I believe that it's become popular for certain people to present themselves as advocates for, in particular, the black community. What most people don't understand is that we can speak for ourselves and that oftentimes these people don't actually accurately convey what we truly believe. We just have to improve our ability city wide to set our identities aside and say, what is best for this city as a whole? How do you get to that? I'm still figuring that out.
From Donald Trump to George Floyd and Tyre Nichols, the last five years have changed our national conversation about public safety and policing. That’s particularly true in San Francisco, where progressive prosecutor Chesa Boudin lost his seat in a heated recall election last year, and today’s guest — SF District Attorney Brooke Jenkins — stepped into the powerful role. In the months since she assumed office, the Black and Latina DA has spoken of the city’s “lawlessness,” revoked plea deals, allowed more teenagers to be prosecuted as adults and pushed for more policing of drug dealing. Her critics say she’s too conservative for the notoriously liberal city. She says she’s creating consequences for those who break the law.
As Kara tells Jenkins, “Only in a city like San Francisco could they call you a conservative.”
You can find Kara and Nayeema on Twitter @karaswisher and @nayeema.
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