(KRON) — Supporters of the recall movement aimed at removing Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price from office held an event outside the Alameda County Board of Supervisors Chambers in Oakland on Tuesday. At the event, recall proponents brandished signs supporting the recall and took turns speaking at the microphone demanding the recall of the DA, who was duly elected to office by voters last November.
Almost since the moment she was sworn into office, Price has been targeted by a recall effort, reminiscent of the one that unseated former San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin from office last year. Proponents of the recall blame Price, a long-time civil rights attorney, for a surge in crime, particularly in Oakland.
Among the speakers at Tuesday’s event was Carl Chen, the President of Oakland’s Chinatown Chamber of Commerce and an organizer behind Save Alameda For Everyone (SAFE), who said the group had already exceeded the number of signatures needed to get a recall on the ballot.
“We thought we may be able to achieve that maybe early January or hopefully maybe end of December. But within five weeks, we had more than 70,000, basically more than about 75,000 signatures already collected,” Chan said.
SAFE says its goal is to collect more than 110,000 signatures to ensure they are validated.
As the crowd repeatedly chanted “Recall Price,” a series of speakers took the podium.
“Our goal is have Alameda County safe for every single person that lives here,” said organizer Brenda Grisham. “It’s not personal. We are all family.”
The Alameda County Board of Supervisors is considering an amendment that could potentially invalidate thousands of signatures on the petition.
“This amendment, if passed by the Board of Supervisors, would greatly affect the democratic rights of residents and the accountability of county officials,” said recall organizer Edward Escobar.
On Tuesday, Price’s campaign team issued a response to the ongoing recall effort against her, slamming it as a “blatant undemocratic attack on the voters of Alameda County.”
“This endeavor is primarily funded by individuals who do not reside in our community and who are wealth real estate developers and tech investors,” Price’s campaign said. “It is evident that the proponents of the recall did not conduct thorough research, as the Alameda County charter, which can only be amended by voters, has clear provisions in place to safeguard the integrity of our elections and votes.”
Price herself has repeatedly labeled the recall effort against her as undemocratic and election denialism, at times even comparing the recall organizers to the January 6 insurrectionists.
