OUR CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM IN SAN FRANCISCO faces serious problems that we must confront and fix. We can see every day that what is happening on our streets and in the District Attorney’s Office isn’t working. My plan — For the People — is a new vision to turn our progressive ideals into effective action.

I am committed to making our communities safer and making our criminal justice system fairer. For the People is grounded in safety, accountability, fairness, and justice. It is a roadmap to restore the public’s trust. As your District Attorney, I will lead San Francisco into a new era of criminal justice reform that is effective, proactive, transparent, and represents our values.

Please share your ideas, reactions, and experiences by contacting me at [email protected]. I look forward to hearing from you.

Community-Centered Justice

Community-Centered Justice will put criminal justice reform on a better path in San Francisco. For too long, San Franciscans have been presented with the false choice of either protecting our community or honoring our progressive values. We can and must do both. Community-Centered Justice is the concept that the community is at the heart of everything we do in the District Attorney’s Office and in our criminal justice system.

PROTECT OUR MOST VULNERABLE

The most vulnerable in society are often the hardest hit by crime, and often the most neglected by our criminal justice system.

Victims deserve to know their rights, to seek and receive help, and to recover financially and emotionally from crime and injustice.

PRIORITIZE COMMUNITY IMPACTS

Our neighborhoods and underserved communities are severely impacted by property crimes, car break-ins, and crimes stemming from addiction.

We must prioritize prosecutions by gauging the impact of crime on our communities as a whole.

DEEPEN COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

Communities are too often cut off from decisions affecting public safety and quality of life in our neighborhoods.

I will lead a holistic and cooperative approach to engagement and innovation, where police, prosecutors, community members, and City leaders work with people in our neighborhoods to solve problems affecting community safety.

Smarter Interventions

At the core of Community-Centered Justice is smarter intervention. Today, San Francisco is ranked number one for property crime in the country. Neighborhoods are devastated by people who repeatedly commit crime, and the District Attorney’s Office has failed to prioritize a range of crimes on the mistaken theory that they are minor crimes. That’s not what criminal justice reform is about. If we ignore crime, we can’t prevent it or begin rehabilitation.

RECOMMIT TO REAL CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM

The District Attorney regularly fails to prosecute property and drug crimes, not only diminishing our quality of life, but also missing an opportunity for positive intervention.

We must prosecute these crimes through the lens of criminal justice reform, as an entry point for intervention and rehabilitation, to stop repeat offenses, and as a barrier against falling deeper into the criminal justice system.

FIGHT THE OPIOID CRISIS

The opioid epidemic and drug addiction on our streets is out of control. All of us, including our children, are forced to see and be affected by open drug use on a daily basis.

We must investigate and prosecute the worst street dealers, medical professionals, pharmacies, and even pharmaceutical companies selling opioids illegally or overprescribing for profit.

PREVENT GUN VIOLENCE

There were 22 homicides and 110 non-fatal shootings in San Francisco in 2018.

It’s time for the District Attorney’s Office to lead on this critical public safety issue, to work proactively and aggressively to get guns off the streets and out of the hands of criminals.

PUBLIC TRUST AND ACCOUNTABILITY

My plan to fix the District Attorney’s Office will restore the public’s trust in our justice system. We will introduce new accountability for our police, improve prosecutorial ethics, and root out corruption in government as well as in business. I will rebuild the public’s trust in the District Attorney’s Office by establishing a new system of transparency and improving the recruiting, training, and retention of attorneys and staff that serve.

FIX POLICE ACCOUNTABILITY AND OVERSIGHT

The well-publicized problems around the investigation and prosecution of police misconduct is one of the most visible signs of our broken criminal justice system in San Francisco. It should not take three years to investigate a police shooting. A thorough but expeditious investigation is necessary to allow a community to heal and move forward.

It is the District Attorney’s job to hold the police accountable for their actions — to restore the public’s trust in the system.

SET NEW PROSECUTORIAL STANDARDS

The District Attorney’s Office has recently had very public prosecutorial failures, including acquittals on cases with problematic evidentiary issues and not turning evidence over to the defense.

I will hold the District Attorney’s Office to a higher standard with a renewed commitment to prosecutorial ethics.

ROOT OUT CORRUPTION

Across our government in San Francisco, there are many stories of influence peddling and political corruption. When corruption goes unchecked, the individuals and the public become unwitting victims.

I will root out and fight public corruption, consumer fraud, embezzlement, environmental pollution, and violations of worker safety.

MAKE DATA PUBLIC AND TRANSPARENT

The District Attorney has failed to publish any data since at least 2014.

I will ensure the public has access to critical information so the community can independently review and evaluate the District Attorney’s Office.

Management and Leadership

For eleven years, I worked with incredible professionals in the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office. Yet today, the Office has been weakened, demoralized, and politicized. I will address these problems with a renewed commitment to recruiting and retaining professional staff, and growing leadership from within the Office.

RECRUIT, TRAIN, AND RETAIN TALENTED TRIAL ATTORNEYS AND STAFF

The San Francisco District Attorney’s Office has a proud history of recruiting and retaining a diverse staff. Yet in recent years, women, people of color, and other talented attorneys have left the Office.

It is time for a renewed commitment to recruiting and retaining professionals who reflect the diversity of San Francisco.

EMPOWER NEW LEADERSHIP

In recent years, mismanagement has demoralized current and future leaders by making promotion decisions unpredictable and putting leadership roles out of reach.

I will cultivate new leadership pipelines at all levels of the Office, empowering dedicated public servants to advance their careers and better serve the people of San Francisco.