Phoebe Maffei, an assistant district attorney, is running for San Francisco Superior Court judge against Alexandra Pray of the public defender’s office. They are the only two candidates in the June election, setting up a classic matchup between a prosecutor — typically viewed as favoring law and order — and a public defender, often perceived as siding with the accused.
Seat 16 is being vacated by Geraldo Sandoval, who is not seeking reelection. In 2025, Sandoval faced intense public backlash for a case involving Marcos Smith-Pequeno, who had stolen over $16,000 worth of merchandise from Walgreens. Sandoval released him pretrial, defying District Attorney Brooke Jenkins’s plea to hold him.
When police officers make the arrests, but the perpetrators walk free, fingers start to point at the judges for handing out no or light sentences or offering diversion.
Despite evidence showing that some crimes are down in San Francisco, frustration about a lack of accountability remains, especially in the ongoing illegal drug trade. For example, on April 10, the San Francisco Police Department made 47 arrests and seized 939 grams of narcotics, but whether any of those arrested would face jail time is questionable.
Distrust in the judicial system, therefore, has deepened. In 2023, an EMC Research poll found that 75 percent of respondents said Superior Court judges are among those responsible for current crime levels. Last year Court Watch surveyed San Francisco voters and found that 90 percent of respondents demand more sunlight on judges who keep releasing repeat offenders back onto the streets. Ninety-one percent somewhat-to-strongly agree that judges should hold fentanyl dealers in jail while awaiting trials.
On April 14, Maffei was stumping for her campaign at Westwood, a country western-themed restaurant (longtime locals may remember it as the Mexican-American staple La Barca) on Lombard Street.
While waiting for the doors to open, we talked about one of her early occupations as a bartender. For years she worked at several bars in the area, from the Horseshoe Tavern to the Marina Lounge. That type of service job gives key insight into human behavior.
Once inside, Maffei mingled with the steady stream of customers and people who had come to meet her: cops, colleagues from the district attorney’s office, neighbors. Former California Deputy Attorney General Leif Dautch, who ran against Chesa Boudin in 2019, also made an appearance.
In an interview before her presentation, Maffei shared her thoughts on judicial decisions and how San Franciscans have become so dismayed by the lack of legal accountability.
“I’ve seen a lot of changes after 15 years at the D.A.’s office,” she said. “I’ve worked with five different district attorneys. They all had different approaches to crime. What’s important to me is looking at each case individually and making a determination based on the law, not the politics around it. Following the law; the facts.”
Maffei addressed public discourse and how San Francisco’s Superior Court judges have been accused of overly light sentencing or dropping the ball entirely.
“The public is always going to have an opinion,” she said. “The role of the judge is difficult. You have to balance a lot of things. And there are times when you need to go hard and use long sentences or big sentences to deal with something that’s happening, and there are times when that’s not the right move.”
She covered the three purposes of sentencing: punishment, deterrence, and rehabilitation. Each must be taken into account when determining sentencing.
Now, trust in the judicial process must be rebuilt.
“If you can see that I am listening and taking in all the facts of each case and deciding based on the law and not on something extraneous, not on politics, not what people think I should do, then people can trust the justice system,” Maffei said. “Then they’ll see more judges like me on the bench. And if everybody trusts the justice system, they trust the sentencing and they trust the courts.”
During her presentation, Maffei emphasized her professional experience. Before becoming an attorney, she worked with the nonprofit City Year, providing in- and out-of-school tutoring and support for low-income students. In law, Maffei was a domestic violence intern then began prosecuting everything from traffic violations to homicides.
The bulk of her work has been in the white-collar unit, concentrating on corruption, consumer fraud, and public integrity cases. She spent eight years prosecuting elder abuse crimes, both physical and financial. These included Chinese blessing scams and teams that were targeting the Asian community. Maffei explained that victim advocacy is particularly important to her. With a strong justice system, people feel heard.
Maffei counts her most ardent cheerleaders in the race as her family. Along with her husband, she has three daughters, ages 6, 8, and 11.
“They are pushing so hard and they are so supportive and excited for me,” she said.
Updated 04/16/26: A previous version of this article misidentified a quote and has been deleted.
