OAKLAND, CA – The recall of Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price, according to Berkeleyside’s Janis Mara, would have effects that are far-reaching.
This recall is historic, according to Berkeleyside, because “for the first time in Alameda County’s history, voters will decide in November whether to remove their district attorney from office — and win or lose, the outcome will have far-reaching impacts.”
According to Berkeleyside, Pamela Price, former civil rights attorney, took office in January 2023 as Alameda County District Attorney, winning 53 percent of the votes, with the promise of reforming the county’s criminal justice system.
Berkeleyside states that “the recall outcome could strengthen her mandate or, if she loses, put a DA who is tougher on crime into the role, depending on who takes her place.”
Berkeleyside notes that “recall proponents blamed recent increases in crime on Price’s philosophy as a prosecutor. Critics accused her of being too lenient in several high-profile cases. And Price also drew fire for investigating and prosecuting police officers and jail guards accused of murder, assault and other crimes.”
According to Berkeleyside, “Price’s reform platform included not charging youths as adults, relying less on incarceration and holding police accountable. After taking office, she acted on her promises. For example, she enacted policies against using enhancements to extend jail time for defendants and directed prosecutors to offer defendants probation whenever possible instead of jail time.”
However, Berkeleyside said anti-crime activists did not agree with this, and, “by July 2023, Price’s critics had taken the first steps toward a recall. In October 2023, they officially launched the recall campaign.”
The Berkeleyside adds that “after enough signatures were collected to force a recall vote, the county Board of Supervisors placed the matter on the ballot for the general election as the less expensive expedient compared with a special election.”
According to Berkeleyside, “Save Alameda for Everyone,” or “SAFE,” the group’s leaders initially included victims’ rights advocate Brenda Grisham, who lives in East Oakland; Oakland Chinatown business leader Carl Chan, who lives in Alameda; and Philip Dreyfuss, a North Oakland resident and investor who played a role in last year’s recall of progressive San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin.”
However, according to Berkeleyside, “Dreyfuss later left this group and teamed up with Oakland-based real estate investor Isaac Abid to launch another committee called ‘Supporters of Recall of Pamela Price.’”
Berkeleyside states that “the campaign has raised about $3.7 million. In comparison, the people opposing the recall have raised about $340,000 from more than 440 individuals, fundraising committees and businesses as of Oct. 15.”
According to Berkeleyside, the ACLU of Northern California announced its opposition to the recalling of Price, charging the Criminal Justice Program seeks to “dramatically reduce incarceration, criminalization, and police abuse by ending unjust and oppressive laws, policies, and practices that target and disproportionately harm Black, brown, and other marginalized communities.”
The Berkeleyside said that “according to the 2023 Alameda County District Attorney’s Office annual report, prosecutors filed criminal charges in almost 12,000 cases during Price’s first year in office. Price took action on 62.9 percent of the cases referred to her office by law enforcement.
Berkeleyside added, “That’s slightly more than in recent years under Price’s predecessor, Nancy O’Malley. In 2022, O’Malley’s office took action on 60.6 percent of cases and 61.6 percent in 2021.”
Berkeleyside states that if the recall fails, Price serves the rest of her term, ending in 2028. However, if the recall passes, the Alameda County Board of Supervisors will themselves appoint a new interim DA to serve until the next election in 2026.
According to Berkeleyside, “If the recall passes, ‘given the backlash against district attorneys who were working on criminal justice reform, you would look for someone who is not in that realm,’ (Just last year, reform-minded San Francisco County DA Chesa Boudin was recalled, and progressive Los Angeles County DA George Gascón has survived two recall efforts.)”
Furthermore, according to Berkeleyside, “You would look for someone who led a tough-on-crime unit. Ideally, you might want someone from Alameda County — a lieutenant, a lead assistant district attorney. It might be someone from O’Malley’s office who left when Price came in or was demoted.”
Berkeleyside concludes, “On the other hand, If Price is recalled, there may be some difficulties for those who are interested in criminal justice reform,” the professor said. “Impacts might include rolling back reforms that have already been put in place.”
