What the memory of Sheng Thao and Pamela Price says about the Asian American perspective on crime

The recall last week of two Bay Area officers, both of whom advocated for progressive crime policies, reflects longstanding frustration over an earlier spike in violence against the Asian American community, experts say.

Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao and Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price were ousted in races by about 2-1 last week. Analysts say the vote is a sign of Asian Americans' rightward shift toward tougher crime policies, as is much of the state. They are the region's fastest-growing ethnic group, making up 34.5% of the county and nearly 16% of Oakland.

For example, while the nine Bay Area counties favored Vice President Kamala Harris, last week all shifted right toward President-elect Donald Trump since the 2020 presidential election.

San Francisco Mayor London Breed, a Democrat, also lost a reelection bid to Levi Strauss heir and nonprofit founder Daniel Lurie, who aggressively campaigned on crime and street safety. And in 2022, Chesa Boudin, who advocated for restorative justice and ending mass incarceration, was removed as San Francisco district attorney in a recall.

The findings point to Asian Americans' sensitivity to the issue of crime and safety, stemming from a rise in anti-Asian hate during the height of the pandemic, which many experts say went unaddressed, experts say. From March 2020 to December 2021, Asian American and Pacific Islanders across the country reported nearly 11,000 hate incidents, including verbal and physical abuse, being coughed or spit on, and workplace discrimination.

“And a lot of people say, 'Oh, we've left that era behind us.' I don’t think Asian Americans have done that,” said James Zarsadiaz, author of “Resisting Change in Suburbia,” whose research focuses on Asian American conservatism. “This rise in violence and criticism from the Chinese … people haven’t forgotten that, and that’s fueling a lot of that frustration.”

Additionally, the issue has likely become a primary motivation for voting for the many Asian Americans and fellow Americans who have had personal experiences with crime in recent years. said Russell Jeung, a sociology professor at San Francisco State University and co-founder of the nonprofit Stop AAPI Hate.

“If you're a victim of crime and your family is a victim of crime, that's probably the most pressing election issue you have to deal with because you don't want your family to be in danger,” said Jeung, who lives in Oakland , said. “I hear kids and high school students talking about it. And I hear elders talking about it.”

Jeung said Asian Americans in Alameda County are likely part of a larger rightward shift across the state, pointing to votes on two recent statewide policies: California voters overwhelmingly supported Proposition 36, which increases penalties for certain offenses, and they opposed a ban on coercive labor in any form, including prisons.

Data paints a mixed picture of safety in the Bay Area. Violent crime across Alameda increased sharply between 2022 and 2023, with Oakland, the largest city, seeing a 17% increase. However, according to the Oakland Police Department, the number has since declined, falling by more than a third this year. However, it is still above pre-pandemic levels of violence.

The recalls come more than a year after Thao, 39, and Price, 67, both took office in January 2023. Thao, the first Hmong American mayor to lead a major American city, was criticized shortly after taking office for firing a police chief and taking months to replace him.

It ran into trouble again in May 2023 after the city missed a deadline for a state grant to prevent retail theft. And in what many see as the final blow to her mayoral career, Thao's home was raided by FBI agents in July. The FBI has not disclosed what prompted the raid. Thao has not been charged with any crime and has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.

Thao's office did not respond to NBC News' request for comment. In her concession speech Friday evening, she reflected on her time in office.

“My goal was to make Oakland safer, cleaner and more vibrant,” Thao said in the statement. “And I am proud of what we have achieved together.”

Price initially promised to end mass incarceration and prosecute more police officers. But she has been accused of mishandling a number of cases, including the fatal gang shooting of 23-month-old Jasper Wu in 2021, in which Price reduced murder charges against three suspects.

Price's campaign spokeswoman, Venus Gist, said there were “no updates” on the recall at this time, but did not elaborate.

While safety has long been a concern for Asian American communities in the Bay Area, particularly among significant numbers of small business owners, violence during the pandemic has left an indelible mark on the community, Zarsadiaz said.

In San Francisco, for example, authorities received 60 reports of hate crimes against Asian Americans in 2021, compared to nine in 2020. All-volunteer citizen patrols in Oakland attempted to address security fears themselves.

“It's just a feeling that they were hung out to dry,” said Zarsadiaz, an associate professor of history at the University of San Francisco. “It just so happens that Democrats have city leadership in both Oakland and San Francisco.”

The call for tougher policies among Asian Americans may also be a reflection of experiences they have had with tougher governments in their home countries, both Jeung and Zarsadiaz noted.

“There is something like an expectation for the government … to protect its citizens, even if they have had negative experiences with it in their home country, for example,” Zarsadiaz said. “They are used to having a more solid structure and reaction to anything they see as 'chaos'.”

Jeung said that while frustration was widespread, there were still differing opinions on how to combat crime in the region. But for him, it stems from urban communities' distrust of law enforcement.

“The approach now makes the justice system more of a rehabilitative education system by teaching police to work better with the community and gain more trust, and that could make a big difference,” he said.