Thanks to the DA of San Fran, Chesa Boudin, criminals can be arrested, booked and back on the street in less than 90 minutes—with no bail—just a promise they will show up for court! Yeah, sure. This is a city that has a 30% increase in murder, 756% increase in stolen cars and carjackings in the past year. So far 17 drug stores had to close and other retailers have curtailed their hours—just to control the shoplifters.
“Perhaps concern of car break-ins, assaults, rampant shop lifting, and even murder are no big deal in 2021; but guess again? San Francisco’s life blood of visitors and office workers want to feel safe and not be intimidated by those individuals Chesa Boudin is championing.
Typical is my old boss Dave who I was unable to have a lunch with last year prior to the Covid-19 Epidemic shutdown began. A couple days ago upon trying to reschedule our date, he told me:
The downtown is dead except for tourists and the homeless.
I work from home and go in on weekends to p/u & d/o work since March 2020.
Most of the staff has returned to the office and a few alternate working from home & office.
I honestly don’t know which restaurants are still open these days”
Then you have a recent poll that shows 40% of current residents are planning on leaving. San Fran will be a ghost town—thanks to corrupt government and a DA that protects criminals and victimizes the victims.
Chesa Boudin recall in perspective By Richard Eber
Richard Eber, Exclusive to the California Political News and Views, 7/7/21
I was going to write a column how San Francisco is going to hell in a hand basket because of the actions of their controversial District Attorney, Chesa Boudin. Since being elected in 2019, on a reform platform, he has essentially dismantled the criminal justice system of the City by the Bay.
While Boudin’s policy of not prosecuting victimless crime, eliminating bail in most cases, and substituting counseling instead of filing charges is a noble cause, the collateral damage has been astounding.
Murder, sexual assault, carjacking, robbery, and shop lifting, to name a few. have escalated since Boudin assumed office in 2020. Theft in retail businesses has become so rampant that the drug store chain Walgreen’s closed 16 stores in San Francisco.
Visitors are hesitant to patronize restaurant and entertainment venues for fear of being accosted by criminals. The homeless and panhandlers are free to shakedown pedestrians while the police are asked to stand idly by.
For my article on Boudin, I was set to receive off the record complaints from an employee of the District Attorney’s office. It is well known veteran Prosecutors working for Boudin are totally frustrated by his policies. What bothers them most is Boudin having more empathy for the accused rather than victims of crime.
My scheduled interview with a veteran Assistant D.A. never took place. It would appear fear of reprisal and keeping ones job was a higher priority than spilling ones guts to a California Political News and Views reporter.
In all fairness, Chesa Boudin should not be blamed for the demise of the city of my birth. More than anything his actions are symbolic of what has transpired in San Francisco for the last half century. Evolving from being “The City who knows how” to becoming a cesspool of crime and political corruption did not occur over night.
San Francisco has disintegrated from the leadership of Joe Alioto, Willie Brown, and Diane Feinstein to current Mayor, London Breed. While most of her successful predecessors emphasized economic development to finance social change, Breed is far to the left of moderate Ed Lee, whom she succeeded.
The current Mayor seems to believe things will get back to normal when the Covid-19 epidemic winds down and crime rates are magically reduced.
This kind of wishful thinking is naïve and dangerous. Revenues from restaurants, conventions, and the tourist trades are not going to return in the short run. San Francisco’s bloated budget will likely explode in the next couple years even with bailouts coming from Sacramento and Washington D.C.
Such fears are why the majority of small business owners and real estate people are so anxious to give D.A. Boudin the boot
Perhaps concern of car break-ins, assaults, rampant shop lifting, and even murder are no big deal in 2021; but guess again? San Francisco’s life blood of visitors and office workers want to feel safe and not be intimidated by those individuals Chesa Boudin is championing.
Typical is my old boss Dave who I was unable to have a lunch with last year prior to the Covid-19 Epidemic shutdown began. A couple days ago upon trying to reschedule our date, he told me:
The downtown is dead except for tourists and the homeless.
I work from home and go in on weekends to p/u & d/o work since March 2020.
Most of the staff has returned to the office and a few alternate working from home & office.
I honestly don’t know which restaurants are still open these days
What is going to make commuters like Dave return to San Francisco and resume their prior lives that made The City a magnet of commerce for generations?
Probably nothing.
One of the biggest lessons learned by workers during Covid-19 is that they could conduct their business activities from home without spending three hours a day stuck in traffic or commuting on BART. They also came to understand wearing fancy clothes or frequent trips to the beauty parlor did not make them anymore intelligent.
The best those in charge of managing city government in San Francisco can hope for is that most office workers, who telecommuted for the past year, will return to their former work places a couple days a week. Even then such projections might be wishful thinking unless San Francisco cleans up their act.
If my comments can be construed to be what Leftists call “right wing extremism” let’s take a quick glance at San Francisco real estate market these days. According to an article published in the S.F. Chronicle last month:
“San Francisco office rental prices have steadily fallen over the past year, hitting a monumental low in the first quarter of 2021. Prices dipped 14.8% since last year, making it the first time in five years that Manhattan’s office rental market is more expensive than San Francisco’s.”
There is also concern that once workers return to the office, at least part of the time, their employers will reduce the amount of office space utilized. This was born out recently with San Francisco’s largest employer Work Force cancelling some of their future expansion plans.
The forecasts for San Francisco’s lucrative restaurant and tourist trades are even more disheartening. Bad publicity generated by tales of car break-ins, aggressive pan handlers, homeless, and rampant drug use, might account for fewer people intending to leave their hearts and wallets in San Francisco.
Boudin has become a symbol of what has gone sour in the City. If residents continue to believe Boudin’s policies are not addressing their concerns, even progressive stalwarts may abandon him.
Another factor slowing San Francisco’s ability lure back tourists from around the USA is some stupid stuff they do encouraging boycotts. The poster child for such stupidity was the School Board, in the name of cancel-culture social justice, trying to rename schools of past Presidents Washington, Jefferson, and Lincoln because of their racist behavior.
No, Virginia, such actions do not play in Peroria!
As the future unfolds San Francisco has a lot of work to do to even come close to achieving its past glories. Instead of following the leadership mindless ideologues, they might consider going back to calmer times when those supporting the Chamber of Commerce were in charge.
A good first step is dumping Chesa Boudin.
