Kathy Boudin was an American radical leftist who served 23 years in prison for felony murder based on her role in the 1981 Brink's robbery. Boudin was a founding member of the militant Weather Underground organization,which engaged in bombings of government buildings to express opposition to U.S. foreign policy and racism. The 1981 robbery resulted in the killing of two Nyack,New York,police officers and one security guard,and serious injury to another security guard;Boudin was arrested attempting to flee after the getaway vehicle she occupied was stopped by police. She was released on parole in 2003. After earning a doctorate,Boudin became an adjunct professor at Columbia University.
The 1981 Brink's robbery was an armed robbery and three related murders committed on October 20,1981,by several Black Liberation Army members and four former members of the Weather Underground,who were at the time associated with the May 19th Communist Organization. The plan called for the BLA members –including Kuwasi Balagoon,Mtayari Sundiata,Samuel Brown and Mutulu Shakur –to carry out the robbery,with the M19CO members –David Gilbert,Judith Alice Clark,Kathy Boudin,and Marilyn Buck –to serve as getaway drivers in switchcars.
Chesa Boudin is an American lawyer who served as the 29th District Attorney of San Francisco from January 8,2020 to July 8,2022. He is a member of the Democratic Party.
George Gascón is an American attorney and former police officer who is the district attorney of Los Angeles County. A member of the Democratic Party and a former Republican,Gascón served as the district attorney of San Francisco from 2011 to 2019. Prior to his work as a prosecutor,he was an assistant chief of police for the LAPD,and Chief of Police in Mesa,Arizona and San Francisco.
The San Francisco District Attorney's Office is the legal agency charged with prosecuting crimes in the City and County of San Francisco,California. The current district attorney is Brooke Jenkins. Occupants of this office have gone on to higher elected offices,including:governor of California,United States Senator,and vice president of the United States.
LaDoris Hazzard Cordell is an American retired judge of the Superior Court of California,and a retired Independent Police Auditor for the city of San Jose,California.
Garry Tan is an American venture capitalist and executive who is the CEO of Y Combinator and a founder of Initialized Capital. He previously co-founded Posterous and Posthaven. He was an early employee at Palantir Technologies,and previously a partner at Y Combinator. Tan is also known for his engagement in San Francisco politics,both as a commenter on social media and as a political donor.
Diana Becton,also known as Diana Becton Smith is a former trial judge and is currently both the first woman and first African American to be elected district attorney in the history of Contra Costa County in California.
The 2019 San Francisco District Attorney election was held on November 5,2019,to elect the next District Attorney of San Francisco. The election,which was held alongside the 2019 mayoral election in which incumbent mayor London Breed won her first full term,was won by public defender Chesa Boudin.
Suzanne Theresa Loftus is an American attorney who served as interim San Francisco district attorney,nominated by Mayor London Breed after the resignation of George Gascón. Loftus ran in the 2019 San Francisco District Attorney election,losing narrowly to criminal justice reform advocate Chesa Boudin.
Dion Lim is an American news anchor and reporter for KGO-TV/ABC7. She is known for reporting on violence against Asian Americans.
The 2022 California 17th State Assembly district special election was a special election to fill the vacant 17th Assembly District. The special election was called after incumbent Assemblymember David Chiu resigned the seat to become City Attorney of San Francisco. Matt Haney,a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors,won the election.
The 2022 San Francisco District Attorney recall election was a successful special recall election to remove San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin from office. It was held on June 7,2022,concurrent with the 2022 statewide primary elections.
The 2022 San Francisco Board of Education recall elections were held on February 15,2022. In a landslide election,over two-thirds of voters chose to remove three San Francisco Board of Education Commissioners—Alison Collins,Board President Gabriela Lopez,and Faauuga Moliga—from office. All three commissioners were replaced by appointees chosen by Mayor London Breed. The other four members of the school board were not eligible for recall at this time.
The San Francisco Standard is an online news organization based in San Francisco,California,launched in 2021 and funded in part by the billionaire venture capitalist Michael Moritz of Sequoia Capital.
Lara Bazelon is an American academic and journalist. She is a law professor at the University of San Francisco School of Law where she holds the Barnett Chair in Trial Advocacy and directs the Criminal &Juvenile and Racial Justice Clinics. She is the former director of the Loyola Law School Project for the Innocent in Los Angeles. Her clinical work as a law professor focuses on the exoneration of the wrongfully convicted.
The 2022 San Francisco District Attorney special election was held on November 8,2022,following the successful recall of San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin. It was held concurrent with the 2022 statewide general elections.
On April 27,2023,Banko Brown,a homeless 24-year-old transgender Black man,was shot and killed outside of a Walgreens store in San Francisco by an on-duty security guard. Brown was unarmed at the time of the killing.
The 2024 San Francisco District Attorney election will be held on November 5,2024,concurrent with the election for San Francisco mayor and the 2024 statewide general elections.
The San Francisco Public Works corruption scandal is an ongoing investigation by federal,state and local prosecutors and investigators into bribery and fraud involving employees and contractors working for San Francisco Public Works (SFPW),and particularly,the Department of Building Inspection (DBI). The investigation was first brought to the public's attention by the arrest in January 2020 by federal agents of Mohammed Nuru,who was the Director of Public Works. The scandal involved multiple instances of corruption,including conflict of interest,bribery,and fraud within the DBI. Several former city officials and individuals in the construction industry were indicted and faced charges related to corrupt practices. The scandal was uncovered through audits,legal proceedings,and investigations by city authorities and federal prosecutors,ultimately leading to the exposure of widespread corruption within the department. As of December 2023,23 employees,contractors,consultants and permit expediters have been implicated in the investigation. The scandal has led to a thorough review of work on more than 5,400 buildings to determine if corruption was involved.
