There's an effort underway in Contra Costa County to recall the district attorney, with the group saying it has enough signatures to file with the elections office.
An organization called Recall Diana Becton posted a video on Facebook that it says shows a woman serving DA Becton with an intent to recall Monday as she entered her office in Martinez.
The group says it has collected 121 signatures, 103 of which were validated, more than the required 100 to move forward with the first step of a recall.
But to get the recall on the ballot, Helen Nolan, assistant registrar of Voters at Contra Costa County, said that recall supporters will eventually need to get 72,000 valid signatures from registered voters on petitions.
“In all realism, we are looking at probably early 2026 before voters would see this on the ballot,” she said.
If the recall makes it to a ballot, Nolan said it could require a special election. It’s the first time on record a recall effort has been brought on a Contra Costa County DA.
“If we have 722,000 registered voters, a special election will cost $11 to $12 per registered voter and that would be on the county’s dime and it would be very, very costly to put on this election,” she said.
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Becton now has seven days to respond. Her office said that once she does, her answer will serve as a public comment.
In the Facebook post, the group says it has reached its limit with Becton and "we are increasingly concerned about the persistent cycle of unaddressed criminal activity. We are frustrated by her continuous empty promises to victims and their families that justice will prevail while she permits criminals to roam free."
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The recall group says it will hold a news conference on Saturday, that will include Alexis Gabe’s family, who are among several victims who support the recall. Earlier this year. the Contra Costa District DA's Office announced it would not seek charges against the mother of the man accused of killing Gabe in 2022.
At the time, Gabe's father Gwyn expressed extreme disappointment and disbelief at that decision.
This is the second time in recent months that a district attorney is facing a recall in the East Bay. In November, voters removed from office Alameda County DA Pamela Price over criticisms that she wasn’t tough enough on crime and too lenient with criminals.
Lisa Hill, a criminal justice professor at Cal State East Bay, believes recalls are becoming overused as a way to express discontent but may not always be justified.
“My concern is that when a district attorney is not executing that role to high incarceration rates that recall is the response,” she said. “I think it is becoming a trend. Again, a trend that I don’t think is going to be effective. Not only does it possibly remove a district attorney, it really puts the district attorney that follows in a precarious situation in that it is the expectation that they are going to come in and increase incarceration rates.”
This new recall effort follows the successful recalls of Alameda County DA Pamela Price and San Francisco DA Chesa Boudin. Both were seen as "too progressive and soft on crime."
