Long-Serving Alameda County District Attorney O'Malley Won't Seek Fourth Term

OAKLAND (CBS SF) -- The office of Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O'Malley on Tuesday announced she would not seek re-election for a fourth term.

O'Malley has served in district attorney office for 37 proud years, according to the press release issued by her office.

"I could not be more thankful for the career I have had in the best District Attorney's Office in the state and certainly one of the best in the nation. The overwhelming respect for this Office is widespread and well earned," O'Malley said. She will complete her term that ends in the beginning of 2023.

O'Malley joined the county's District Attorney's Office in September 1984 and became the first woman elected to the position of District Attorney in 2009, according to the release.

"As long as I have been in the office, first as a Deputy District Attorney and then in leadership as Chief Assistant and now District Attorney, our actions have always been grounded in seeking the truth, fighting for justice and working with compassion for others," O'Malley said in the release.

The DA faced some criticism in January of this year after her office declined to file charges against BART Police Officer Anthony Pirone in connection with Oscar Grant's death on New Year's Day 2009.

Two BART directors and an Oakland City Councilmember condemned O'Malley's decision, speaking out publicly against it.

Grant's family has maintained its position that former BART Police Officer Johannes Mehserle would never have been in a position to fire the fatal shot in the first place had it not been for Pirone.

"I'm not asking for different than what our US constitution says or what our laws say," Grant's mother Wanda Johnson said in January. "I'm asking for him to be charged for his actions leading up to my son's death. If it was myself who had done those things, I would definitely be in jail or prison."