{"id":1442958,"date":"2022-04-18T08:00:53","date_gmt":"2022-04-18T12:00:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1442958"},"modified":"2022-04-18T08:01:02","modified_gmt":"2022-04-18T12:01:02","slug":"democrat-immigrant-from-hong-kong-fights-for-election-integrity-in-san-francisco-bay-area","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/democrat-immigrant-from-hong-kong-fights-for-election-integrity-in-san-francisco-bay-area\/","title":{"rendered":"Democrat Immigrant From Hong Kong Fights For Election Integrity In SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">28<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fdemocrat-immigrant-from-hong-kong-fights-for-election-integrity-in-san-francisco-bay-area%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1442958&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div class=\"row justify-content-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12\">\n<figure class=\"article-thumbnail mb-30 mb-sm-60\">\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Kit Lam, a father of two and volunteer for the San Francisco school board recall campaign,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.msn.com\/en-us\/news\/crime\/sf-dad-whose-school-board-recall-petitions-were-snatched-sues-defendant-in-civil-court\/ar-AAW8zgH\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">filed a civil lawsuit<\/a>\u00a0on April 13 against a thief who stole recall petitions almost a year ago. As a naturalized American citizen, Lam said, \u201c[I] should be free to express my political views without harassment and threat of violence.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>His case deserves national attention because we are in an election year, and many Americans from both sides of the political divide have raised questions about election interference and integrity. An incident such as petition stealing, if only lightly punished, will not build voters\u2019 confidence in upcoming elections.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Last April, dissatisfied parents in San Francisco decided to recall three far-left school board members over several\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2022\/01\/27\/why-san-franciscos-school-board-recall-may-be-one-of-2022s-most-important-elections\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">grievances<\/a>, including the district\u2019s long delay in reopening schools and board members focusing on leftist politics at the expense of education. To get the recall on the ballot, recall supporters had 160 days to collect signatures from 10 percent of registered voters in the city, or 51,325 per board member.<\/p>\n<p>Lam described himself as \u201can ordinary father, a concerned citizen, and a Chinese immigrant from Hong Kong who volunteered my time for the school board recall campaign.\u201d Many referred to Lam as a \u201csuper volunteer\u201d because he collected several thousand petition signatures personally. According to Lam\u2019s lawyer, John Roach, Lam\u2019s political activism made him \u201ca target of political opponents of the Recall. Opponents of the Recall created a leaflet identifying enemies of the School Board. Mr. Lam was harassed by unidentified individuals while collecting petitions.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>On May 30, 2021, at a farmers\u2019 market in the Richmond District, while Lam was working with other volunteers to gather signatures, he noticed a bystander walking off with a batch of signed petitions. Lam confronted the thief, and their encounter was\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=wOB1cQSxePY\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">caught on video<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>Lam can be heard in the video shouting at the thief repeatedly, \u201cWhy are you doing this? I\u2019m fighting for my kid\u2019s life!\u201d The alleged thief was heard in the video eventually saying to Lam, \u201cYou caught me.\u201d This encounter visibly shook Lam. In a different\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/sfstandard\/status\/1400517873496334339\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">video<\/a>\u00a0taken after the confrontation, Lam repeatedly asked, \u201cWhat he did was really wrong. How could he do that?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2>Broad Condemnation<\/h2>\n<p>This incident was widely reported by local media (see\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sfchronicle.com\/crime\/article\/S-F-police-investigate-theft-of-petitions-in-16240326.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">here<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/sfstandard.com\/politics\/city-hall\/district-attorney-chesa-boudin-asked-for-recusal-from-petition-theft-case\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">here<\/a>, and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sfchronicle.com\/bayarea\/article\/Suspect-arrested-in-S-F-school-board-recall-16495033.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">here<\/a>)<em>.\u00a0<\/em>San Francisco Chronicle columnist Heather Knight\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sfchronicle.com\/local\/heatherknight\/article\/Meet-the-S-F-dad-working-on-the-school-board-16250710.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">wrote<\/a>\u00a0about Lam\u2019s emotional reaction to the petition thief this way: \u201cWhen you\u2019re looking to interfere with the electoral process, don\u2019t go after a determined dad who used to work as an agent rooting out corruption for Hong Kong\u2019s equivalent of the FBI. You might regret it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The petition stealing incident was widely condemned. San Francisco\u2019s Democrat Mayor London Breed <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/sfstandard\/status\/1409663190040862722\">told<\/a> the San Francisco Standard: \u201cThe citizen initiative process is an important part of our democracy, and people should be free to gather signatures for any ballot initiative free of fear of harm or harassment. Any attempt to subvert this process should be investigated and taken seriously.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Jason Kruta was identified as the alleged thief Lam encountered. Kruta is a member of the San Francisco Democratic Socialists of America, and he appears to be connected with other radical leftists in the city. <\/p>\n<p>Netizens identified Kruta in\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/m.facebook.com\/media\/set\/?vanity=rddcsf&#038;set=a.2297633480312980\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">photos<\/a>\u00a0with Alison Collins (one of the three school board members who faced the recall) and Marxist-linked District Attorney Chesa Boudin (before he was elected district attorney) at the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/m.facebook.com\/media\/set\/?vanity=rddcsf&#038;set=a.2297633480312980\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Richmond Democratic Club 2019 summer soir\u00e9e<\/a>. The radical left in the city had been the loudest supporters of the three woke school board members facing recall and some of them <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2022\/02\/07\/the-backlash-against-leftist-extremism-in-schools-is-even-hitting-san-francisco\/\">deployed dirty tactics<\/a> against the recall campaign and its supporters.<\/p>\n<h2>Signing a Fake Name on a Ballot Is a Felony<\/h2>\n<p>Under California election law,\u00a0stealing election petitions is\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/leginfo.legislature.ca.gov\/faces\/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=ELEC&#038;sectionNum=18631#:~:text=18631.,is%20guilty%20of%20a%20misdemeanor.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">a misdemeanor<\/a>. Once the alleged thief was identified, it turned out that before he took some recall petitions from the table Lam managed, he signed a fake name on another petition to recall Boudin. According to California law, signing a fake name on a petition or ballot is\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/leginfo.legislature.ca.gov\/faces\/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=ELEC&#038;sectionNum=18613.#:~:text=Every%20person%20who%20subscribes%20to,of%20Section%201170%20of%20the\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">a felony<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Kruta was\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/jweekly.com\/2021\/06\/18\/jvs-fires-employee-accused-of-stealing-s-f-school-board-recall-petitions\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">fired<\/a>\u00a0by his employer and later\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sfchronicle.com\/bayarea\/article\/Suspect-arrested-in-S-F-school-board-recall-16495033.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">arrested<\/a>\u00a0by the San Francisco Police Department in September 2021. On February 15, 2022, San Francisco residents voted overwhelmingly to recall the three leftist school board members. Without courageous and dedicated volunteers like Lam, the recall wouldn\u2019t have become a massive success.<\/p>\n<p>About two months after the recall, on April 12, Kruta\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.msn.com\/en-us\/news\/crime\/sf-dad-whose-school-board-recall-petitions-were-snatched-sues-defendant-in-civil-court\/ar-AAW8zgH\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reportedly<\/a>\u00a0\u201cagreed to enter a diversion program that requires 25 hours of community service and 12 sessions of impulse control therapy in exchange for eventual dismissal of the criminal case against him.\u201d Lam\u2019s lawyer Roach called the diversion agreement \u201ca mere slap on the wrist for attempting to illegally interfere with a Recall campaign.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Keeping Voters\u2019 Confidence<\/h2>\n<p>Unsatisfied with the diversion settlement and determined to hold Kruta accountable, Lam and his lawyer filed a civil lawsuit against Kruta for violating Lam\u2019s constitutional rights.<\/p>\n<p>At the press conference announcing his civil lawsuit, Lam delivered a heartfelt speech. He said: \u201cI was exercising my constitutional right protected and guaranteed by the California Law to petition the government and recall elected officials. It was shocking for me to witness the anti-democratic and shameless acts committed by Mr. Kruta and others in broad daylight.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Lam went on to say, \u201cI am a registered Democrat. Whether I am a Democrat, Republican, or Independent, I should be free to express my political views without harassment and threat of violence. Remember, democracy is the cornerstone of the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>At a time when so many native-born Americans have lost faith in America\u2019s democratic process, it is inspiring to see a Hong Kong immigrant\u2019s unwavering faith in democracy in this nation and his willingness to defend his constitutional rights.<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\" \/>\n<div class=\"article-author-description fst-italic\">\n  Helen Raleigh, CFA, is an American entrepreneur, writer, and speaker. She&#8217;s a senior contributor at The Federalist. Her writings appear in other national media, including The Wall Street Journal and Fox News.  Helen is the author of several books, including &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Confucius-Never-Said-Helen-Raleigh\/dp\/1499185278\/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&#038;keywords=Helen+Raleigh+Confucius+Never+Said&#038;qid=1606079469&#038;sr=8-1\">Confucius Never Said<\/a>&#8221; and \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Backlash-How-Chinas-Aggression-Backfired\/dp\/1736008501\/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&#038;qid=1606006113&#038;sr=8-1\">Backlash: How Communist China&#8217;s Aggression Has Backfired<\/a>.&#8221; Follow her on Parler and Twitter: @HRaleighspeaks.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Kit Lam, a father of two and volunteer for the San Francisco school board recall campaign,\u00a0filed a civil lawsuit\u00a0on April 13 against a thief<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":536,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1442958","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1442958","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/536"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1442958"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1442958\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1442958"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1442958"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1442958"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}