Oakland Post
Boudin Runs for District Attorney
OAKLAND POST — Running for San Francisco District Attorney to challenge the system of mass incarceration, SF Deputy Public Defender Chesa Boudin has gained the backing of civil rights attorney Pamela Price and other East Bay progressives.
Running for San Francisco District Attorney to challenge the system of mass incarceration, SF Deputy Public Defender Chesa Boudin has gained the backing of civil rights attorney Pamela Price and other East Bay progressives.
“The system is broken,” Boudin said, speaking at a fundraiser in Oakland on Sunday, June 23. ” If we can’t do better in San Francisco, in the Bay Area, where can we do better?”
Hosting the fundraiser were Price; civil rights icon Howard Moore Jr; Fania Davis, a leading national voice on restorative justice; Allyssa Victory, Shirley Golub, Royl Roberts and Sheryl Walton. Boudin’s San Francisco endorsements include former Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, Democratic Party Chair David Campos and Supervisors Hillary Ronen, Aaron Peskin and Sandra Fewer.
Boudin has served as Deputy Public Defender since 2015, handling over 300 felony cases. He is running against Suzy Loftus, Nancy Tung, and Leif Dautch – who hope to succeed eight-year incumbent DA George Gascón, who is not running for reelection. The election takes place on Nov. 5.
A graduate of Yale Law School, Boudin earned a masters’ degree in public policy and is a Rhodes Scholar. His campaign emphasizes that he knows “firsthand the destructive impacts of mass incarceration.” He was only 14 months old when his parents were incarcerated for driving the getaway car “in a robbery that tragically took the lives of three men.” His mother served 22 years, and his father may never get out.
Introducing Boudin at the fundraiser, Price said, “When I heard about this young man, I did my research. I was blown away immediately. We have a real warrior among us. We have someone who has overcome obstacles, whose life, profession and whose spirit epitomizes what we need in our district attorney.”
“We know that our criminal justice system has been completely corrupted by injustice and racism,” she continued. “(The system) is upheld and sustained by people who practice it and are committed to its perpetuation… Chesa is in so many ways our greatest hope.”
In his remarks, Boudin called for an end to criminal justice practices that are institutionalized but have clearly failed.
“We know that we have 25 percent of the world’s prison population in the U.S., and 2.2 million people are behind bars on any single day,” he said.
“We’re promised equal justice under the law, but instead we have discriminatory money bail,” he said. “We believe in treating the mentally ill and the drug addicted, but instead this system puts them in solitary confinement.”
Boudin’s program includes creation of a “Wrongful Conviction Unit,” would decide whether to reopen the investigation of certain cases, eliminating cash bail, effectively prosecuting police misconduct and refocusing resources to work on serious and violent felonies.
“(Change) has to start with people who understand how profoundly broken the system is, not just because they read it in a book but because they experienced it,” he said.
For more information about Chesa Boudin’s campaign, go to www.chesaboudin.com/
Activism
Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024
The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024
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Alameda County
DA Pamela Price Stands by Mom Who Lost Son to Gun Violence in Oakland
Last week, The Post published a photo showing Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones, whose son, Patrick DeMarco Scott, was gunned down by an unknown assailant in 2018.
Publisher’s note: Last week, The Post published a photo showing Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones, whose son, Patrick DeMarco Scott, was gunned down by an unknown assailant in 2018. The photo was too small for readers to see where the women were and what they were doing. Here we show Price and Jones as they complete a walk in memory of Scott. For more information and to contribute, please contact Carol Jones at 510-978-5517 at morefoundation.help@gmail.com. Courtesy photo.
City Government
Vallejo Welcomes Interim City Manager Beverli Marshall
At Tuesday night’s Council meeting, the Vallejo City Council appointed Beverli Marshall as the interim city manager. Her tenure in the City Manager’s Office began today, Wednesday, April 10. Mayor Robert McConnell praised Marshall’s extensive background, noting her “wide breadth of experience in many areas that will assist the City and its citizens in understanding the complexity of the many issues that must be solved” in Vallejo.
Special to The Post
At Tuesday night’s Council meeting, the Vallejo City Council appointed Beverli Marshall as the interim city manager. Her tenure in the City Manager’s Office began today, Wednesday, April 10.
Mayor Robert McConnell praised Marshall’s extensive background, noting her “wide breadth of experience in many areas that will assist the City and its citizens in understanding the complexity of the many issues that must be solved” in Vallejo.
Current City Manager Michael Malone, whose official departure is slated for April 18, expressed his well wishes. “I wish the City of Vallejo and Interim City Manager Marshall all the best in moving forward on the progress we’ve made to improve service to residents.” Malone expressed his hope that the staff and Council will work closely with ICM Marshall to “ensure success and prosperity for the City.”
According to the Vallejo Sun, Malone stepped into the role of interim city manager in 2021 and became permanent in 2022. Previously, Malone served as the city’s water director and decided to retire from city service e at the end of his contract which is April 18.
“I hope the excellent work of City staff will continue for years to come in Vallejo,” he said. “However, recent developments have led me to this decision to announce my retirement.”
When Malone was appointed, Vallejo was awash in scandals involving the housing division and the police department. A third of the city’s jobs went unfilled during most of his tenure, making for a rocky road for getting things done, the Vallejo Sun reported.
At last night’s council meeting, McConnell explained the selection process, highlighting the council’s confidence in achieving positive outcomes through a collaborative effort, and said this afternoon, “The Council is confident that by working closely together, positive results will be obtained.”
While the search for a permanent city manager is ongoing, an announcement is expected in the coming months.
On behalf of the City Council, Mayor McConnell extended gratitude to the staff, citizen groups, and recruitment firm.
“The Council wishes to thank the staff, the citizens’ group, and the recruitment firm for their diligent work and careful consideration for the selection of what is possibly the most important decision a Council can make on behalf of the betterment of our City,” McConnell said.
The Vallejo Sun contributed to this report.
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