Alameda County’s new sheriff and new district attorney were sworn in in separate ceremonies Tuesday in Oakland.
Sheriff Yesenia Sanchez took her oath of office at 3 p.m. at the Scottish Rite Center at 1547 Lakeside Drive while Pamela Price was sworn in as Alameda County District Attorney at 5 p.m. at the Rene C. Davidson Courthouse at 1225 Fallon St.
Sanchez replaces longtime Sheriff Gregory Ahern, who had been sheriff since 2007. He served in the sheriff’s office for more than 33 years.
Sanchez has served in the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office for 24 years. She has been a division commander since 2020, overseeing and managing Santa Rita Jail.
Price succeeds longtime Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley, who decided not to run for reelection.
O’Malley had served as district attorney since 2009 after joining the office as an attorney in 1984. She was the first woman to serve as district attorney in Alameda County.
Price has a reputation as a progressive attorney.
She said on her website ahead of the November election, “I commit to take aggressive steps to restore public trust in our criminal justice system, ensure public safety, end mass incarceration and root out racial, socioeconomic and gender disparities within Alameda County’s criminal justice system.”
Price will be the first Black woman to hold the office in the county.