Alameda County voters to decide between incumbent, recalled prosecutor and newcomer in DA's race
In Tuesday's election, Alameda County voters are weighing whether they want to return a recalled district attorney to office, support the DA who took over after the recall, or go with a political newcomer.
Ursula Jones Dickson, appointed as district attorney after the 2024 recall of former DA Pamela Price, is seeking election to finish out the term while Price attempts a political comeback. Attorney Gopal Krishan is also running against Jones Dickson and Price.
A candidate who receives 50% plus one vote in the primary would be elected. If no candidate receives a majority, the top two vote-getters would face off in the general election in November.
The Alameda County DA race is seen as a referendum on criminal justice reform, public safety, and the aftermath of Price's 2024 recall, with voters being asked to continue moving toward a more traditional prosecutorial approach or returning to progressive prosecution reforms.
Incumbent Jones Dickson campaigned on prioritizing violent-crime prosecution and public safety, focusing on victims' rights and reducing case backlogs. Among the policies of her predecessor she reversed were restrictions on sentencing enhancements that could lengthen prison terms. Jones Dickson also received the endorsement of the Alameda County Democratic Party.
A former Alameda County deputy district attorney and Superior Court judge, Jones Dickson was one of seven contenders vying to take over for Price and was unanimously approved by the Alameda County Board of Supervisors.
Price, a civil rights attorney, became Alameda County's first Black elected district attorney in 2022 after running on reducing mass incarceration, eliminating racial disparities, limiting sentencing enhancements and increasing police accountability. However, during her first year in office, violent crime spiked dramatically before declining in 2024, according to data from the California Department of Justice.
Critics argued that her policy of pursuing alternatives to incarceration emboldened criminals, leading to a decline in confidence in public safety while case backlogs grew during her tenure.
Voters removed Price in 2024 with 63% of the vote, making her one of the highest-profile progressive prosecutors in the country to be removed from office, and the second Bay Area progressive prosecutor to be recalled. In San Francisco, voters recalled former District Attorney Chesa Boudin in 2022. Former Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón, who previously served as San Francisco DA from 2011 to 2019, survived two recall attempts in L.A. before losing his reelection bid in 2024 to Nathan Hochman.
Price announced in December that she would run for her old job again, saying she was compelled after seeing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids in communities across the county and said she believed that since President Trump returned to office, the political pendulum has swung to the left with voters again looking to elect progressive district attorneys.
Krishan, a Bay Area trial attorney who announced his candidacy in February, has no prosecutorial experience and his law practice has mainly dealt with immigration law, family law, estate planning and related civil matters.
His campaign has focused on opposition to ICE enforcement in Alameda County, public safety, and prosecution of hate crimes, while advocating for the immigrant community.
The newly-elected DA will serve the remaining two years of Price's original term, set to expire in 2028. A 2022 law meant to align District Attorney's and sheriff's races with presidential election years gave DA's and sheriffs elected in that year to six-year terms instead of the usual four years.
