Recalls of Oakland Mayor, Alameda County DA Take Commanding Leads So Far

So far, voters appear likely to recall Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao and Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price.

The latest results show that about 65% of voters favored each respective recall, which would pass with a majority vote.

In each race, the Associated Press estimates that less than 40% of votes have been counted, and the Alameda County registrar’s office said elections staff don’t plan to tabulate any more votes on Wednesday — instead, they’re collecting mail-in and drop box ballots, and confirming provisional ballots. Registrar Tim Dupuis said his office plans to provide another update by the end of Thursday.

At an election watch party in Oakland on Tuesday night, Thao was defiant even as early voting results came in.

Asked by a reporter for her reaction to the returns, she replied tersely: “Next question.”

Pressed to respond, she said she remained optimistic that she could hold onto her office.

“Oaklanders are going to see through the millionaire person who actually funded this recall,” she said. “We also know that Oaklanders, we vote late just like myself. I just dropped off my ballot. And so those votes have yet to be counted.”

She said she would wait until the Registrar of Voters certifies the election results, which then need to be certified by the city council.

“And then once it’s certified, I will leave office immediately,” she said. “So, we’re looking at [a] December timeline.”

Criticism of Thao has been amplified by the loss of the Oakland A’s, the sale of the city’s portion of the Coliseum, the firing of former Oakland Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong, the city’s looming fiscal crisis and a June FBI raid of Thao’s home.

At an NAACP election night watch party, Cynthia Adams, president of the organization’s Oakland chapter, was unequivocal in her support for the recall, placing much of the blame for the city’s woes at Thao’s feet.

“Oakland is dying right about now,” Adams said. “Even though we might have people saying and feeling that it’s not. But it is dying, and we need hope.”

Though still in support of the recall, Oakland resident Charla Blackmon was more forgiving, saying she thought Thao was in over her head.

“The job is beyond her,” Blackmon said. “She may have the education, she may have some of the experience, but she does not know how to execute the information that she has.”

If Oakland voters recall Thao, the City Council president would normally serve as interim mayor until the city holds a special election to select a replacement. But Councilmember Nikki Fortunato Bas holds that office and is running for Alameda County’s Board of Supervisors. If that happens, there are a number of possible scenarios for who would assume Thao’s place.

As for Price, her supporters stood by her Tuesday night as election results came in.

“Our voters elected her to office, and we need to let her do her job,” said LaNiece Jones, executive director of Black Women Organized for Political Action.

Price hasn’t spoken publicly yet.

At the Buffet Fortuna in San Leandro, where supporters of the recall were gathered Tuesday night, cheers erupted after the initial results were posted. Hosted by Save Alameda For Everyone (SAFE), the room was packed with family members of people killed in Alameda County as photos of their loved ones lined the walls.

Erika Galavis, whose two nephews, Angel and Jazzy, both Berkeley residents, were killed at a house party in North Oakland in 2022, echoed a sentiment shared among many of Price’s detractors: that her election led to turnover in the office, causing confusion, frustration and feelings of abandonment. In her nephew Angel’s case, Galavis said Price didn’t press charges on two of the suspects because they were minors.

“She’s not doing her job, and she’s letting a lot of criminals go,” Galavis said. “I want her to leave the office so we can get a little bit more justice for the victims right now.”

Initial returns may still change.

KQED’s Dana Cronin, Annelise Finney, Alex Hall and Erin Baldassari contributed to this report.