Taxpayers Will Bear the Burden of DA Recall

I am baffled by the recall election against Alameda County DA Pamela Price, who was elected with over 53 % of the votes. She had barely taken office in January, 2023 when petitions for recall began circulating. The effort to recall stands out because even with the Killing of Oscar Grant by Bart Police and other deaths DA O’Malley was not considered for recall. This recall will cost upwards of $20 Million Dollars in tax money in a County that is badly in need of Housing Mental Health Care and Youth Programs.

There have been over 70 unsolved deaths of black and brown inmates at Santa Rita County Jail since 2014. Yet no one from the community stepped up and demanded a recall or accountability from then Sheriff Ahearn or DA O’Malley. The 70 deaths were largely unsolved and uninvestigated until DA Price opened an investigation into the death of Maurice Monk. The County has paid settlements to some family members who have signed Non Disclosure Agreements. That is money that could have gone for programs to house the homeless, Education or to add more beds and staff to Mental Health Facilities.

The price tag for the recall will be upwards of $20 million dollars of taxpayers money. That is Millions more Dollars that will not be available for housing, education, job training and yes, even public safety. The unsuccessful recall for Governor Newsom cost $200.2 million taxpayer dollars. Is this going to be a common occurrence with us holding elections and then paying millions more to satisfy the whims of the losers? That is exactly what it looks like. We had an election last year that cost millions and now they want to add a recall that will cost taxpayers at least $20 Million dollars. Make that make sense!!