Fundraising emails for and against Chesa Boudin push alternate views of San Francisco

Communities across the country have seen rises in crime since the onset of the COVID pandemic.

As the race enters its final two months, the rhetoric is only ramping up — especially in fundraising emails.

“Crime is surging,” claimed one anti-Boudin missive from Safer SF, “and everyone from parents and small business owners to the attorneys in Chesa’s own office are ready for a change.”

The email cited no data but urged the recipient to hurry up and give.

Boudin, in his own emails, said the recall is being driven by conservatives who want to backpedal on criminal justice reform, which the pro-recall side strongly denies.

“The right-wing Fox hosts and out-of-state billionaires funding it don’t care about our city,” he wrote.

In a campaign that seems to grow more bitter, both sides are pushing versions of reality short on nuance.

Who’s funding this?

Until last week, the largest donor to the recall campaign was Republican William Oberndorf, a hedge fund manager and philanthropist. The recall campaign said Oberndorf has given to Democrats as well, but federal records show a strong bent toward Republicans.

Oberndorf was overtaken as the top donor by Shorenstein Realty Services, led by Brandon Shorenstein, a Democratic donor who gave the recall campaign $633,000 — $27,000 more than Oberndorf.

Money is also pouring into the pro-recall side from ultra-loaded tech industry vets. Boudin’s supporters said some of those donors were motivated by Boudin’s clashes with gig economy companies over worker classification issues.

In an email to The Chronicle, Safer SF Chair Mary Jung said Boudin’s argument that the recall is “Republican-led” couldn’t be “further from the truth.” Jung noted that, according to election officials, San Francisco has 33,000 registered Republicans, while 83,000 people signed the petition to have the recall.

Boudin’s top donor is tech investor Christian Larsen, who gave $100,000 and generally gives to left-leaning organizations. Second is Service Employees International Union Local 1021, which represents 60,000 workers in Northern California, and gave $65,000.

In a text to The Chronicle, Julie Edwards, a spokesperson on Boudin’s side, said the recall campaign has subjected San Franciscans to a “cavalcade of lies” about their donors and Boudin’s record.

Boudin is way behind in fundraising. The two main committees on Boudin’s side have raised just over $1 million total while the principal groups pushing the recall have amassed $2.7 million, according to campaign finance filings.

In his fundraising emails, Boudin has tried to spin his financial disadvantage as a positive.

“I’m proud that we’re running a grassroots campaign,” Boudin wrote. “We’re powered by the people because we’re working for the people.”

Cook, whose research at UC Berkeley focuses on California politics, said the “who’s behind this” narrative is common. The intent is to delegitimize the other side, to cast them as outsiders with hidden motives.

“You saw this with the governor’s recall recently, the school board recall: There’s always (rhetoric about) who’s funding this recall, what’s their real agenda,” he said.

The pro-recall camp has aligned itself with the successful school board recall, but that contest was a bit different. The coalition that pushed for three board members’ ouster were parents frustrated by COVID school closures and had support from top San Francisco leaders, including Mayor London Breed and state Sen. Scott Wiener.

Breed hasn’t officially said where she stands on the Boudin recall, but the two elected officials haven’t exactly been kind to each other in the news media and the mayor would be the one to appoint Boudin’s successor if he is recalled.

Using the media

Using news pieces to your advantage is an old move in political campaigns — one that hasn’t been absent from this race.

A recent email from Safer SF focused on an ABC7 clip showing Boudin leaving an event while a reporter attempted to ask questions.

“Instead of facing questions from reporters about his record as District Attorney,” said the email, “Chesa Boudin is turning his back — literally.”

The subject line was: “What are you running from, Chesa?”

The email portrayed Boudin as afraid of questioning. It didn’t mention that Boudin told the pursuing news crew he was “happy to talk about it” but was “really late for another event.”

On the pro-Boudin side, email solicitations have advertised the backing of singer John Legend and circulated the DA’s February interview with New York Times Magazine to coax financial support for his message, but Boudin’s camp has also used media coverage to criticize his detractors.

“Report shows the police union is blocking progress for SF,” read one subject line.

The email referenced an article in The Chronicle about a study by the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice. The study found San Franciscans pay more for police than any California city with a population over 500,000, except Los Angeles, whose officers report solving crime at twice the rate as in San Francisco. Police lambasted the report as a misleading hit job.

Rifts between Boudin and police also shape the recall election.

In February, police Chief Bill Scott said he intended to pull out of a memorandum of understanding that designated the D.A.’s office as the lead investigating agency in police use-of-force incidents and in-custody deaths. Though Scott and Boudin have said they are working on an agreement, there have been other dust-ups, including when Boudin revealed police had linked a woman to a property crime through DNA obtained in a rape kit from years earlier, sparking outrage.

‘Rile me up’

In the selection of emails, Cook didn’t note much new from either campaign as they hone their messages.

“They follow a bit of a formula on both sides,” he said.

Veteran Democratic consultant Eric Jaye also wasn’t surprised by the pitches the campaigns are making. But he said what they’re doing is bad for public safety. Jaye has worked in San Francisco for many years — with mayors, district attorneys and the San Francisco police union.

Jaye said the recall — and its rhetoric — has caused divisions among people who should be working together.

“I think if you care about safety, you need to step back and say, ‘Police, mayor, district attorney, I want you to work together to keep me safe,” Jaye said. “Not just rile me up so I’ll send you my $25.”