HAYWARD — East Bay Rep. Eric Swalwell announced support Wednesday for the effort to recall Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price, saying that the first-term top prosecutor had “failed the victims of violent crime”.
Swalwell, a former prosecutor who worked in the Alameda District Attorney’s Office, decried Price’s policies on violent crime, which he said had let criminals endanger Alameda County citizens without retribution. Alameda County voters will weigh the recall of Price as part of the Nov. 5 general election.
More than a dozen residents whose family members are the victims of violent crime stood behind Swalwell on Wednesday afternoon as he attacked Price’s “pro-criminal approach” during a news conference, citing rising crime rates in Oakland and inadequate sentencing for violent offenders.
“What we have right now is two defense tables in every Alameda County courtroom. There are two defense tables and no prosecutor,” Swalwell said. “This recall is about putting a prosecutor and accountability back into place so we all can be safe.”
Swalwell, a six-term congressman representing much of Alameda County outside of its most liberal bastions in Berkeley and Oakland, has criticized the level of crime in Alameda County in recent years, noting concerns over carjackings, organized retail theft, and the armed robbery of a postal worker in Dublin, where he served as a city councilmember. Swalwell’s support for the recall could be a harbinger of opposition across more moderate Alameda County cities.
“District Attorney Pamela Price has failed the victims of violent crime, and their families,” Swalwell said in a statement released before the news conference. “Public safety is the paramount concern of Alameda County residents. Yet, under Price, the cops catch the criminals and Price puts them back into our community to re-offend.”
Price’s office has filed criminal charges in 62.9% of cases brought by county law enforcement agencies, a similar rate as her predecessor Nancy O’Malley who led the DA’s office from 2009-2022, according to the 2023 Alameda County District Attorney report.
Price has previously described the recall effort as an attempt to “overturn” the results of the 2022 election, which elevated her to become the first Black district attorney in Alameda County. In May, she called out a dozen people who’ve donated to the recall campaign as “a handful of super-rich investors and tech executives.”
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Price’s campaign on Wednesday criticized Swalwell for his support of the recall effort, noting that his stance goes against the position of the Alameda County Democratic Party. The campaign further accused Swalwell of being “out of touch” with his constituents and went as far as questioning his allegiance to the Democratic Party.
“His support for an effort that undermines a fellow Democrat and rejects the position of local Democrats has left many of his constituents feeling betrayed,” a statement from the Price campaign said. They also released an Aug. 7 letter from Price to Swalwell where the District Attorney writes that “I fear significant misunderstanding has hampered our relationship as allied representatives of a shared community.”
Price similarly referred to Gov. Gavin Newsom as “misinformed” after the governor withdrew an offer to send state prosecutors to Alameda County in July. The governor said at the time that he was “disappointed” in the “lack of enthusiasm” from Price’s office after a joint initial announcement.
On Wednesday afternoon, Swalwell called on Laurie Mohs, the mother of Blake Mohs who was fatally shot while confronting a shoplifting suspect at a Home Depot in Pleasanton, to talk about her experience. As she dealt with her son’s loss, Laurie Mohs said, she also felt neglected in her grief by Price’s office.
“The DA’s office, and Pamela Price specifically, only sent me a letter that basically told me she had no time for me,” Mohs said. “She was too important and I was not important to her.”
Leaders of the recall campaign accuse Price of failing to prioritize public safety since she took office. Brenda Grisham, a victim’s advocate and leader of the recall campaign, said Alameda County needed to take a strong stance against violent criminals, and Price stands in the way of that.
“We need leadership that prioritizes accountability and the safety of our families, and Pamela Price has failed to provide that,” Grisham said in the statement announcing Swalwell’s support for the recall. “As someone who has spent years advocating for justice and supporting victims, I am deeply troubled by DA Pamela Price’s approach to prosecution in Alameda County.”
The Board of Supervisors opted for the recall effort to take place in tandem with the general election on Nov. 5. The election may serve as another referendum on progressive prosecutors in the Bay Area following the recall of San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin in June 2022. If the recall is successful, Price would become the first known elected official in Alameda County’s history to be recalled from office.
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