Do defeats, recalls of far-left liberals in California signal a shift away from the progressive pathogen?

ALAMEDA COUNTY, CA - For years, California has been a bastion of liberal insanity, electing radical leftists who embrace so-called “progressive” ideology and who have turned the once-beautiful state into a cesspool of crime and homelessness, leading to businesses either closing or fleeing the state. 

Now, it appears that voters are fed up. According to the New York Post, voters have sent several Bay Area politicians packing, blaming their progressive ideology for the malaise plaguing the state. 

For example, in this month’s elections, Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao was recalled after 62% of the city’s voters decided to remove her from office. Thao, who initially refused to accept the recall results, finally gave in on Nov. 11 and conceded her recall. She was only two years into a four-year term, with complaints of mismanagement and an FBI raid on her home marring her reign. 

Next up with a losing 64% recall vote is Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price, a progressive who supported “catch and release” policies that created a revolving door of criminals getting arrested and then being back out on the streets to continue their reign of terror. 

In San Francisco, now-former Mayor London Breed, who famously violated her own COVID-era restrictions by dancing at a local club, lost her re-election bid to Levi Strauss heir Daniel Lurie, a fellow Democrat who ran on a platform of cleaning up the decrepit streets of the City by the Bay. 

Further south, far-left George Soros acolyte district attorney George Gascon was sent packing by Los Angeles voters, replaced by Nathan Hochman, a former federal prosecutor who ran on a platform of dealing with crime and homelessness. Gascon was widely criticized by former sheriff Alex Villanueva of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and attorneys in his own office for his “reformist agenda.” That included prohibiting prosecutors from seeking the death penalty, barring sentencing enhancements, and ending cash bail for misdemeanors and non-violent felonies. 

Gascon survived two previous recall efforts, however, voters in Los Angeles County finally had enough. Gascon trailed Hochman at one point 61%-39%. 

Part of the move to the center may be attributed to President-elect Donald Trump, who performed better in 2024 than in 2020. For example, in Alameda County, Trump was 3.5 percentage points higher this year. In San Francisco County, Kamala Harris performed over 5 points worse than Biden did in 2020. The improvement in Trump's numbers ran statewide, gaining four points from 2020, while Prop 36, a more robust crime bill, passed overwhelmingly. 

Carl Chan, who led the effort to recall Price, said voters were ready for a change. 

“Voters have decided it’s time to have a change. They want someone who can truly perform their job and not make it about implementing the ideology,” Chan said. 

“Ideology does not match reality, so the voters have decided to vote,” he added. 

Meanwhile, in Oakland, Patricia Harris, whose son was shot in the face and killed in 2021, said, “It’s like the Wild, Wild West. That’s the only way I can put it. It’s scary. It’s very scary.” 

During the pandemic, homicides in Oakland exploded by 72%. Harris slammed local officials for failing to stem the violence, denying justice to victims. She also saw her son’s killer walk out of court after only two and one-half years served after Price’s office cut a deal reducing his charge to manslaughter. 

“She looked out for perpetrators versus the victims. It’s like we were the enemy,” Harris said. 

Price has yet to concede her defeat, however. In a statement, she slammed “merchants of fear” and said she won’t back down until all votes are counted and the election is certified on Dec. 5, KTVU reported. 

Thao initially refused to concede, however did so once the election was officially called on Nov. 11. She claimed the city achieved a “historic 35% reduction in homicides,” claiming “our work literally saved lives.” 

During Thao’s first year in office, violent crime, robberies, and burglaries climbed into the double digits, while murders rose 5%. 

However, Thao’s claims of reducing crime rates have been questioned after a San Francisco Chronicle investigation showed “archaic cataloging procedures and cherry-picked numbers.” 

Regardless of the numbers, Oakland residents believe what they see on the streets doesn’t match what city leaders say about crime. 

“Murders have been happening, just senseless murders, senseless,” said Virginia Nishita, whose husband Kevin, a former police officer, was shot and killed the day before Thanksgiving in 2021 by criminals trying to steal camera equipment from a news crew for whom he was working security. 

“We’re talking about cars being vandalized, broken into. People being hit and sucker-punched in the face from behind. And then their purses or bags being taken,” she continued.

Nishita’s husband’s killers were initially charged with murder that would result in life in jail. However, when Price took office, she reduced their charges to grant them parole after only 25 years, part of a policy that cut back on sentencing enhancements that upgrade charges. Judges were, therefore, forced to mete out softer sentences. 

It was only after Virginia Nishita pleaded with Gov. Gavin Newsom, Attorney General Rob Bonta, and Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) that the sentencing enhancements, which would mandate life in prison, were added back to the case. 

Voters believe crime worsened after Thao fired former police chief LeRonne Armstrong in February 2023 and didn’t hire a replacement for over a year. Thao’s administration also missed a deadline to apply for a state grant that would have directed $15 million to help fight retail theft. 

Thao also oversaw the departure of the Oakland A’s baseball team to Las Vegas after the city failed to reach an agreement to replace the Oakland Coliseum, an archaic relic that is basically falling apart. The A’s will play in Sacramento until their new stadium is built. 

Finally, the FBI raided Thao’s home in June as part of a probe into a business tycoon’s family that donated to her campaign. While Thao hasn’t been charged with a crime and insists she is not a target of the investigation, the raid left a cloud over her administration and may well have been the straw that broke the camel’s back. 

“It’s like, if we can’t get them to do what they’re supposed to do, maybe we can change the law to where it’s required,” Patricia Harris said. 

Both Thao and Price have until Dec. 5 to leave office. Harris worries that those recalled from office may cause “damage” of sorts on their way out. 

Chan, however, believes people should be optimistic about the changes mandated by voters. 

“I’m starting to sense kind of like energy of hope, that we can rebuild the community. Everybody’s happy, with a smile on their face,” Chan said. “That’s something I haven't seen for a long, long, long, long time.”