2022年经济学人 不堪安全焦虑，旧金山选民罢免地区检察官(2)（在线收听）

Rising crime has led some to avoid walking or driving around whole neighbourhoods.

不断上升的犯罪率导致一些人尽量不在街上步行或者开车逛。

The question of what to do about drugs is especially controversial.

如何处理毒品的问题尤其有争议。

The city has opened a supervised drug-injection centre in United Nations Plaza, just down the road from City Hall, contravening federal and state law.

该市在联合国广场开设了一家受监督的注射毒品中心，就在市政厅旁边的那条路上，这违反了联邦和州法律。

This has done nothing to change the open use and sale of drugs on the street, which Mr Boudin chose not to prioritise for prosecution.

这并没有改变街头公开使用和销售毒品的行为，布丁选择不优先起诉这一行为。

When your correspondent walked around the Tenderloin district for an hour from 11am, she counted more than 20 drug-dealers, recognisable in a “uniform” of black clothes and hats, with grey or black backpacks.

当记者从上午11点开始在田德隆区区走了一个小时后，她认出了20多个毒贩，他们穿着黑色衣服和帽子，背着灰色或黑色的背包。

Being noticed did not seem to worry them, and there’s a reason.

他们似乎并不担心被注意到，这是有原因的。

In 2021 Mr Boudin’s office managed only three convictions for drug-dealing, despite a record 711 overdose deaths the previous year.

2021年，布丁的办公室只对三起毒品交易定罪，尽管前一年有创纪录的711起过量致死案件。

His predecessor achieved 90 convictions for drug-dealing in 2018.

他的前任在2018年因毒品交易定罪90次。

Supporters felt Mr Boudin was a scapegoat for the city’s problems of homelessness, addiction and crime, which have been stirred by covid-19 but preceded it.

支持者认为，布丁是该市无家可归、吸毒和犯罪等问题的替罪羊，这些问题是由新冠肺炎引发的，但在此之前就存在。

Recalls should be reserved for booting someone out of office after they commit a specific crime, they said.

他们说，罢免只适用于在某人犯下特定罪行后将其赶出办公室的情况。

Yet Mr Boudin’s was the fifth recall election in California this year, including a successful vote against three school-board members who had refused to reopen schools while debating name changes for them, says Josh Spivak, an expert on recalls.

然而，罢免专家乔希·斯皮瓦克表示，布丁的罢免选举是加州今年的第五次罢免选举，包括成功投票反对三名学校董事会成员，这三名成员在为学校更名进行辩论时拒绝重新开学。

Some 60% of voters chose to give Mr Boudin the boot.

大约60%的选民选择让布丁下台。

Asians, who account for more than a third of San Francisco’s population, were unhappy with his handling of several assaults.

亚裔占旧金山人口的三分之一以上，他们对他处理几起袭击事件的方式感到不满。

Mr Boudin painted the recall as a partisan drive, but San Franciscans of all political persuasions supported it.

布丁将这次罢免描述为一场党派运动，但旧金山所有政治派别的人都表示支持。

They will continue to argue over whether the city suffered due to his specific policies or plain incompetence.

他们将继续争论，究竟是他的具体政策造成了该市的损失，还是因为他的无能。

(The answer is probably both.)

(答案可能是两者都有。)

And the story may not be over.

而且故事可能还没有结束。

Mr Boudin may try to run again for his old job in November.

布丁可能会在11月再次竞选他的旧职位。

The recall election has wider lessons.

罢免选举有更广泛的教训。

First, it highlights the conflict within the Democratic Party that hampers functional government.

首先，它突显了阻碍职能政府的民主党内部矛盾。

In San Francisco Democrats have unilateral control, but progressives are butting heads with moderates, trying to cast them as closet Republicans.

在旧金山，民主党人拥有单方面的控制权，但进步派与温和派针锋相对，试图将他们塑造成秘密的共和党人。

Recent redistricting conversations became “borderline violent”, says one observer.

一位观察人士说，最近重新划分选区的对话变得“近乎暴力”。

Sheriffs had to be called in.

警长们不得不被叫来。

This reflects a degradation of discourse that is occurring not just between parties but within them.

这反映出，不仅在政党之间，而且在政党内部，话语都在退化。

Second, it shows that voters are cooling on progressive policies, after seeing real-world consequences.

其次，它表明，选民在看到现实世界的后果后，对进步政策的态度开始冷淡。

There is pushback in other cities with progressive district attorneys, including Philadelphia and Los Angeles.

在其他城市，包括费城和洛杉矶，进步的地方检察官也在抵制。

Calls to “defund the police” have shifted to “refunding”.

呼吁“撤资警察”的呼声已经转变为“退款”。

“The problem is, many progressive policies don’t appear to be very effective,” says Jonathan Weber, editor-in-chief of the San Francisco Standard, a news site.

新闻网站《旧金山标准报》的主编乔纳森·韦伯说：“问题是，许多进步的政策似乎并不是十分有效。”

“I don’t think this is a blip,” Mr Weber predicts.

韦伯预测：“我不认为这是昙花一现。”

San Franciscans, known for their embrace of progressivism, may be turning towards moderation.

以拥护进步派而闻名的旧金山人可能正在转向温和派。