After appearing to have lost against a recall effort by a wide margin, Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price finally conceded Monday at a press conference in Oakland.
In a statement, Price said, "The voters have spoken, and while the outcome is not we hoped for, I respect their decision."
Price is the first district attorney to be recalled in Alameda County, and her concession comes nearly two weeks after an election in which initial results showed recall proponents far ahead. The SF Chronicle called the race ten days ago.
As of last count on Friday, the "yes" votes were at 63 percent, and the "no" side was at 37 percent. Still, as of Saturday, Price was continuing to hold firm and had not conceded, pointing to 200,000 uncounted votes in the county in a fiery letter to supporters.
She apparently became convinced in the last 48 hours that it wasn't mathemetically possible for the results to change significantly.
Price gave an extended speech Monday recounting her achievements as a civil rights attorney, and as someone who "sued the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation over and over again."
"I came to this office having had a front-row seat to the flaws in our criminal justice system," Price said. She added, "While this chapter has come to an end, I remain committed to creating a more equitable system of justice that does not discriminate on the basis of race, gender, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or wealth."
Price also thanked her supporters, "from the bottom of my heart."
Alameda County DA Pamela Price for the first time since the election accepts/ comments on the outcome of voters recalling her from office. @nbcbayarea pic.twitter.com/gB2jFODZTW
— Velena Jones (@velenajones) November 18, 2024
Price said she would remain on the job until her interim replacement is selected by the Alameda County Board of Supervisors. As the Chronicle notes, those who have expressed interest in the job include San Francisco Deputy District Attorney Amilcar "Butch" Ford, Chief Deputy Attorney General Venus Johnson, Alameda County Counsel L.D. Louis, and Contra Costa County Assistant District Attorney Annie Esposito.
The interim DA will serve nearly as long as Price did, until after the next countywide election in 2026.
Last week, as one of her final acts in office, Price and her team filed charges against eleven people, including nine sheriff's deputies, in connection with an in-custody death at Santa Rita Jail in 2021. Ten of those individuals made their first court appearances Monday, as KTVU reports, but did not enter pleas.
Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao, who also faced a recall and lost by a similar margin as Price, conceded her defeat on November 8.
Previously: Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao Recalled, and So Is DA Pamela Price, as the Chronicle Is Calling Both Races
