Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price pronounced victory Wednesday in an early battle to remove her from office, but who will ultimately prevail in the recall effort against her won’t be decided until November.
Price said that the decision Tuesday by the county Board of Supervisors to consolidate the recall with the Nov. 5 general election is a win for her campaign, especially given the fact that her detractors pushed hard for supervisors to call a special, stand-alone election.
“We are here today to appreciate that the Board of Supervisors yesterday did the right thing and decided not to invest $20 million of our hard-earned tax dollars for a failed effort to overturn the November 2022 election,” she said during a news conference at Oakland’s famed Everett & Jones BBQ restaurant near Jack London Square.
“This is a victory for the people of Alameda County. This is a win for democracy,” Price said.
Price won the 2022 election with roughly 53 percent of the vote and became the first African American woman to hold the county’s top prosecutor job.
Soon after, however, opponents launched a petition drive and ultimately gathered enough signatures to place her name on a recall ballot, alleging that her progressive reform platform was too soft on criminals and led to increasing crime — making her the first district attorney in the county’s history to face a recall.
“They have flooded social media and the media with misinformation, they are essentially making things up without any kind of foundation or any understanding actually of how prosecution works,” Price said.
Price said her opponents are running a “platinum roots” campaign — as opposed to a grassroots campaign — since it’s being primarily funded by what she called wealthy out-of-town real estate and corporate interests who have already raised roughly $3 million to defeat her.
She also touted her achievements, as described in a 2023 annual report that says she’s created a new prosecution unit to tackle organized retail thefts, hired 12 new victim/witness advocates and added seven new clinicians for the Family Justice Center, which serves victims of domestic violence sexual assault, child and elder abuse.
She also increased staffing in the mental health, sexual assault, domestic violence, felony trial and juvenile justice units and launched the Public Accountability Unit to tackle official, police and prosecutorial misconduct, according to the report.
Price said she is determined not to let the recall effort distract from the work she is responsible for as the district attorney.
“The Protect the Win campaign has been driven by volunteers for almost a year and they have stood in the gap for the residents of Alameda County, as well as me personally, because I have said to them over and over again, I have to do my job,” Price said. “We’ve won this (2022) election. We should not have to run another election.”
Also Wednesday, recall organizers, Save Alameda For Everyone, said the supervisors’ decision to place Price’s future on a ballot was a major milestone for their cause.
“We firmly believe that every member of our community deserves a District Attorney who prioritizes justice, fairness, and accountability. The recall election on Nov. 5 provides an opportunity for residents to voice their concerns and demand the leadership they deserve,” SAFE leader Carl Chan said in a news release.
Price didn’t comment on the possibility that she will sue either Alameda County Registrar of Voters Tim Dupuis or the Board of Supervisors, or both, over allegations that county officials didn’t follow their own election rules when handling the recall signature gathering drive.