March 11th 2024.
The campaign to recall Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price has been ongoing since she was elected in 2022. Price made history as the first Black District Attorney in Oakland, and she ran on a platform of reform. However, her progressive approach has faced backlash from right-wing and Republican figures in politics.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Price is fighting back against the recall campaign, which recently submitted 123,000 signatures in an attempt to force another recall vote in California. One important development to watch is Measure B, a ballot question asking if Alameda County should adopt the State of California's recall system.
Some Oakland voters are concerned that this measure may make it easier to initiate the recall process, but others, such as Marcus Crawley, president of the Alameda County Taxpayers Association, Jacqueline Carron-Cota, chair of the Election Integrity Team of Alameda County, and Edward Escobar, founder of Citizens Unite, believe that wholesale changes are not necessary and may infringe on voters' rights.
Crawley suggests focusing on targeted amendments instead of overhauling the entire system. As reported by Oaklandside, the effort to oust Price is primarily funded by financiers and real estate property owners, who have already spent $2.2 million. In contrast, Price has raised approximately $85,000, mostly through small donors.
CBS News reports that some of the criticism towards Price comes from families of victims of gun violence and Oakland residents who feel that she has not done enough to make the city safe. At a Town Hall meeting in December, Florence McCrary, the mother of Terrance McCrary, who was killed by a stray bullet, expressed her disappointment with Price's actions.
McCrary stated, "We would expect more empathy and concern for mothers who have lost their 22-year-old children to senseless violence. As a hard-working taxpayer, I shouldn't have to live with the fact that this person won't be held accountable for their choices."
At the same Town Hall meeting, Price addressed the underlying motives behind the recall effort, stating that it is an attempt to protect the value of real estate portfolios. She added, "We know that this recall is not about public safety. We have seen their campaign plan, and it clearly states that their concern is the value of their portfolios. These are real estate developers who have no interest in the well-being of our community."
As reported by The Intercept in 2023, this pattern of character assassination, followed by right-wing attacks and a recall, is not new. Cat Brooks, co-founder and executive director of the Anti Police-Terror Project, which endorsed Price during her campaign, shared, "They were threatening to recall her even before she won the election. Unfortunately, this has become a new political tactic in the Bay Area and other parts of the country."
Anne Irwin, founder and director of Smart Justice, a pro-reform group, explains that this intense scrutiny of a prosecutor's office is usually reserved for those who, like Price, openly advocate for reform. She believes that the recall effort in Alameda County follows a national Republican playbook.
Irwin adds, "What's concerning is that there has been little attention on how an elected prosecutor manages their office until progressive prosecutors came into the picture. Suddenly, there is a strong focus on their managerial skills, fueled by those who support the recall. But can we look back in history and determine whether tough-on-crime prosecutors in the '80s or '90s were good managers?"
In other news, former Oakland Police Chief has filed a lawsuit alleging wrongful termination and a violation of the First Amendment.
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