SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) – Brooke Jenkins, Mayor London Breed’s appointment to the position of San Francisco District Attorney after the successful recall of Chesa Boudin over the summer, was not endorsed by the city’s Democratic Party on Wednesday.
That honor went to John Hamasaki, an attorney and former police commissioner, who is running to Jenkins’ left. Hamasaki got the No. 1 endorsement and Joe Alito Veronese got the No. 2 endorsement. (Citywide elections are decided through ranked-choice voting.)
Endorsements for citywide elections are made by the San Francisco Democratic County Central Committee, which met Sept. 28.
Multiple sources on Twitter, such as former Boudin spokesperson Rachel Marshall, stated that Jenkins got no votes at all from the DCCC.
“I am beyond honored to receive all of the San Francisco Democratic Party’s first place votes to be the next District Attorney of San Francisco,” Hamasaki stated to KRON4. “I certainly wasn’t the establishment candidate by any means but this endorsement shows that the San Francisco Democratic Party, like much of San Francisco, is tired of politics as usual. Enough of the corruption, the insider deals, the backroom politics, and the dark money backers. We need public safety and accountability in SF, but we need to do it beyond politics.”
Alioto Veronese — a civil rights attorney and former police and fire commissioner, and the bearer of a famous name in city politics — thanked the committee for its No. 2 endorsement.
Alioto Veronese has been highly critical of Jenkins since it was revealed she was paid more than $100,000 to consult a nonprofit formed by a billionaire who helped bankroll the recall effort, despite claiming her role was strictly voluntary.
“Thank you to the San Francisco Democratic party for this endorsement,” Alioto Veronese stated to KRON4. “Their complete rejection of the Democratic acting-DA is noteworthy. It shows that her own party, the Democratic Party, neither trusts nor believes her.
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“Not a single Democrat voted to endorse Brooke Jenkins. Not one. She wasn’t even their second choice! Jenkins’ political connections couldn’t overcome her failures as a prosecutor. Her record of inaction, unethical behavior, failed prosecutions and setting murderers free speaks for itself. We need to rescue San Francisco and the Democratic Party has spoken clearly: Brooke Jenkins cannot rescue San Francisco,” says Alioto Veronese. “The Democratic Party says I can rescue San Francisco – and I will.”
A spokesperson for Jenkins’ campaign said that the decision was revenge for Jenkins’ involvement in the effort to recall Boudin, which the DCCC opposed.
“District Attorney Jenkins is proud to have earned support from leading Democrats like Senator Scott Wiener and [State Treasurer] Fiona Ma and the Bay Area Reporter because they believe she is restoring accountability and safety to San Francisco,” the spokesperson stated. “Unfortunately, the DCCC has been driven by political ideology. They opposed the Boudin recall and just endorsed a candidate who has called for defunding the DA’s office that he is running for. They don’t represent a focus on public safety that the majority of San Franciscans are asking for.”
CORRECTION (Sept. 30 at 5:32 a.m.) — The original headline of this story spelled pick as “pic.”
