Why Bay Area's Asian residents are demanding crime-tolerant leaders get the sack

The SF Standard breaks down SF's 2022 Boudin recall and Alameda County's ongoing Price recall efforts, both spearheaded by Asian locals fed up with soft “alternatives” to prosecution and jailing. Though deemed caring and progressive by the Left, these strategies have only seen anti-Asian hate crimes explode.

When she was asked to chair one of the most controversial political campaigns in recent San Francisco history, Mary Jung immediately said yes.

“People would say to me, ‘Chinese people are so meek and mild’ and ‘I’m surprised that you're doing this,’” Jung, a longtime Democratic Party leader and political activist, told The Standard. “But how could I not? There wasn't a minute of hesitation.”

That campaign was the June 2022 recall of then-District Attorney Chesa Boudin, a pitched political battle that made national headlines. Voters removed Boudin from office by a 10-point margin, while the Asian American community showed the strongest support for the recall, blaming Boudin for being “soft on crime.”

More than a year later, across the bay, another recall attempt is afoot, seeking to unseat Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price. Price’s critics have cited surging crime rates as well as high-profile cases like the death of Jasper Wu, a 2-year-old killed in a freeway shooting. And the face of that movement is also an Asian American activist: Carl Chan.

Chan, a longtime Oakland Chinatown leader and public safety advocate, started the recall process and is now organizing the media event for the official paperwork filing to the county election office. Many people support recalling Price, he said, but he’s one of few willing to stand up.

“We have to take some positive action,” Chan told The Standard in Cantonese. “I don’t want to just complain. We need to take action.”

Since the pandemic, widespread attacks against Asian Americans—especially elders—have spurred members of that community to voice concerns about public safety. Growing out of the Stop Asian Hate movement, waves of anger have often been directed at progressive district attorneys, whose policies focus on alternatives to incarceration.

Both Jung and Chan stated that the approach can result in more crime—and Asian Americans are often vulnerable targets.

This article originally appeared in the San Francisco Standard. Read the whole thing here.

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