OAKLAND, Calif. (KRON) – Alameda County voters have approved a recall of District Attorney Pamela Price, the Alameda County Registrar’s Office/Associated Press confirmed Friday night.
Price faced a recall election after taking criticism from victims’ families in high-profile cases in Alameda County. 65 percent of voters cast in favor of the recall.
Price was the first-ever Black woman to serve as the Alameda County DA. She promised progressive justice for the county’s diverse communities after receiving 53% of the vote in 2022.
Her platform was built on alternatives to prison time, addressing racial disparities and holding “rogue cops” accountable. However, detractors claimed she was soft on criminals.
In particular, she has been criticized for how she handled the cases of Jasper Wu, Kevin Nishita and Blake Mohs.
One-year-old Jasper Wu was riding in his family’s car on Interstate-880 in Oakland when he was killed in crossfire from a gun battle between rival gangs. Mohs, 26, was working as a loss prevention officer at Home Depot in Pleasanton when a shoplifter fatally shot him. Nishita was slain while he was providing security for one of KRON4’s reporters in Oakland.
None of the cases has moved forward to murder trials, though Mohs’ killer pleaded no contest to second-degree murder. The Nishita and Wu cases are pending.
The recall campaign Save Alameda For Everyone (SAFE) gathered 123,000 signatures. Many police unions in the county and Rep. Eric Swalwell (D.-Calif) supported the recall.
The San Francisco Chronicle also endorsed Price’s recall.
Once the election results are certified, the Alameda County Board of Supervisors will appoint a replacement. That DA will serve until the next general election in Nov. 2026. Whoever wins that election will complete Price’s term through 2028.
Huy Nguyen, President of the Oakland Police Officers Association, released the below statement Friday night. To be clear, The Associated Press has not yet confirmed whether Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao has been recalled.
The Oakland Police Officers Association thanks voters for standing with us to support the recalls. The OPOA stood with victims of crime for the recall of DA Pamela Price. We stood with Oakland residents for the recall of Mayor Sheng Thao for her defunding of police and for her gross fiscal mismanagement that has led Oakland into near bankruptcy. The recalls of Price and Thao is a new day, but the road ahead will be difficult because of the damage they have done to justice, victims, and our region’s economy. OPOA is dedicated to continuing to protect and serve the people of Oakland.
Huy Nguyen, President of the Oakland Police Officers Association