{"id":30459,"date":"2022-04-06T11:46:03","date_gmt":"2022-04-06T11:46:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/?p=30459"},"modified":"2022-04-06T11:46:03","modified_gmt":"2022-04-06T11:46:03","slug":"fundraising-emails-for-and-against-chesa-boudin-push-alternate-views-of-san-francisco","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/index.php\/2022\/04\/06\/fundraising-emails-for-and-against-chesa-boudin-push-alternate-views-of-san-francisco\/","title":{"rendered":"Fundraising emails for and against Chesa Boudin push alternate views of San Francisco"},"content":{"rendered":"

[ad_1]<\/p>\n

\nThe other side doesn\u2019t care about you and won\u2019t keep you safe.<\/em>\n<\/p>\n

Such is the dire message of emails to prospective donors from the campaign to recall San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin \u2014 and Boudin\u2019s campaign against the recall<\/a>. The emails, strongly worded with ostentatious fonts and graphics, open a window into the campaigns and their strategies as the June 7 election nears.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe way they appeal to donors tells you a lot about what they think the major issues are,\u201d said Corey Cook, an associate professor of politics at UC Berkeley. \u201cIt tells you about where they think that they have appeal broadly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Boudin \u2014 among the most progressive prosecutors in the nation \u2014 argues he has followed through on promises that swept him into office in 2020, such as diverting more people from jail<\/a> and pushing justice reforms, while also holding people who commit serious crimes<\/a> accountable. But opponents have pinned the blame on Boudin for surges in burglaries in more affluent neighborhoods<\/a>, an emergency declaration in the Tenderloin<\/a> and high-profile retail thefts<\/a>.<\/p>\n

While the number of reported crimes in San Francisco increased last year by 13% over 2020 \u2014 largely due to an increase in retail theft \u2014 2021\u2019s crime tallies were 13% lower than in 2019, the year before Boudin took office. Comparing 2021 to 2019, rape, robbery and assault are down. Homicides, though, are up significantly \u2014 to 56 from 41. Property crimes, especially burglary and vehicle theft, are up, too.<\/p>\n

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Communities across the country have seen rises in crime since the onset of the COVID pandemic.<\/p>\n

As the race enters its final two months, the rhetoric is only ramping up \u2014 especially in fundraising emails.<\/p>\n

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\u201cCrime is surging,\u201d claimed one anti-Boudin missive from Safer SF, \u201cand everyone from parents and small business owners to the attorneys in Chesa\u2019s own office are ready for a change.\u201d<\/p>\n

The email cited no data but urged the recipient to hurry up and give.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe right-wing Fox hosts and out-of-state billionaires funding it don\u2019t care about our city,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n

In a campaign that seems to grow more bitter, both sides are pushing versions of reality short on nuance.<\/p>\n

Who\u2019s funding this?<\/h2>\n

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 <\/a>show a strong bent toward Republicans.<\/p>\n

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 \u2014 $27,000 more than Oberndorf.<\/p>\n

Money is also pouring<\/a> into the pro-recall side from ultra-loaded tech industry vets. Boudin\u2019s supporters said some of those donors were motivated by Boudin\u2019s clashes with gig economy companies over worker classification issues.<\/p>\n

In an email to The Chronicle, Safer SF Chair Mary Jung said Boudin\u2019s argument that the recall is \u201cRepublican-led\u201d couldn\u2019t be \u201cfurther from the truth.\u201d Jung noted that, according to election officials, San Francisco has 33,000<\/a> registered Republicans, while 83,000 people signed the petition to have the recall.<\/p>\n

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Boudin\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

In a text to The Chronicle, Julie Edwards, a spokesperson on Boudin\u2019s side, said the recall campaign has subjected San Franciscans to a \u201ccavalcade of lies\u201d about their donors and Boudin\u2019s record.<\/p>\n

Boudin is way behind in fundraising. The two main committees on Boudin\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

In his fundraising emails, Boudin has tried to spin his financial disadvantage as a positive.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m proud that we\u2019re running a grassroots campaign,\u201d Boudin wrote. \u201cWe\u2019re powered by the people because we\u2019re working for the people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cook, whose research at UC Berkeley focuses on California politics, said the \u201cwho\u2019s behind this\u201d narrative is common. The intent is to delegitimize the other side, to cast them as outsiders with hidden motives.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou saw this with the governor\u2019s recall recently, the school board recall: There\u2019s always (rhetoric about) who\u2019s funding this recall, what\u2019s their real agenda,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The pro-recall camp has aligned itself with the successful school board recall<\/a>, but that contest was a bit different<\/a>. The coalition that pushed for three board members\u2019 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.<\/p>\n

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Breed hasn\u2019t officially said where she stands on the Boudin recall<\/a>, but the two elected officials haven\u2019t exactly been kind to each other in the news media and the mayor would be the one to appoint Boudin\u2019s successor if he is recalled.<\/p>\n

Using the media<\/h2>\n

Using news pieces to your advantage is an old move in political campaigns \u2014 one that hasn\u2019t been absent from this race.<\/p>\n

A recent email from Safer SF focused on an ABC7 clip <\/a>showing Boudin leaving an event while a reporter attempted to ask questions.<\/p>\n