By Melinda Kukaj
OAKLAND, CA – Alameda District Attorney Pamela Price, in an interview, “Ask an Expert” on KCBS this past week, shared information about her effort to combat human trafficking and violence, and the obstacles, including the controversial recall.
Price said a march last week was held on purpose, in “one of East Oakland’s most dangerous neighborhoods as part of her effort to fight human trafficking.”
In regard to the use of recall as a “political tactic,” during the interview with KCBS DA Price stated the recall was difficult in her county, but defended herself and her position as DA.
During the interview with KCBS, DA Price added, “I won the election with 53 percent of the votes, sending a clear message to election deniers that I won the election fair and square.”
Not only does DA Price defend her position, she goes in depth on who actually is behind the recall, charging that “these people who are funneling in this money to the recall are not local people.”
Price adds that “the recall efforts are being funded by wealthy individuals and corporations pouring in money from a shell organization in an effort to hide where the money is coming from.”
Media sources identified recall leaders as Philip Dreyfuss, who is a partner at a hedge fund in San Francisco and Isaac Abid, a property developer in Oakland.
Price said a recall in her county will be difficult.
According to DA Price, these include signatures (which must be collected by a registered voter from the county), accessibility (in terms of translation of the ballot in multiple languages) as well as timing.
In regard to time, DA Price states “the Charter also provides that the Register of Voters has only 10 days to count the signatures—that’s a very short period of time to count 10s of thousands of signatures properly.”
In addition to only having 10 days to count signatures, DA Price states that “the Charter requires that if the Register were able to count the signatures, then the Board Of Supervisors would only have 30-45 days to schedule an election, making it impossible for the military and people overseas to cast a vote.”
DA Price added the recall “would cost taxpayers $20 million of the county’s budget, which is something that is not budgeted for,” and that this money would be better used to help Alameda County.
In addition to explaining why recall is unnecessary and unachievable, DA Price went back to addressing the topic of human trafficking, stating that “Alameda County is the third largest human trafficking hub in the United States.”
As part of Price’s campaign, she said “recognizing the intersectionality between gun violence and trafficking, various community partners, including Highland Hospital, have united to address this epidemic at San Antonio Park. This collaborative effort aims to bring together diverse individuals to collectively tackle the pressing issues affecting our streets.”
