SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) – Brooke Jenkins, who was appointed San Francisco District Attorney by Mayor London Breed last month after being the public face of the recall of her predecessor, was paid more than $100,000 to consult a nonprofit formed by a billionaire who helped bankroll the recall effort, multiple media outlets have reported.
Jenkins, who quit her job as an assistant district attorney under then-DA Chesa Boudin to focus on the recall effort, had said her role was as a volunteer and did not disclose the six figure payment until filing a statement of economic interest with the city, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
The payment raises questions about Jenkins’ trustworthiness, according to Boudin’s former communications manager Rachel Marshall, who wrote on Twitter that the news (initially covered in the San Francisco Standard) was “nothing short of a bombshell.”
“Jenkins intentionally misled SF voters & improperly garnered public trust by claiming she was a campaign volunteer,” Marshall wrote.
Jenkins’ opponent in the November race, former police and fire commissioner Joe Alioto Veronese, issued the following statement to KRON4:
“Look at the facts here: Brooke Jenkins announces a high-minded ‘volunteer’ role in a campaign to oust Chesa Boudin — the very DA who was investigating her for prosecutorial misconduct. But she wasn’t volunteering — she was getting paid by the same Republican backing the recall. And she nearly doubled her salary in the process,” Alioto Veronese stated. “That’s not volunteering — that’s profiteering. She’s illegally using a nonprofit to skirt San Francisco and state election laws. Brooke Jenkins isn’t who you think she is.”
Jenkins provided this statement to KRON4 responding to the allegations:
“After I resigned from the District Attorney’s office, I provided consulting services for a few San Francisco based non-profit organizations,” the district attorney stated. “I leveraged my career and prosecutorial experience to help provide a new source of income to help support my family and small children. It was a tough decision to leave my dream career during a pandemic and rising economic uncertainty, but it was the right choice for my family and me.”
Jenkins continued by describing her non-profit work.
“My work for the non-profit organizations focused on public safety and other legal work supporting communities ranging from formerly incarcerated women, to helping advise the business community on public safety concerns and issues,” Jenkins continued. “I compiled legal analysis, research, reports, and provided advice for all of these organizations and their respective issue areas.”
Jenkins’ $115,000 in payments was less than the compensation she received as an assistant district attorney, according to a spokesperson.
Jenkins received the money from Neighbors for a Better San Francisco, which shares an address with Neighbors for a Better San Francisco Advocacy, which supported the recall.
Billionaire megadonor William Oberndorf was on the board of both groups, and provided funding for the recall. As of January, Oberndorf contributed over $600,000 to the Neighbors for a Better San Francisco PAC, the San Francisco Examiner reported at the time.