Suzy Loftus, the former president of the San Francisco Police Commission, is launching a run for district attorney.
Her entry brings a high-profile challenge to current DA George Gascón, who has served as the city's top prosecutor since 2011 and was re-elected without opposition in 2015.
"What I'm hearing from neighborhood to neighborhood in the city is that people want change," Loftus said. "They want leadership that is going to hold people accountable for harming the most vulnerable among us."
In his time as district attorney, Gascón has advocated for statewide criminal justice reforms, including Proposition 47, which downgraded some crimes from felonies to misdemeanors.
In doing so, Gascón has drawn the ire of the city's police union, the San Francisco Police Officers Association, which has blamed the measure for higher property crime rates.