chesa Boudin during an appearance on the SF City Insider podcast at the San Francisco Chronicle in San Francisco, Calif., on Wednesday, August 28, 2019. (Yalonda M. James/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)
"This is something that we really didn’t want to have to do," he said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Boudin, who was elected in 2019 with 50.8% of the vote, was the first San Francisco district attorney to be recalled.
"He had no experience as a prosecutor. He got elected. And we’ve been sitting here floundering for two and a half years," Greenberg said.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Greenberg believes Boudin’s policies have destroyed businesses and the city’s tourism industry due to crime and rampant homelessness, noting San Francisco's tourism industry is a major source of revenue for both the government and community.
"It’s been decimated, and it still hasn’t come back," Greenberg said. "Years away is what they’re projecting before it could potentially come back."
Greenberg is confident, however, that Mayor London Breed will appoint a "real" prosecutor to fill the district attorney position and help restore the city's industry.
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He said there are four potential candidates to fill the office, including one of Boudin’s own employees.
"The point is, anyone that [Mayor Breed] chooses for sure is going to be an actual prosecutor, an experienced prosecutor, and is going to return normalcy to the DA’s office," Greenberg said.