What to know about the Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price recall

OAKLAND, Calif. - Alameda County voters are being asked on Nov. 5 if they want to recall District Attorney Pamela Price, a progressive prosecutor who was elected to office in 2022.

Who is organizing the recall?

A group named SAFE, which stands for Save Alameda for Everyone, is organizing the recall.

The principal organizer is Brenda Grisham, whose son died of gun violence in 2010. The effort was also initially launched by Carl Chan, former president of Oakland’s Chinatown Chamber of Commerce. The Oaklandside reported that the campaign to recall her has raised more than $3 million.

Why are critics trying to recall Pamela Price?

SAFE critics accuse Price of not prosecuting defendants with harsh enough charges, which therefore makes the community unsafe.

Another committee named "Supporters of Recall Pamela Price" is raising the lion’s share of money to unseat her, The Oaklandside reported.

In June, a union called the Alameda County Prosecutors’ Association, voted in favor of the recall, according to an email obtained by the San Francisco Chronicle. Rep. Eric Swalwell, and all the police unions in Alameda County also support the recall.

Price will face recall election

The voters of Alameda County will have the opportunity this year to decide whether controversial District Attorney Pamela Price will remain in her position or be ousted, similar to the recall of San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin almost two years ago.

Who opposes the recall?

A group called Protect the Win for Public Safety supports keeping Price in office.

Her supporters argue that Price is adhering to her campaign platform, but is also not "letting murderers go free," as has been a popular refrain.

In fact, Price has charged about 60 people with murder cases in 2023, according to her supporters’ website.

The ACLU of Northern California is against the recall as well.

"Pamela Price campaigned on a progressive, pro-reform platform and had only been in office a few months when her critics began dishonestly blaming her for crime problems that have been decades in the making," Yoel Haile, director of the criminal justice program at the ACLU of Northern California, said in an April statement. "This recall attempt should be viewed as part of a broader conservative strategy nationwide to roll back criminal justice reforms aimed at interrupting the cycle of mass incarceration of Black and Brown people."

Prosecutors union backs Alameda County DA recall

Members of the Alameda County prosecutors’ union voted "overwhelmingly" to support the recall of their boss, District Attorney Pamela Price.

Has there ever been a DA recall in Alameda County before?

Wasn’t there a DA recall election in San Francisco?

Yes – In June 2022, 55% of voters supported the recall of progressive San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin.

The next month, Mayor London Breed appointed Brooke Jenkins as Boudin’s replacement. In November 2022, Jenkins then won the special election to serve out the remaining two years. Her term ends in January 2025.

How many votes does the recall need?

Simple majority

What happens if Price is recalled?

She will lose her job after the election. SAFE organizers estimated that it would be Dec. 5.

In January or February, the Alameda County Board of Supervisors would appoint a new interim DA who would most likely service until the next regularly scheduled election in November 2026. That person would finish out Price’s term, which ends in 2028. Price is serving an irregular six-year term.