By David M. Greenwald
Executive Editor
Oakland, CA – On Monday, the Alameda County Registrar of Voters announced it had received enough signatures for a recall election for DA Pamela Price.
In response, the ACLU of Northern California “re-affirmed its strong opposition to the recall of Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price.”
In a statement on Tuesday, the ACLU noted, “Recall supporters have spent over $2 million on their effort to remove Alameda County’s first Black woman district attorney. Wealthy real estate investors and other business interests have financed most of the recall campaign.”
“Pamela Price campaigned on a progressive, pro-reform platform and had only been in office a few months when her critics began dishonestly blaming her for crime problems 
that have been decades in the making,” said Yoel Haile, director of the criminal justice program at the ACLU of Northern California.
Yaile added, “This recall attempt should be viewed as part of a broader conservative strategy nationwide to roll back criminal justice reforms aimed at interrupting the cycle of mass incarceration of Black and Brown people.”
Contrary to Price’s opponents’ claims, recalling her would do nothing to address residents’ crime concerns, the ACLU said.
Color of Change PAC also came out against the recall.
“I wish I could say this is shocking, but it is not,” said Michael Collins, Senior Director of State and Local Government Affairs for Color of Change. “When a Black woman runs on a campaign that has the power to overhaul historic systems based on racism and classism, opponents of justice will always organize a bigoted response. The recall efforts facing DA Price began the very first day she stepped into office, and have been led by MAGA supporters since.”
Collins explained, “There was no case prompting a recall, no flashpoint of community distress, and no controversy that kicked off these signatures.”
Collins sees this as yet another flat-out assault against reform.
“While this recall campaign targets DA Price, this is an all-out effort against meaningful reform in Alameda County. DA Price has been brave enough to hold hard commitments to her electoral promises, including introducing new programs for victim advocacy, protections for homeowners, and powerful juvenile precedents,” he said.
It will now be up to the Alameda County Board of Supervisors to set a date for the recall election.
