Group submits petition to recall Alameda County DA Price

The group trying to recall Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price said Monday morning they’ve submitted enough signatures to the county registrar of voters to qualify for the ballot.

Save Alameda For Everyone (SAFE) said in a statement it gathered at least 127,387 signatures to qualify for the ballot – well above the necessary 73,195 valid signatures to qualify for the fall election. The signatures still need to be verified county election officials.

SAFE said it’s a broad coalition of Alameda County residents, business owners, victims, victims’ families, and concerned citizens who have come together in the face of rising crime and what it says is a “failure by DA Price to hold perpetrators accountable.”

“DA Price is jeopardizing the safety of every resident and business in Alameda County, by failing to enforce the law, prosecute criminals, and keep violent offenders off our streets,” the group said.

A spokesperson for the campaign to defeat the recall said Monday that they have their doubts about the number of valid signatures being submitted for verification.

“We’re asking for the California Secretary of State to independently verify and check every signature,” said Protect the Win spokesperson William Fitzgerald. “We’ve received hundreds of complaints about fraud, deception and bait-and-switch tactics.”

Last week, Price supporters also sent a letter to California Attorney General Rob Bonta asking his office to investigate “potential widespread voter fraud in connection with signature gathering for the recall of Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price.”

Opponents say the effort to recall Price is supported by wealthy real estate interests and would, if successful, result in an appointed district attorney rather than an elected one.

“The other side has no solutions just money and loud mouths and they’re weaponizing people’s real pain trying to oust a democratically elected leader,” Fitzgerald said.