Pamela Price Concedes Defeat In Recall Election: Reports

ALAMEDA COUNTY, CA — Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price has conceded defeat in her fight against a recall election and will step down, according to numerous reports. Her decision clears the way for her successor to be appointed by the Board of Supervisors. Chief Assistant District Attorney Royl Roberts is expected to take charge until Supervisors act.

On Monday, the Official Election Site of Alameda County reported that 367,941 voters approved of her removal, or 63.13-percent of votes cast, while 214,877 wanted her to remain in office, at 36.87-percent.

Price told her supporters in an email, "The voters have spoken, and while the outcome is not what we hoped for, I respect their decision," according to KTVU. "In November 2022, Alameda County took a huge step forward toward a better criminal-legal system. Since taking office in January 2023, I fought to bring change to a broken system."

She gave a 20-minute speech to her supporters and current employees on Monday, lauding her own efforts while criticizing her predecessor, retired DA Nancy O’Malley. The East Bay Times quoted Price as saying,"Previous leaders of this office turned a blind eye to prosecutorial misconduct and cases of the worst kind of abuse and neglect and criminal negligence by some members of our law enforcement community."

Price is a former civil rights lawyer who ran for office on a platform of shorter sentences for offenders, prosecution of police misconduct, and rehabilitation of criminals. However, the reality of rampant crime, including unchecked high-profile retail theft, soured the public. Proposition 36, which toughened sentences for some crimes, was overwhelmingly approved statewide by voters at the same time that Price was turned-out.

The San Francisco Chronicle noted that Price missed deadlines to file charges in about 1,000 misdemeanor cases, and was rebuked by an Alameda County Superior Court judge when her office missed the deadline to charge two Alameda police officers with involuntary manslaughter in the 2021 death of a man who was restrained.

The county must certify election results by the first week in December.