ALAMEDA, Calif. — Community advocacy groups and civil rights organizations are raising concerns about what they describe as a growing return to “old guard” politics among prosecutors in Alameda County under District Attorney Ursula Jones Dickson’s administration, including campaign donations, changes in death penalty cases, youth transfer proceedings and the approach to prosecuting sexual assault allegations made against former Congressman Eric Swalwell.
According to a press release issued by the Anti-Violence Safety & Accountability Project, advocates argued the administration was increasingly siding with county prosecutors and politicians criticized for promoting racism and police misconduct during their terms, rather than following through on pledges to implement reforms after years of controversy surrounding those issues.
Concerns over the trend were heightened by allegations of sexual abuse leveled against former Congressman Eric Swalwell. While district attorney offices in Manhattan and Los Angeles announced open investigations and encouraged alleged victims to come forward, Jones Dickson focused her statement on the fact that none of the accusations had yet been reported locally.
Opponents argued that the reluctance could not be viewed independently from the complex web of political connections established over the years by former Congressman Eric Swalwell and his allies in the region.
According to a recent op-ed examining Alameda County’s district attorney race and the political fallout surrounding allegations against Swalwell, the controversy revealed that, despite repeated pledges to change the criminal justice system, Alameda County remained tied to an institution still heavily influenced by its political and institutional history.
The piece highlighted that when discussing the matter, County Supervisor Nate Miley described Swalwell as “a friend,” while also criticizing him for his actions. According to opponents, that raised doubts about whether politically connected individuals were treated differently from ordinary residents.
Questions about independence became especially relevant when it was revealed that former Alameda County District Attorney Thomas J. Orloff donated $20,000 to the Friends of Ursula Jones Dickson for District Attorney 2026 committee.
The article stated that although the contribution was legal and did not require disclosure in financial statements because of its size, symbolically the move reflected broader concerns about the political climate and public relationships in the region.
“When a former DA whose tenure is tied, in the public imagination, to unchecked prosecutorial misconduct and racially tainted death penalty cases now bankrolls the current DA, the message to marginalized communities is unmistakable: the old guard is not just back, it never left,” the piece stated.
The document also cited other donations to the political committee, including $10,000 from the Alameda County Prosecutors Association and $10,000 from the Northern California Carpenters Regional Council POWER PAC.
Advocates also criticized Jones Dickson’s decision to reverse efforts to reassess 35 death penalty resentencing cases initiated during former District Attorney Pamela Price’s administration, where allegations of racial discrimination during jury selection had been raised.
The Alameda County DA Accountability Table said that in attempting to halt the process, Jones Dickson betrayed promises to eliminate racial bias and misconduct that contributed to some of the harshest sentences in the region.
The opinion piece argued the move reflected an ideological shift within the current administration away from progressive reform efforts and toward punitive “tough on crime” policies.
Advocates additionally noted that since taking office, Jones Dickson approved several transfers of youths to adult court, creating another source of criticism.
Between 2014 and 2023, only three cases involving the transfer of youths to adult court occurred in Alameda County. In just six months under Jones Dickson’s administration, six youths between the ages of 14 and 17 had their cases transferred, accounting for 10% of the juvenile hall population.
According to experts, such transfers place teenagers at greater risk of violence, expose them to longer incarceration periods and deprive them of educational opportunities available within juvenile facilities.
Although the district attorney’s office stated that filing transfer petitions does not guarantee youths will ultimately be transferred, critics argued the move nevertheless sent a message to the community that punishment was being prioritized over rehabilitation.
At the same time, opponents acknowledged that certain prosecutions of law enforcement officials, including charges filed against the San Leandro police chief in a hit-and-run case, demonstrated that Jones Dickson had upheld some promises to prosecute wrongdoing.
However, critics maintained that the administration failed to prosecute law enforcement officers in several other high-profile cases that drew national attention and continued to protect institutional law enforcement interests.
The central concern expressed in both documents was that Alameda County operated under two systems of justice — one for politically connected individuals and institutions and another for poor and marginalized residents.
“The Swalwell allegations did not create this crisis of confidence; they simply exposed it. The question now is whether Alameda County will accept a justice system that still reflexively protects its own,” the opinion piece concluded.
With the 2026 election season approaching, the debate surrounding Jones Dickson’s tenure has increasingly become a broader question of whether Alameda County residents trust the independence of the justice system and prosecutors from political, donor and institutional pressure.
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