Recall organizers for Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao and Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price are looking toward the future as early results show East Bay voters are poised to oust both.
According to the Associated Press, the "Yes" votes were leading 65% to 35% in the recall of Thao, with 36% reporting.
The organizers behind Thao's recall blame the mayor for Oakland's crome pokes and putting the city in financial jeopardy.
Seneca Scott of the OUST recall organization said the group is happy with the results and is focused on who will take her spot.
"We have very serious challenges, and those challenges do not go away with the recall of the mayor," Scott said. "Now, with our interim mayor, there is also a problem. Nikki Bas has rubber-stamped everything that Mayor Thao has done, so we need to make sure we are staying on top of her."
On Tuesday, Thao said she stands behind her record and remains optimistic despite polling results showing Oaklanders favor her removal from office.
"We have zero homicides going on 6 weeks heading into 7 weeks; we have seen those numbers in decades; we have paved the most streets," Thao said. 'We have been in office for less than two years."
Similarly, the latest AP figures showed that the "Yes" votes were leading 65% to 35% in the recall of Price, with 39% reporting.
On Wednesday, Price's campaign urgeed voters in a statement to remain patient as ballots are tallied.
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"This presidential election, which has been a pivotal moment for our country as well as our state, witnessed significant voter participation, resulting in a large number of ballots in Alameda County," the campaign said. "There are still so many more ballots to be counted, and in areas that I know we did well in getting our message out. The Registrar of Voters estimates that it still has hundreds of thousands of ballots to count. The next update will be issued later this week. I am optimistic that when all the votes are counted, we will be able to continue the hard work of transforming our criminal justice system."
Carl Chan, a recall organizer, said the effort is more than a recall.
"It is a wake-up call for all of us to learn how to choose and pick the people who are supposed to serve us," Chan said.
Although the organization said it believes it is on track to oust Price, it added that it's only half the battle.
"The other 50 percent is making sure we are finding a replacement of this DA," Chan said. "This person has to rebuild the district attorney's office and also rebuild the confidence of the people."
