The Alameda County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to have the recall election for District Attorney Pamela Price in November.
Supervisors like the idea of having the vote on the same day as the presidential election, though some of Price’s supporters still say there may not be a recall election at all.
The final vote Tuesday was 3-0, with two supervisors excused from the proceeding.
Supporters say having the recall on the November ballot makes sense for a lot of reasons.
“We have a voter turnout on average of about 20% of folks who come out for voter special elections and 80% for presidential elections,” Norma Orozco, of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, said.
Another consideration was cost. Consolidation means saving perhaps tens of millions of dollars for a county that is $68 million in the red right now.
“Spending $20 million on a standalone election is something we can’t afford here in Alameda County,” Pecolia Manigo, of Oakland Rising, said. “We want our county services protected.”
Opponents of Price were calling for a standalone special election in August or September, arguing that any delay puts public safety at risk.
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“We have families that are still suffering and we want all of that to come to an end,” Brenda Grisham, SAFE recall organizer, said. “We have businesses that are still suffering, we want that to come to an end and the only way to have that come to an end is to recall Pamela Price, which will happen.”
A group called the Campaign to Protect the Win of Pamela Price was at the meeting and said it's planning to go to court to stop the recall election.
The group says the county Registrar of Voters took too long to verify the signatures on the recall petition.
“They violated a key provision of the charter, that gave them 10 days to verify signatures. They took over a month to verify the signatures,” Yoana Tchoukleva said.
Price says the recall campaign was funded by billionaires and inspired by people who don’t like the idea of a Black district attorney.
She is holding a news conference Wednesday at 10 a.m. to address the issue.
