While the counting of ballots continues, the results are clear. Voters overwhelmingly support the recalls of both Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao and Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price.
This marks the first time voters have ousted leadership from either position.
Thao issued a statement Friday saying she plans to support a smooth transition for the next mayor of Oakland.
"We have to keep the city moving forward," Councilmember Kevin Jenkins said in agreeance. "We have to show a strong front and make sure that, as the mayor said, as the council president said, that there is a smooth transition for whoever is going to be the next mayor of Oakland."
City Council President Nikki Fortunato Bas is expected to take over as interim mayor if she doesn't win her race for the District 5 supervisor seat. Come January, there's a possibility a new council president will then take on the role until a special election in the spring.
Regardless of who takes over next, Jenkins said he's focused on moving the city forward.
"The priority is going to be rebalancing the budget, ensuring that the next council has a balanced budget to work with," he said. "After that, looking at the structural deficit that we have and doing what we need to do to rightsize the ship."
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Price and her campaign said they are waiting for every vote to be tallied. The latest numbers show 64% in favor of her being removed from office.
Alameda County Board of Supervisors President Nate Miley expects the board will appoint someone within the district attorney's office until the board of supervisors agree on a process to officially replace Price.
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"I’d like to see someone who is seasoned, experienced, someone who can both hold rogue cops accountable and someone who is also going to make sure that we can’t tolerate a sense of lawlessness," Miley said.
Since a DA has never been recalled in Alameda County, there is no rule book on the process. Miley hopes the board will consider an application process and allow the public to weigh in on who the next DA will be before appointing a new DA by February.
"The board doesn’t have to do an application process, but I think that would be the fairest thing to do," Miley said.
Meanwhile, the recall group SAFE is asking supervisors to immediately revoke Price's power. SAFE recall organizer Brenda Grisham claims Price has already started to fire staff believed to be connected to recall efforts.
"We don’t want her retaliating against them, we don’t want her retaliating against the families, so we are asking the board of directors to step in until it is certified," Grisham said. "There is still counts, there is still votes out there, but mathematically she is not going to make it."
