David Campos is the Chair of the San Francisco Democratic Party. This is a tremendously time-consuming endeavor. Even though it is a volunteer position it could be a full-time job for anyone. The number of hours that one has to dedicate to a job of this nature is overwhelming. --->
David Campos is also a candidate for 2nd Vice Chair within the California Democratic State Party. The campaign and the job if he secures it will also be a huge time commitment for Mr. Campos. He's also expressed an interest in running for higher office again. All of these political commitments add up to a tsunami of time commitment that directly contradicts with the times needed to be the Chief of Staff at the San Francisco District Attorney's office.
Prosecutors are precluded from conducting political activity during work hours. Either at their place of work or while they are working. How much time is
dedicated to these respective political positions and campaigns. How many text messages are answered and how many hours are taken away from the Chief of
Staff position?
There are many potential conflicts of interest here. Recently there have been a series of federal political prosecutions in San Francisco undertaken by the US
Attorney for the Northern District of California. Why didn’t the San Francisco DA’s Office make those cases? As Chair of the San Francisco Democratic Party
Campos will be expected to raise large sums of money. A number of the recent federal political defendants were regular donors to the Democratic Party.
Dennis Herrera, the City Attorney for San Francisco, recently secured a $94.5 million settlement with Recology for overbilling San Francisco consumers. This
settlement is an offshoot of the US Attorney’s work in this matter. Recology and its executives are huge donors to the Democratic Party. This is just one example of the potential conflicts of interest for Mr. Campos in his multiple political and professional roles.
There is also some logic to having him in the position. He was a two term Supervisor and would have intimate knowledge of how the city services and
government works on all levels. That is an asset to the DA's Office.
I had previously worked as an environmental prosecutor. In separate years of my life, I had twice been a candidate for the State Legislature. The time commitments involved in either of these roles are extensive and should not be undertaken at the same time.
David Campos does not have any law enforcement or prosecutorial experience. He has never worked as a prosecutor or in any law enforcement setting. He is just a super politically ambitious individual who intends to seek higher office again. San Francisco is in the midst of a property crime wave, an opioid epidemic on our streets and an extensive federal political corruption case. Based on his extensive political commitments, I do not believe he is the right choice for the position.