After being sworn in as San Francisco’s new district attorney at City Hall Friday afternoon, Brooke Jenkins — appointed by Mayor London Breed to replace the recalled Chesa Budden — traveled to her new office building to hold her first meeting with about 25 top officials .
Multiple attendees, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation, described the roughly 20-minute meeting as “horrendous,” “icy,” “uncomfortable” and at times “insane.”
It should come as no surprise that Jenkins — who left the DA’s office in October 2021 to volunteer in the recall campaign — would be greeted with apprehension by the officials in attendance. Jenkins has styled herself as a progressive, but many progressives dispute that label; Jenkins was a vocal critic of Budden in the months leading up to the recall election, and office members who spoke to SFGATE believed she crossed the line with some of her campaign attacks. Most of the people in the room were employed by either Boudin or his predecessor Georges Gascon, with only a handful predating Gascon’s tenure, which began in 2011.
Those attending the meeting said Jenkins began her remarks by saying that although she had campaigned for the recall, she was still interested in hiring Budden. Those in attendance said Jenkins didn’t offer many details about how she would run the office, so at one point in the meeting someone asked her if she had any specific directions. Jenkins responded that he wants a review of each individual case in which a plea offer has been made but not yet accepted by the suspect, and the purpose of that review will be to determine which plea offers should be withdrawn . When someone told Jenkins that would mean reviewing thousands of cases, she said she wanted to prioritize drug cases.
Officials said Jenkins does not distinguish between possession cases (typically drug users) and possession with intent to sell cases (typically drug dealers) and does not offer a timetable for when that task should be completed. She ended the meeting by telling those in attendance that no one would be fired on Friday, but she planned to meet with people in the near future about a possible “relocation” of the office.
Jenkins declined to be interviewed for this story. A source close to Jenkins, who was briefed on the meeting but was not authorized to speak publicly, said that others in attendance’s account of what was said was accurate, but that Jenkins held the meeting primarily to allay employees’ fears rather than outline political plans.
All of the attendees who spoke to SFGATE said they were struck by two things: 1. What they described as a lack of understanding of what it takes to run the office, and 2. The fact that Jenkins was accompanied by Andrea Bruce, who served as Director of Breed Deputy Chief of Staff.
Bruce, who did not take part in the meeting but observed, was described as a “chaperon” by one of those present. The City Hall told SFGATE that it is “providing some basic transitional support for you to receive [Jenkins] stationed in the office while she rapidly recruits.”
“We have no role in policy-making or cabinet discussions,” the town hall added.
How Jenkins manages the district attorney’s office in the coming months will be a source of intrigue both locally and nationally. Some observers believe Jenkins’ election could prompt Budden to seek his old post in the upcoming November election.
Jenkins said he believes in balancing reform and accountability, voicing support for alternatives to incarceration such as diversion programs. She previously said the specific Budden-era reforms she wants to undo are the removal of cash bail, the policy of not charging juveniles as adults and the removal of gang enhancements.
Those who attended Friday’s meeting said none of those policies came up and there was no discussion of the office’s future operations beyond the requested review of drug cases.
Editor’s note: This story was updated at 7:40 p.m. to correct the length of the meeting in question.
Add Comment