East Bay voters oust Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao, Alameda County DA Pamela Price in recall, AP projects
The Associated Press on Monday called the recall races for both Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao and Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price with voters ousting both officials.
Thao was removed from office just two years after she narrowly won office to lead the liberal East Bay city.
Thao had released a statement last Friday acknowledging the likely outcome. Early returns in the race were dominated by voters backing the recall.
"Thank you for choosing me to serve as your Mayor. As the first Hmong American woman to become the mayor of a major American City, it has been the honor of my lifetime," she said in the statement.
She committed to ensuring a smooth transition.
Thao must vacate the office as soon as election results are certified Dec. 5 and the Oakland City Council declares a vacancy at its next meeting, which would be Dec. 17, Nikki Fortunato Bas, City Council president, said in a statement.
A special election for a new mayor will be held within 120 days, or roughly four months.
Until then, Bas — as president of the City Council — would serve as interim mayor unless she wins a seat on the Alameda County Board of Supervisors. As of Monday, Bas was trailing in that race.
Thao was elected mayor in November 2022 and became the first Hmong American to lead a major city. She faced criticism almost immediately after taking office for firing popular Oakland Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong. Frustrated voters, including the local NAACP, blamed Thao for a long list of city woes related to public safety, homelessness and the city's budget.
In her statement, Thao said she was proud of her administration's accomplishments.
Thao was not the only official booted from office in Tuesday's election. Pamela Price, district attorney for Alameda County, which includes Oakland, also was ousted by voters in a recall election. Critics of both Thao and Price disagreed with the officials' progressive politics.
Price was elected less than two years ago promising to cut the rate of incarceration, particularly of young Black men. She also said she would not use enhancements to beef up jail sentences that she said disproportionately affected people of color.
The beginning of Price's term in 2023 also coincided with a surge in crime, with Alameda County seeing double-digit percentage increases in violent and property crimes. Price sparked immediate criticism over her refusal to seek more serious charges in multiple cases, which her opponents claimed was creating a system of "catch and release."
Just three months into her term, Price was defending herself from criticism over her handling of a case involving the suspects in the 2021 gang-related fatal shooting of 23-month-old Jasper Wu on Interstate Highway 880 in Oakland.
Weeks later, the family of a Pleasanton Home Depot employee shot to death in April 2023 by a shoplifter held a press conference to denounce Price and her decision to pursue lesser charges and sentencing in the case.
In June 2023, the family of a San Lorenzo newlywed killed in a road rage shooting spoke out against Price after her office declined to try the 17-year-old suspect as an adult.
The recall of Price saw high-profile support from both Rep. Eric Swalwell and former Alameda County District Attorney O'Malley.
Thao went into Tuesday's election weakened by an FBI raid in June of her home — along with properties owned by a politically influential family that controls the city's recycling contract. Thao has maintained her innocence and authorities have not said what they are investigating.
Oakland uses a ranked choice voting system that allows voters to list multiple choices in order of preference. Thao narrowly beat Loren Taylor in 2022 despite getting fewer first-place votes than Taylor.
Oakland has about 400,000 residents and is, at times, more politically liberal than San Francisco. It is Vice President Kamala Harris' hometown.
In recent years, Oakland has lost three professional sports franchises, including Major League Baseball's Oakland Athletics. California Gov. Gavin Newsom has sent state highway patrol officers, state prosecutors, and surveillance cameras to help Oakland battle crime.
