Alameda County DA Pamela Price concedes after recall passes
OAKLAND, Calif. - Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price conceded Monday after election results indicated more than 63% of voters supported the recall effort.
"The voters have spoken, and while the outcome is not what we hoped for, I respect their decision," Price said at a news conference Monday in downtown Oakland, surrounded by dozens of her supporters. "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."
Price listed what she said were her accomplishments during the nearly two years she served.
"We reorganized the office, streamlined the claims process, and reduced the delays in compensating victims and paying providers from a year or more to mere days," Price said. "Stay the course of holding public officials accountable and law enforcement officers accountable for their actions."
Price's concession comes after her office filed felony charges against seven sheriff's deputies, two former deputies, a doctor, and a nurse for neglect in the November 15, 2021, Santa Rita Jail death of Maurice Monk.
Monk was found dead after lying in his cell for days surrounded by food, medication, and urine, body camera video shows.
"I'm thankful for what she has done and set out. I just pray that the next person that comes in continues on," said Monk's sister, Elvira Monk, at Monday's arraignment for the 11 defendants charged in the case.
"You won't see the last of her. Especially with the many people she has motivated and the many people she has given an opportunity and a second chance," said Stanley Cox, also known as "Mistah Fab."
Critics of Price, including some families of victims, supported the recall effort and accused Price of not pursuing the most serious charges and not communicating with families during the process.
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Alameda County supervisors face critical decision on interim DA after Price recall
With Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price on her way out after being ousted in a recall election, county supervisors must select an interim replacement before a successor is chosen by voters in the 2026 election.
Now, the Alameda County Board of Supervisors will be tasked with selecting an interim district attorney.
Chief Assistant District Attorney Royl Roberts is expected to assume the district attorney's duties in the meantime.
The board plans to discuss the process at their next meeting on December 10.
"In this case, I'm told by our county counsel that there is no time limit, and we can take virtually as long as we need," said David Haubert, Vice-President of the Alameda County Board of Supervisors.
The interim district attorney will serve until June 2026, when voters will be asked to elect a new district attorney for a two-year term.
Then in 2028, there will be another election for a district attorney to serve a full four-year term.
In 2022, Price won on a post-George Floyd platform, promising not to overcharge or overcriminalize defendants, especially Black and brown youth.
But the political tides have changed since then, as evidenced by voters approving Proposition 36, which increases penalties for theft and drug trafficking, and becoming more Republican in California counties that flipped from blue to red this election.
Price's interoffice tensions and interpersonal conflicts didn't help, either.
A group named SAFE, which stands for Save Alameda for Everyone, organized the recall, arguing that Price – a former civil rights attorney – didn’t prosecute defendants with harsh enough charges, and therefore made the community unsafe.
Price did have supporters though.
An opposing group, called Protect the Win for Public Safety, and the ACLU of Northern California, fought the recall, countering that blaming Price "for crime problems that have been decades in the making is blatantly dishonest."
And they noted that in 2023, Price had indeed charged about 60 murder cases during her tenure.
This was the first recall of a district attorney in Alameda County history, although Price is the second high-profile Bay Area district attorney to be recalled in the last two years.
In June 2022, 55% of voters supported the recall of progressive San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin.