Mayor Sheng Thao, DA Pamela Price appear to be on the way out in recall elections
OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) -- In the East Bay, voters are currently in favor of recalling two of the highest-profile politicians.
Both the recalls of Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price and Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao are leading 65% to 35%, with 100% of precincts reporting.
2024 ELECTION RESULTS: Key races in California, Bay Area
DA Pamela Price
Results so far indicate Alameda County voters are set to recall District Attorney Pamela Price by a nearly two-to-one margin.
Carl Chan, one of the organizers who helped lead the recall Price effort, says voters in the county are celebrating the preliminary results.
"They are saying that they've had enough of this district attorney, who has had failed policies and is not able to perform her job," Chan said.
Chan believes the DA was too soft on crime and didn't seek harsh enough punishments for those who broke the law.
While celebratory Wednesday, Chan says the next step is getting a good candidate to replace Price.
"They want to see real change. They want to see the district attorney be replaced by someone who is capable of rebuilding the office, rebuild the trust of the people," said Chan.
There are some who are also unhappy with Tuesday night's tentative results.
MORE: What will happen if Alameda Co. DA Price, Oakland Mayor Thao are recalled?
While Price herself didn't return our request for comment, we spoke with activist Cat Brooks.
Brooks leads the Anti Police-Terror Project and believes Price never got a chance to really do her job.
"They started calling for recall as the ballots were still being counted. You can go back and look at social media, you can go back and look at interviews," Brooks said.
Brooks says the DA was also a victim of false narratives surrounding her policies - especially those perpetuated on social media.
She says the recalling of the county's first Black female district attorney is painful.
"For people to say that the DA was not sending people to jail is just false. It's just not true. She sent plenty of people to jail for long periods of time," said Brooks.
If Price is recalled, the Board of Supervisors will appoint an interim district attorney.
That person will serve until the elections in 2026.
Mayor Sheng Thao
Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao's team says she won't comment on the recall until the final results are in. But on election night, she spoke of her accomplishments.
"The Coliseum, we are actually going to be able to invest money in deep East Oakland. We have the most miles paved in a year, in Oakland's history. And so we know that the work that we have done, was actually great and it was positive," said Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao.
If the results hold, Mayor Thao will be recalled with 65% of the vote. Joshua Spivak, a senior fellow at Wagner College, says that's not be a surprise.
"And its not about her performance on the job. Or what's she has done. First of all, they have focused on crime. Crime is a dog-whistle, all over the country, and has been for the past 50 years," said Walter Riley, attorney.
Prominent Oakland attorney Walter riley was part of Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price's transition team. He strongly opposed the recalls of DA Price and Mayor Thao He says the recalls are just another attack on progressive politicians, lead by business interests.
MORE: Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao demands FBI tell public she is not target of corruption investigation
"Each of these recall campaigns, those are the central issues; criminal justice reform, housing and tenants right. And they are under attacked because of those kinds of things," said Riley.
The Oakland Police Officers' Association backed the Thao recall. Saying she couldn't meet the moment.
"The issue is that, her inability to work with other unions, other entities to make sure that we can sustain and survive in the challenging environment that we are in," said Sgt. Huy Nguyen, President of the Oakland Police Officers' Association.
"It is my duty as council president to ensure a process that is responsible, orderly and transparent in terms of selecting our next leadership," said Nikki Fortunato Bas, President of the Oakland City Council.
Oakland City Council President Nikki Bas says the registrar of voters has 30 days to certify the election.
After that, the City Council must declare the result at its next meeting, likely on December 17. That's when Thao would have to step down and City Council President Bas would become interim mayor. A special election would have to be held within 120 days from Thao leaving office.
In Oak.
