San Francisco race for district attorney pits incumbent against lawyer she fired

SAN FRANCISCO — She fired him and now he’s running to replace her in the general election.

San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins is facing a lone challenger Nov. 5 — former San Francisco prosecutor Ryan Khojasteh who said he can do a better job than his former boss.

“We’re proposing a better vision for public safety here in San Francisco that responsibly balances accountability with rehabilitation,” Khojasteh said.

Khojasteh said that, if elected, he would focus resources on going after violent and repeat offenders. For low-level offenses and first-time, non-violent offenders, he says he would likely offer treatment.

“If you commit a crime, we’re going to file charges. Now the question is what does justice look like? In many cases, it can be jail, it can be prison. In other cases — if it’s a mental illness issue or a substance abuse issue — we can get someone treatment that’s proven and make sure that they don’t commit future crimes because they actually get the help they need and are stabilized,” Khojasteh said.

Many people view Khojasteh as the progressive option to Jenkins. But he doesn’t like the label, especially after voters recalled the progressive D.A. Chesa Boudin. Boudin hired Khojasteh as a prosecutor in 2020.

“Just because you worked for somebody doesn’t mean you are that person. We should all be afforded the same opportunity to present our platforms and our vision for public safety,” Khojasteh said.

Jenkins says Khojasteh, who is 30 years old, lacks experience and is unqualified.

“I want people to understand the difference between my opponent and I. One, this is a person who is really Chesa Boudin 2.0 to be quite honest. It’s somebody who subscribes to the same belief system that the recalled D.A. put into place that got us into this mess that our city was in,” Jenkins said.

Jenkins said that was why she fired him and many of the Boudin hires right after she took office.

After the firings, Khojasteh went to work for Alameda County D.A. Pamela Price. He said he left the Alameda County job last month to focus on his campaign.

“San Franciscans can do both. We can hold people accountable. We can pursue incarceration when necessary and we can also get people the treatment and the help they desperately need to stop the revolving door in and out of county jail,” Khojasteh said.

Jenkins believes she has the better ideas to a balanced justice system. She thinks she deserves another term because she says the city is safer under her leadership.

She said she’s made retail and property crime a priority and is focused on crushing the open-air drug markets in the Tenderloin. She said she’s locked up many drug dealers and offered tough-love solutions to drug users.

“We finally have a district attorney in San Francisco that is being able to work collaboratively, not only with City Hall but with other law enforcement agencies,” Jenkins said. “We are making strides in reducing crime in the city and we need to be able to sustain that.”