An effort to recall the San Francisco district attorney did not qualify for the ballot, but the night before signatures were due at the Department of Elections, there was campaign drama.
Recall District Attorney Chesa Boudin volunteers worked to finish strong Tuesday, but in Japantown, the effort was interrupted when a woman walked off with the group's banners.
“I noticed someone was up there on the foot bridge cutting down,” said organizer Richie Greenberg, who recorded his interaction with the woman but says she didn't return the signs.
He says it's not the first time volunteers have experienced hostility.
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“There's name calling, finger pointing,finger raising things like that, but to have someone come out with a big pair of scissors - they didn't even care that they were caught,” said Greenberg.
He said he started the effort because he believes DA Boudin isn't doing the job of holding criminals accountable.
NBC Bay Area reached out to Stand With Chesa Boudin for reaction but didn't hear back.
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Greenberg said he knew there were fraudulent signatures on some of his petitions and by Tuesday night, he was not sure sure he had enough to qualify for the ballot.
A second Boudin recall effort has until October to collect signatures.
Moving forward, Greenberg is hoping people can debate the issues and not get personal.
“We do understand there is divisiveness here,” he said. “It's disheartening that San Francisco has become so divided.”
Recall organizers had until the end of business Wednesday to submit more than 51,000 signatures at city hall to the Department of Elections that would've began the verification process. That effort failed.
