The Alameda County Board of Supervisors has selected seven veteran prosecutors as finalists in the ongoing process to find a replacement for ousted district attorney Pamela Price.
Price lost a Nov. 5 recall election and left the office in the hands of her top lieutenant, Royl Roberts, who will serve until a new district attorney is sworn in on Feb. 4.
On Thursday, supervisors initially picked five candidates via two rounds of voting, during which the top vote-getters advanced to the interview round, scheduled for Jan. 21.
But because the board didn’t place a limit on how many hopeful D.A.’s could be interviewed for the job, Supervisor Elisa Marquez asked that Yibin Shen, city attorney for the city of Alameda, also move forward despite not earning a top spot in the initial voting.
The board voted to approve her request, as well as that of Supervisor Nate Miley, who asked that Latricia D. Louis, Alameda County’s deputy county counsel and former Alameda County assistant district attorney, also move to the next stage.
The other candidates to be interviewed next week are:
- Annie Esposito, Contra Costa County assistant district attorney, former senior assistant district attorney in Alameda County.
- Elgin Lowe, senior deputy district attorney in Alameda County.
- Jimmie Wilson, deputy district attorney in Alameda County.
- Alameda County Superior Court Judge Ursula Jones Dickson, formerly an Alameda County deputy district attorney.
- Venus Johnson, chief deputy attorney general with the California Department of Justice, former director of Oakland’s Department of Public Safety, former legal and policy advisor to Kamala Harris when she was state attorney general, former chief assistant district attorney in Contra Costa County.
Before supervisors made their selections, several people addressed the board to lobby for their favorite applicant or urge the board to either pick someone who will be tough on crime or, conversely, who will prioritize diversion programs and alternatives to incarceration, particularly for the mentally ill and people with drug addictions.
Myrna Schwartz sat on a subcommittee dealing with the county’s “care first, jails last” policy for people with “mental illness, substance use, and co-occurring disorders.”
She urged supervisors to remember that policy when picking finalists for the job.
“Keep in mind the bad old days of multi-million-dollar lawsuits for unconstitutional and inhumane over incarceration of people disabled by severe mental illness and substance use disorder,” Schwartz said. “Select candidates who understand and prioritize the value of alternatives to incarceration, including the behavioral health and drug courts — these innovative, collaborative courts are a justified source of pride for Alameda County and the commitment of the D.A. is critical to their success.”
Members of the group Save Alameda for Everyone, which organized the recall effort against Price, reminded supervisors that more than 375,000 voters cast a ballot to get rid of the reform-minded district attorney.
“I think it’s pretty clear that the voters have spoken,” said SAFE member Chris Moore. “Change is needed in Alameda County. We tried Pamela Price and we tried her policies and it’s clearly been devastating to the community, particularly the Oakland community.”
What supes want in the next DA
Supervisor Lena Tam said she was looking for applicants who can smoothly manage the district attorney’s office while implementing the board’s public safety initiatives, including “care first, jails last,” reimagining adult justice and protecting victims’ rights.
Supervisor Nikki Fortunato Bas said the ideal candidate will rebuild public trust in the office, increase community safety, hold law enforcement accountable, employ alternatives to incarceration and, among other things, be able to convince voters to keep them on the job since they will have to run for office in 2026 and, if they win, again in 2028.
“If we are to have steady and consistent leadership that person would have to be able to campaign for those two election cycles,” Bas said.
Miley agreed that the next district attorney will have to be electable but must also be a seasoned prosecutor and deft administrator.
“I’m looking for somebody who can hit the ground running, deal with the budget and working with the county administration,” Miley said.
All of the finalists will be interviewed during a special public meeting of the board on Jan. 21 at 1:30 p.m.
The supervisors will then make their decision during a public meeting on Jan. 28.
The post Alameda County supervisors select 7 finalists to be interviewed to replace ousted DA Price appeared first on Local News Matters.