The recall election of San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin is at hand, with the final votes to be cast by 8 p.m. Tuesday. It doesn’t look good for the progressive prosecutor if nearly all available polling is to be believed.
But what comes next if Boudin is recalled is still very much up in the air.
The Standard reached out to John Arntz, the director of the San Francisco Department of Elections, to get a better idea of what would happen if the recall succeeds, when Mayor London Breed would be allowed to appoint an interim DA and when an election would likely take place to appoint a permanent successor.
If DA Chesa Boudin is recalled, will he immediately be out of office?
No. If the recall measure passes, a vacancy in the DA’s office would occur 10 days after the Board of Supervisors declares the election results. After each election for local offices or measures, the director of elections—aka Arntz—certifies the results and then provides the certified results to the clerk of the board. The clerk’s office would then include an item for the board to declare the results on the next meeting agenda.
“I expect to certify the election at the end of June and could possibly send the certified results to the board to declare during its June 28 meeting,” Arntz told The Standard.
Susan Witka holds a “No on H” sign behind District Attorney Chesa Boudin at a rally in San Francisco, Calif., on Saturday, May 7, 2022. Boudin is campaigning against a June recall election. (Benjamin Fanjoy)
When is the soonest Mayor Breed would be able to appoint an interim district attorney?
If the recall measure passes, Breed can appoint someone to fill the vacancy no earlier than 10 days after the board declares the results.
If the recall of DA Boudin succeeds, will there be an election for the top prosecutor job this November?
Yes. If the recall measure is successful, two things happen: Mayor Breed appoints an interim DA and an election to fill the DA position will appear on the November ballot, Arntz said.
The interim DA would be prevented from running in November 2022 if Proposition C also passes on Tuesday. Whomever wins the November 2022 election would serve the remainder of the current term, which ends in January 2024.
The regularly scheduled election for the next DA term in San Francisco will occur in November 2023. Anyone would be eligible to appear on the ballot for the DA’s office in November 2023.
The post Explainer: What Happens Next If DA Chesa Boudin Is Recalled? appeared first on The Paloalto Digest.
