Volunteers canvass across Alameda County on final weekend before district attorney recall vote
In the race to recall Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price, volunteers on both sides canvassed in different cities and neighborhoods on Saturday. Recall supporters talked to merchants in Oakland Chinatown while Price supporters talked to shoppers at Oakland's Grand Lake Farmers Market.
Recall organizers also held a rally on Saturday morning in front of the county administration building. Many of the people who attended the rally were families of murder victims crying out for justice like Rachel Barrera.
"Not only the grief of burying your child but then, not having any justice," Barrera said.
Barrera's son 22-year-old Isaiah Barrera Castillo was gunned down in Fremont in 2022. Authorities believed the four minors involved in the murder were also connected to three other homicides. But Barrera said DA Price would not charge the suspects in her son's case.
"If you're not going to even hold them accountable, how are they going to learn from their mistakes?" asked Barrera.
Recall organizers claimed a yes vote on the recall is a yes vote for safety.
"Criminals in Alameda County know there is no accountability. Even for the people who have been held accountable, she is smashing cases through Department 13 in the Rene C. Davidson courtroom to get them re-sentenced, to let murderers out," said Butch Ford, a former Alameda County prosecutor.
But Price supporters said that's not true. They believed she was reforming the justice system, one that unfairly targets Black and Brown people.
"She doesn't believe that all we should do is pile on enhancements. So she's going by the law. I feel safe with her as my DA. I'm glad that she's charging some people and also being careful how she charges others," said Pamela Drake of Wellstone Democratic Club.
Drake is not part of the Price campaign. She talked to voters at the farmers market hoping they too would reject the recall.
"Pamela Price is a good DA, she was elected by us," Drake said.
Oakland voter Derrick Johnson was returning his ballot outside of the main elections office and said he voted no. He doesn't blame Price for the violence.
"I've been here all my life. I don't see the city getting worse. It's not getting better. But I think there's room for improvement," Johnson said.
No interview from Price on Saturday. Instead, her campaign spokesperson Venus Gist sent a statement calling the recall undemocratic.
The statement reads in part, "It's the billionaires against DA Pamela Price. The status quo who do not want change. District Attorney Pamela Price is more than qualified to serve as the district attorney of Alameda County. Let her continue to do her job."
Barrera said she's far from a billionaire, just a heartbroken mother who wants justice.
"Hopefully, Fremont police can re-file the case after she gets recalled. That's the plan," Barrera said.
If Price is recalled, the Alameda County supervisors would appoint an interim district attorney to serve until 2026. If she keeps her job, Price would finish her six-year term, which ends in 2028.