San Francisco DA Brooke Jenkins picks an all-female top staff

“That battle has never felt more urgent,” Marshall said in a statement to The Chronicle. “There is no question that D.A. Jenkins’ approach differs dramatically from my values. My passion for the mission to reform our legal system is stronger than ever and I am eager for the next opportunity to effect change.”

Arcelia Hurtado, a chief attorney who oversaw the office’s post-conviction unit along with diversity efforts and training, said she wasn’t surprised to be terminated, but she was disappointed. Hurtado said Jenkins told staffers she wouldn’t be firing line prosecutors solely because they were hired by Boudin, and that she would be meeting with all of the managers individually to assess whether they were a good fit for her team. Those meetings, Hurtado said, never took place.

“I was hopeful that she would be true to her word … and this seems to be a complete political massacre at this point,” Hurtado said. “She lined us up, essentially, one by one today, 15-minute phone calls, and fired us all without cause, and would not state any reason for why we were fired.”

Hurtado, who was the highest-ranking queer woman of color in the office, said at least five or six other women, including women of color, who have been fired or appear to be on the chopping block.

Marshall, who said she was informed Thursday that the call with Jenkins would take place, , said 14 of her coworkers were scheduled similar meetings with Jenkins. They were expected to include Boudin’s high-ranking advisers, as well as prosecutors, investigators and other staff members whose work included city corruption probes, the prosecution of police, the re-sentencing of people found to be innocent or given excessively long sentences, and data transparency.

Jenkins said her new management team, “which will include the addition of three women of color, with decades of prosecutorial experience at the highest levels, will help our office deliver on that promise. I have full faith and confidence that these women will promote and protect public safety while delivering justice in all of its various forms.”

The second-in-command position in the DA’s office will go to Gonzalez, a former San Francisco assistant district attorney who led the office’s gang unit until she — along with six others — was fired by Boudin after he took office in January 2020. Gonzalez will serve as Jenkins’ chief assistant, meaning that she will be the office’s lead managing attorney.

Tung, an Alameda County Assistant District Attorney, will be the chief of special prosecutions, taking on sensitive cases that could range from domestic violence to police misconduct to fraud. She will also serve as the lead liaison for the the office’s community partnerships across San Francisco.

Like Jenkins and Gonzales, Tung also has a history of conflict with Boudin. She ran against him for District Attorney in 2019, coming in third in the city’s ranked-choice voting contest and was cast as the candidate most in favor of stricter penalties for people accused of crimes.

Tung also publicly supported Boudin’s recall, and was rumored to be Breed’s second-choice pick for District Attorney. This year, prior to Boudin’s recall, Tung told the San Francisco NAACP that she would seek the office again if Boudin was ousted.

Sutton, currently the director of the crime strategies division at the San Francisco Police Department, was given a chief position, but her specific role was not immediately released. Sutton is also a veteran of the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office, having spent 12 years there as an assistant district attorney after being hired by Kamala Harris.

At the police department, Sutton oversees the “leadership and management of the crime analytics team and analyzing SFPD’s crime and community strategies,” according to her bio.

Leading the office’s transition team will be Singh, who spent 22 years as a San Francisco district attorney before taking a position as assistant chief legal counsel for the San Francisco Sheriff’s Office earlier this year, according to her LinkedIn bio. While at the District Attorney’s Office, Singh served as a managing attorney for the misdemeanor trial unit, the collaborative court and mental health unit and the domestic violence unit.

Gonzalez, Tung and Sutton are all expected to take on cases.

By stocking the office with law-enforcement officials and more traditional prosecutors potentially amenable to stricter penalties for people accused of crimes, Jenkins’ choices also represent a marked departure from Boudin’s progressive philosophies.

During his two-and-a-half years in office, Boudin hired a slate of former defense attorneys and prioritized diversion, thinning overcrowded jails and prisons and holding police accountable for misconduct.

In becoming one of the most high-profile leaders of Boudin’s recall campaign, Jenkins galvanized voters by arguing that these policies failed to hold criminals responsible and left San Francisco less safe.

Jenkins has branded herself as a prosecutor who believes in balance — a winning message for Breed, who echoed this sentiment when choosing Jenkins as Boudin’s successor.

Critics and Boudin’s supporters, however, argue that Jenkins’ self-proclaimed values ring hollow, and that she has argued against some of the office’s most important reforms.

Jenkins has not yet rolled back any of Boudin’s policies, which have sharply limited or done away with cash bail, gang enhancements, the charging of juveniles as adults and “strikes” for previous offenses. She has, however, criticized these policies as too lenient, and last week announced she may be withdrawing some plea deal offers in drug cases made under Boudin’s administration.

No firings have yet been announced, but are widely expected — particularly for staff members hired by Boudin.