Alameda Co. DA’s Race Heats Up as Candidates Gather Endorsements

After Alameda County DA Nancy O’Malley announced that she is not seeking another term, the three current candidates turned up their push to get endorsements. The race is shaping up to be one about reform, racial justice and safety. All the candidates are touting their vision to change the way the DA’s office handles its cases. Two of the three candidates are veterans of the O'Malley DA’s office – 16 year Alameda County Deputy District Attorney Jimmie Johnson and Assistant II District Attorney Terry Wiley - the No. 3 ranking prosecutor in the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office. Both have pledge to continue the work of the DA’s office. The third candidate is civil rights attorney Pamela Price. She ran for the seat in 2018 and gathered a big following of voters looking for a change in the DA’s office. Her platform is the most progressive of the three candidates.

Price’s campaign released an endorsement list is full of the who’s who in criminal justice reform, local politics and Alameda County community organizing today. While other candidates have yet to release lists of their endorsements, Wiley has touted his support from Nancy O'Malley and civil rights attorney Ben Crump. Price is the first to show a full list.

“This growing list of support underscores the broad and diverse support across Alameda County that we've found as people look for a leader who will restore public trust in our criminal justice system and the Alameda County District Attorney’s office” beamed Price. “The people want a DA they can trust to ensure public safety and hold police and public officials accountable.”

Price’s endorsement list includes national leaders in justice reform like renowned activist, scholar and writer, Angela Davis, actor and activist Danny Glover and former Ohio State Senator Nina Turner.

“Like myself, Pamela Price has also dedicated her life to justice. A civil rights attorney with a winning record of fighting for justice, defending everyday people, successfully arguing against racial and sexual harassment, she has handled important cases to advance and protect civil rights,” stated Angela Davis. “I have endorsed Pamela, because I believe she will carry on my tradition of having the moral courage to stand up for what is right and just.”

Another national leader endorsing Pamela Price is also a Hayward hero – Bishop Jerry W. Macklin. Bishop Macklin and his wife Vanessa founded their church in Hayward more than 40 years ago and have been active community leaders in Southern Alameda County.

“Bishop Macklin and Lady Vanessa Macklin have been pillars of hope in Hayward. They have worked tirelessly to increase community safety by investing in local programs that lift up local residents,” said Price. “The Bishop’s endorsement is a powerful message that reform is necessary and needed in Alameda County.”

The endorsement list also has an extensive list of local elected leaders like Albany Mayor Ge’nell Gary, former Mayors of Berkeley and San Leandro Mayor Gus Newport and Steven Cassidy, Fremont Councilmember Jenny Kassan, San Leandro Vice Mayor Victor Aguilar, former San Leandro Vice Mayor Surlene Grant and Livermore City Councilmember Brittni Kiick.

“Pamela Price has a storied career of service in Alameda County and has been on the vanguard of fighting for true justice for decades,” boasted Kassan. “Pamela is exactly the agent of change that Alameda County has been looking for in their District Attorney.”

“I am so grateful for the support and endorsements at this stage of the campaign, we have less than a year to the June primary,” stated Price. “All the endorsements are amplifications of the drums of justice beating in Alameda County. I am especially humbled by support from families that have suffered harm from excessive force by law enforcement like Oscar Grant’s family members in Oakland, Rose and John Bauer of Pleasanton, Jose Jaime and Gabriela Covarrubias of Fremont and so many others in Alameda County who are done with a double-standard, and ready for justice with compassion.”

The list also includes a wide-reaching array of Democratic party leaders given Price’s position on the Alameda County Democratic Central Committee, including Chair of the California Black Caucus, Taisha Brown, and Chair of the California Latino Caucus, Carlos Alcala. One endorsement of note is Oakland’s candidate for California State Assembly District 18 and Social Justice Attorney Janani Ramachandran.

“Pamela Price and I share a vision to re-imagine our criminal justice system to heal survivors and perpetrators of harm in order to end toxic cycles of violence,” stated Ramachandran. “Pamela is a force - and has the tenacity, experience and compassion to make much-needed reforms in the DA’s office – she is the fighter that my home county, Alameda County, has been waiting for.”

To see the full list of Price’s endorsements, they can be found at: www.PamelaPrice4DA.com/endorse...