Written by Brock Johnson
In San Francisco, citizens do not seem to be too happy with their elected officials. Voters have already removed three school board members from their seats and now the District Attorney, Chesa Boudin, is on the ballot for recall in June.
Not only is there a recall vote on that ballot but there is also a vote on the recall process itself. Proposition C is a charter amendment that would alter the recall process in three areas.
The first change would be that an elected would have to be in office for at least a year to be eligible to be recalled instead of six months. The next change would be that an elected official would not be able to be recalled within their last year before being up for re-election. Lastly, if a recall is successful, the appointed replacement would hold an interim position and be legally considered a caretaker and would not be able to run for re-election.
This proposition is a response to the successful recall of three school board members in February costing over three million in tax-payer dollars in special elections that only had a 36% voter turnout.
Low voter turnout is a growing problem in San Francisco as seen in Tuesday’s election in which Matt Haney won to represent Assembly District 17 which had the lowest voter participation in the last decade at 29%.
Lee Hepner, a legislative aide to Supervisor Aaron Peskin who put forward Prop C, said “That should make us feel embarrassed … We shouldn’t have recalls within a year of a general election.”
Those against Prop C are arguing that the proposition limits democracy by blocking the voters’ ability to remove elected officials who are showing bad leadership.
Photo Cred: Today Nation News
