California
California DA Pamela Price recalled over 'progressive leftist' crime policies
Alameda County, California, District Attorney Pamela Price was recalled early Wednesday, less than two years after taking office, following backlash for her alleged soft-on-crime approach.
The effort was backed by the recall committee Save Alameda for Everyone (SAFE), and passed with 64.8% of the vote, according to polling results from the county of Alameda. The committee includes former Alameda County prosecutors, county residents, community activists, and crime victims and victims’ families, according to the committee’s website.
“It’s been a long, hard 18 months, and we’re hoping to see it turn around for all of the victims,” Brenda Grisham, principal officer for SAFE, told Fox News Digital. “And we’re not just talking about laws that are out there, but she came into office and implemented her own laws, and they were just not conducive and safe for the citizens of Alameda County.”
ALAMEDA COUNTY DA PAMELA PRICE FACING RECALL AS SPECIAL ELECTION LOOMS: THE ‘PEOPLE HAVE SPOKEN’
“They spoke their mind yesterday, and I’m so excited,” Grisham said.
“We are thankful to the voters of Oakland for recalling Sheng Thao and to Alameda County for recalling Pamela Price,” Oakland Police Officers Association President Huy Nguyen said in a statement. “Voters recognized their progressive leftist policies directly harmed and impacted residents, neighborhoods, working and middle class families, and small businesses.”
The group filed the necessary paperwork to begin fundraising for the effort in July 2023. The recall effort had acquired nearly 75,000 validated signatures by May of this year, according to the New York Post.
The Alameda County Board of Supervisors set a recall election date of Nov. 5 in May.
Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao was also ousted from office after her recall effort passed with 65% of the vote.
NATHAN HOCHMAN OUSTS EMBATTLED LIBERAL PROSECUTOR GEORGE GASCÓN AS LA COUNTY DA AMID CRIME CONCERNS
Several Alameda County families had spoken out against Price in the months leading up to her recall vote.
Florance McCrary, whose 22-year-old son was shot and killed by a stray bullet in 2016, became a vocal advocate in calling for Price’s removal after she abruptly dropped the murder charge of her son’s alleged killer last year.
“I was in total shock,” McCrary told Fox and Friends co-host Pete Hegseth. “It was unbelievable to realize that for the fight that took over six years to get to that, it was diminished to nothing. And while sitting there in court, learning even from the judge, well, this is the best we can do.”
“There are still so many more ballots to be counted, and in areas that I know we did well in getting our message out,” Price said in a statement released. “The Registrar of Voters estimates that it still has hundreds of thousands of ballots to count. The next update will be issued later this week. I am optimistic that when all the votes are counted, we will be able to continue the hard work of transforming our criminal justice system.”
California Democrat Rep. Eric Swalwell also came out in support of the recall vote, holding a press conference in October where he argued Price had failed victims of violent crime, according to KTVU.
PROPOSITION 36 OVERWHELMINGLY PASSES IN CALIFORNIA, REVERSING SOME SOROS-BACKED SOFT-ON-CRIME POLICIES
“The cops catch, and Price releases,” Swalwell said.
Swalwell also reportedly filed a defamatory claim against Price this week, claiming Price had made defamatory statements at a news conference a few weeks prior wherein she said that Swalwell wanted to recall her to “shield himself from unethical practices” that occurred while he was serving as a deputy district attorney, according to KTVU.
“Pamela Price leaves me no choice but to file this claim against her for her deliberate and untrue statements,” Swalwell said in a statement to the outlet.
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Fox News Digital reached out to Swalwell’s office for additional comment.
Fox News Digital’s Bailee Hill contributed to this report.
California
Northern California driver dies after vehicle found in floodwaters, 1 other found dead
SONOMA COUNTY – A man died when he was found in a flooded vehicle after an atmospheric river dumped heavy rain in Northern California, authorities said.
In Sonoma County’s Guerneville, first responders responded to a report around 11:30 a.m. Saturday for a vehicle that was seen in floodwaters near Mays Canyon Road and Highway 116.
The caller believed that at least one person was inside the vehicle.
When crews arrived, they said the vehicle was recovered but a man was pronounced dead at the scene. He has not been identified.
The Russian River, which flows through Guerneville, reached the flood stage on Friday evening and exceeded what was forecasted.
This area went into a flood warning around 2 p.m. Friday and was still in place as of Saturday afternoon.
Guerneville is about 75 miles north of San Francisco.
Around 8:45 a.m. Saturday in Santa Rosa, a man was found dead in Piner Creek just south of Guerneville Road, the police department said. His death is being investigated.
California
Laura Richardson completes a political comeback, winning tight race to represent South L.A. in the California Capitol
Laura Richardson emerged the victor of the competitive, costly and feisty election to win a South Los Angeles seat in the state Senate — completing her political comeback more than 10 years after a tumultuous tenure in the House of Representatives.
Richardson narrowly won the race against Michelle Chambers, a community justice advocate who faced accusations of misconduct in prior public office. The Associated Press called the race Friday after weeks of ballot counting.
The contest between two Democrats with similar social policies but differing views on crime and business attracted huge spending by special interests.
Independent expenditure committees poured more than $7.6 million into the race, making it the most expensive election for state Legislature this year, according to California Target Book, a political database. Negative campaigning dominated the race as business interests and labor unions battled for their favored candidate.
Richardson, a moderate Democrat, will join a Democratic supermajority in the Legislature. But Republicans are on track to flip three legislative seats this year, one in the Senate and two in the Assembly.
Richardson’s biggest supporters were businesses, including PACs funded by oil companies, and law enforcement associations that said they advocated for candidates who shared their beliefs on free enterprise and public safety. Meanwhile, Chambers’ biggest portion of support came from healthcare workers and teachers unions, who spent millions of dollars backing her.
Chambers wrote in a statement she was “proud of the campaign we ran,” thanking supporters who canvassed, phone-banked or cast votes for her “vision of better jobs, better wages and a California that works for everybody, not just the wealthy and well-connected.”
“This was the closest state senate race in the state, but unfortunately it appears that we will fall just short of victory,” she added. “Our people-powered efforts were not quite enough to overcome millions of dollars in outside spending on lies from the oil and tobacco industry and their allies.“
Richardson will succeed Sen. Steven Bradford (D-Gardena) in the 35th District, which encompasses the cities of Carson, Compton and stretches down to the harbor. Bradford, who had endorsed Chambers, said he believed both candidates were “qualified to do the job.”
Bradford, who championed reparations legislation during his tenure, hoped the future senator would be “willing to meet with all factions of the community, because it’s a great diverse need in this district.”
“I’m also deeply sad to see how negative this campaign was, probably one of the most negative campaigns I’ve experienced in my 30-plus years of being involved with elections,” he said. “I just hope that we can come together after such a negative campaign, regardless of who the victor is, and understand that we have to work together.”
Richardson and Chambers took aim at each other’s past controversies. For Chambers, who had picked up the endorsement of various state and local elected officials, opposition groups seized on a criminal misdemeanor charge from 30 years ago. She was also accused of bullying and intimidation from her time as a Compton City Council member, allegations that she has repeatedly denied.
Richardson faced criticism over her tenure in Congress, where a House Ethics Committee investigation found her guilty in 2012 of compelling congressional staff to work on her campaign. The committee report also accused Richardson of obstructing the committee investigation “through the alteration or destruction of evidence” and “the deliberate failure to produce documents.”
Richardson admitted to wrongdoing, according to the report, and accepted a reprimand and $10,000 fine for the violations. She previously said that during her time in Congress, Republicans frequently targeted members of the Black Caucus. After she lost her reelection bid for a fourth term, Richardson said she worked at an employment firm to improve her managerial skills and has recognized previous mistakes.
“It’s been said voters are very forgiving, and if you stand up and you accept responsibility and you improve in the work that you do — we need people who’ve been through things, who understand what it’s like to have had difficulties,” she previously told The Times. “And so that’s exactly what I did. I didn’t shy away from it.”
California
72-hour rain totals across Northern California
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