Alameda County Voters Recall District Attorney Pamela Price

Nov 15, 2024 Story by: Editor

East Bay voters have chosen to recall Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price.

The county registrar of voters released results on Friday showing that 65.2% of voters rejected Price. She becomes the second progressive prosecutor in the Bay Area to be ousted in two years, following the recall of former San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin in 2022.

Price will vacate her position immediately after the vote is certified, with the Alameda County Board of Supervisors tasked with appointing an interim DA to manage the office, which oversees approximately 150 attorneys. The appointed individual will serve a two-year term, and voters will select a permanent DA in 2026 to serve the remainder of Price's term, which concludes in 2028. A 2022 state law meant Price was serving an irregular six-year term, with the next standard term beginning in 2029 as a four-year term.

County elections officials must finalize the results by Dec. 5, with the Secretary of State certifying them on Dec. 13.

Brenda Grisham, who helped lead the recall effort, spoke to supporters on election night: “Alameda County voters understood what we were talking about, understood that people were being hurt. And they went, and they voted. We see victory. And we are so glad that we have made the step to make Alameda County a safer place for everybody.”

Despite the results, Price remained resolute, stating that many ballots were still being counted, and expressing optimism. “There are still so many more ballots to be counted, and in areas that I know we did well in getting our message out,” she said in a statement on Wednesday. “I am optimistic that when all the votes are counted, we will be able to continue the hard work of transforming our criminal justice system.”

The recall is part of a broader pushback against reform-minded prosecutors in California. In addition to the recall of Price, Los Angeles voters recently rejected progressive DA George Gascón's bid for reelection.

California voters also passed Proposition 36 on Tuesday, which toughens penalties for repeat offenders convicted of minor thefts and drug possession, effectively reversing aspects of criminal justice reforms made a decade ago.

Price, who was elected in 2022 with 53% of the vote, is a civil rights attorney without prior experience in a district attorney's office. She defeated assistant DA Terry Wiley, a 30-year veteran of the office. Price campaigned on reducing racial disparities in the criminal justice system, advocating for restorative justice and alternatives to incarceration.

The recall effort began six months after Price took office, backed by donors with ties to the real estate and tech industries. It was supported by all 13 of the county’s law enforcement unions, including the union representing Alameda County prosecutors. The recall also received endorsements from East Bay Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Dublin) , former DA Nancy O’Malley, and editorial boards of the East Bay Times and San Francisco Chronicle.

Supporters of the recall criticized Price for a rise in crime in 2023, despite data from the Oakland Police Department showing a crime drop in 2024. They accused her of incompetence and corruption, highlighting the failure to prosecute hundreds of misdemeanor cases and allegations of anti-Asian discrimination and extortion.

Some crime victims’ families also expressed frustration, particularly with what they saw as lenient sentences and a lack of support from the office's victim-witness advocates. Erika Galavis, the aunt of two Berkeley teenage brothers killed in a 2022 North Oakland house party shooting, was one of the families involved in the recall effort. “I want her to leave the office so we can get a little bit more justice for the victims,” she said. Galavis became involved after Price declined to press charges against two suspects in the case. “Right now, she’s not doing her job as a DA. Right now, she’s letting a lot of criminals go,” she added. “You can sense that there is a chaos within the DA’s office internally.”

In response, Price contended that recall supporters were attempting to undo the results of the 2022 election. This sentiment was echoed by Rep. Barbara Lee and State Sen. Nancy Skinner, who argued that recalls were undemocratic and wasteful of public resources.

Price’s supporters, including the <a href="https://action.aclu.org/give/pm-donate-state-and-national-work?utm_medium=pm&utm_source=gs&utm_campaign=nat-dig-pm-dd-int&utm_content=gs-search_affiliateNorCal_exact-aclu%20norcal-c-681873152093&initms_aff=nat&initms_chan=pm&initms=nat-dig-pm-dd-int-gs-search_affiliateNorCal_exact-aclu%20norcal-c-681873152093&ms_aff=nat&ms_chan=pm&ms=nat-dig-pm-dd-int-gs-search_affiliateNorCal_exact-aclu%20norcal-c-681873152093&gclid=Cj0KCQiA_9u5BhCUARIsABbMSPubXZovGSLePRMBEs0wpbDxZ2QqK_vR0jqwAp1dO0C090qnLIM71R4aAiTBEALw_wcB">ACLU of Northern California and other progressive organizations, accused law enforcement groups and O’Malley of opposing her for holding police accountable and investigating misconduct among former prosecutors.

Alameda County Public Defender Brendon Woods said, “I’m not surprised by this outcome. I am disappointed, but I’m not surprised.” He pointed out that many of the same issues Price was blamed for also occurred under O’Malley’s leadership, but the former DA, who is white, did not face the same media criticism. “I think that’s because Pamela Price is Black,” Woods said. “I think that’s because she ran on a progressive platform. I think that’s because she tried to approach something differently. And because with that difference came a reaction and blame.”

Price’s potential ouster coincides with the recall effort against Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao, which also appeared likely to succeed, with early returns showing over 65% support for the measure.

Tarita Thomas, an Oakland resident, acknowledged concerns about Price’s performance but voted against the recall, calling it “an unnecessary expense.” “I think that when we vote someone in, we vote that person in,” she explained. “Whoever gets in there fairly should have an opportunity to do their job.” Thomas, who had voted for Price in 2022, admitted, “I probably would have voted for someone else,” but said she did not feel it was her place to support a recall. “And yet I feel like I don’t have a right to recall her,” she added. Source: KQED