February 15, 2022 Special Election
CANDIDATES
Assembly District 17: No consensus*
Assessor-Recorder: Joaquín Torres
*The California Democratic Party did not come to a consensus and the bylaws of the SF Democratic Party preclude an endorsement.
BALLOT MEASURES
Statement on Measures A, B, & C
The San Francisco Democratic Party passed a resolution at its May 2021 meeting opposing the efforts that were underway to recall California Governor Gavin Newsom, San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin, and San Francisco Board of Education President Gabriela López, Member Faauuga Moliga, and Member Allison Collins. This resolution was passed at a time when we were seeing a national trend of school boards across the country targeted by conservatives opposing everything from equity minded policy reforms and critical race theory to mask mandates and vaccinations. While that resolution reflected the values and position of the majority of the body at that point in time, the resolution did not constitute an official party endorsement for any of the local recall initiatives.
While our bylaws address the endorsements of candidates and measures, they do not explicitly mention recalls. Moving forward, to ensure a clear and transparent process for taking a position on recall initiatives, the SF Democratic Party will be reviewing and updating our bylaws. We regret that these details were not ironed out earlier. The lack of clarity and confusion on our official stance due to the language opposing these recalls in our resolution, paired with the timing of the ballot qualifications and special election, has unfortunately put us in a position where we will not be able to take a position on the Board of Education recall initiatives on the February special election ballot.
It’s hard to believe, but it has only been three months since Californians defeated a Republican effort to recall Governor Newson, and now ballots for the recall of three school board members are already in people’s mailboxes. And yet another recall will be appearing on our ballots this year as our District Attorney will face a recall in June. That’s three recall elections and five democrats facing recalls in San Francisco in less than a year. While we hope this will not be the new normal, we will do the work to ensure that the Party is prepared to be responsive to local recalls and provide the appropriate guidance and recommendations to San Francisco Democrats.