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SF Democratic Party Issues Cease-and-Desist letter to Boudin Recall Campaign

Updated: May 24, 2022 09:41
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Photo of District Attorney Chesa Boudin from his website

As the June election approaches things are getting quite interesting regarding Prop H, the attempt to recall District Attorney Chesa Boudin.

For the record we at BAS are adamantly “NO on Prop H”. We explain why in the June 2022 BAS Voter Guide, which you can check out right here.

But we’re not the only ones; there’s a wide range of folks who are against the recall from Angela Davis to local unions to even, the SF Chronicle – which is a bit of a surprise.

One of the most influential organizations against the recall is the San Francisco Democratic Party, and today they issued a cease-and-desist letter to the “Yes on H” campaign for lying to voters. Apparently the the Yes on H committee has been sending out mailers saying that their campaign has the support of San Francisco Democrats.

Considering The San Francisco Democratic County Central Committee (DCCC), which governs the local Democratic Party, voted 20-2 against the recall, it seems like they might have a point.

My favorite part of the press release is when Anabel Ibañez, Co-Chair of the San Francisco Democratic Party’s Endorsement Committee, says “In fact, we overwhelmingly oppose this recall. On the other hand, the San Francisco Republican Party has endorsed the recall. The Yes on H committee is welcome to use their name on any future materials.” Zing!

You can read the entire press release below.


San Francisco Democratic Party Issues Cease-and-Desist Letter  to the Proponents of the Recall of District Attorney Chesa Boudin

SAN FRANCISCO – Leaders of the San Francisco Democratic County Central Committee (SFDCCC) today released a cease-and-desist letter telling the Yes on Prop H, District Attorney recall committee to stop their unauthorized use of the Party’s name and imagery. The San Francisco Democratic County Central Committee, which governs the local Democratic Party, voted 20-2 in February to oppose Proposition H, the recall ballot measure. Despite that, recall proponents have sent voters material that clearly states the recall has the support of “San Francisco Democrats,” a flat-out falsehood.

“The Yes on H recall committee is clearly trying to mislead voters that they have the official support of the Party. They do not,” said Anabel Ibañez, Co-Chair of the San Francisco Democratic Party’s Endorsement Committee. “In fact, we overwhelmingly oppose this recall. On the other hand, the San Francisco Republican Party has endorsed the recall. The Yes on H committee is welcome to use their name on any future materials.”

“We have an obligation as a Party to protect our name and our identity,” said Leah LaCroix, First Vice Chair of the San Francisco Democratic Party. “Voters look to the local Party for trusted information about our endorsements. The Yes on H campaign is violating that trust and is in direct conflict with the Party’s by-laws which requires authorized use of the Party’s name. We are asking them to immediately stop this misinformation campaign.”

“The Yes on H recall committee is blatantly lying to voters,” said Keith Baraka, Second Vice Chair of the San Francisco Democratic Party. “Sadly, it is just the latest in a series of lies they have told voters. Most recently they even claimed that District Attorney Boudin was somehow responsible for a bar that closed before he was even elected. They’ve spent millions of dollars to disseminate these lies and while we cannot stop them from taking contributions from Mitch McConnell donors, we can stop them from misleading voters about where the Democratic Party really stands.”

“The Republican playbook is on full display in San Francisco today,” said Peter Gallotta, Vice Chair of Partnerships. “The goal of the Yes on H campaign is not to win on the merits, but rather, to use Trump-like tactics to stoke fear, spew falsehoods as facts, and suppress the will of the voters, who duly elected District Attorney Boudin in 2019. To cover up their Republican bankrolled campaign, they are saying that Democrats agree with them. But we beg to differ. Not only is the San Francisco Democratic Party against the recall, a majority of San Francisco’s elected officials who are Democrats have come out against this recall.”

The cease-and-desist letter, issued by the San Francisco Democratic Party’s legal counsel Keker Van Nest & Peters LLP, requests an immediate stop to the Yes on H committee’s use of the phrase “San Francisco Democrats” and to cease utilizing any materials that falsely imply an endorsement by the San Francisco Democratic Party.

The San Francisco Democratic Party has launched its own mail program to communicate to voters about its official endorsements for the June 7th Primary Election. The Party’s endorsements are also available on its website: www.sfdemocrats.org

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Broke-Ass Stuart - Editor In Cheap

Broke-Ass Stuart - Editor In Cheap

Stuart Schuffman, aka Broke-Ass Stuart, is a travel writer, poet, TV host, activist, and general shit-stirrer. His website BrokeAssStuart.com is one of the most influential arts & culture sites in the San Francisco Bay Area and his freelance writing has been featured in Lonely Planet, Conde Nast Traveler, The Bold Italic, Geek.com and too many other outlets to remember. His weekly column, Broke-Ass City, appears every other Thursday in the San Francisco Examiner. Stuart’s writing has been translated into four languages. In 2011 Stuart created and hosted the travel show Young, Broke, and Beautiful on IFC and in 2015 he ran for Mayor of San Francisco and got nearly 20k votes.

He's been called "an Underground legend": SF Chronicle, "an SF cult hero":SF Bay Guardian, and "the chief of cheap": Time Out New York.