OAKLAND, Calif. (CN) — In a historic election for Northern California, vote counts Wednesday appeared to signal a recall of Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao and Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price, both Democratic criminal justice reform advocates.
With 36% of the votes counted as of Wednesday afternoon, 65% of voters chose to recall Thao, and 64.7% of voters wanted to recall Price. Final vote results could take up to a week to become available.
This would be the first time in county history either position has been recalled, and recall supporters say it marks a mandate for the region against progressive crime policies, which they claim have increased crime in recent years.
Leaders of the recall efforts have already claimed victory. In an emotional speech on election night, Carl Chan, a Chinatown businessman and a leader of the Price recall effort, told reporters that the recall succeeded because of strong support from community members affected by crime.
“I want to thank especially the victims and the families. You are not willing to stop. You are always standing by us, saying ‘enough is enough,’” said Chan.
Thao’s opponents were also quick to celebrate a victory.
“God Bless Oakland, we did it,” tweeted Seneca Scott, a spokesperson for the recall. He also took credit for the recall’s success and attributed the general election’s countrywide red wave to radical progressive ideologies he claims have taken over the Democratic Party, pointing a focus on transgender issues and political intolerance.
“Stop all the weird crap and get back to real progressive values that uplift the working class if you want to win again,” he posted.
Crime was one of the largest issues on Oakland voters’ minds this year, and undoubtedly played a central role in each campaign’s messaging.
“Crime was, in the East Bay, the dominant issue in the recall,” said Jason McDaniel, a political science professor at San Francisco State University, in an interview with Courthouse News. Even though recent statistics from the Oakland Police Department show that crime has been down in recent years, McDaniel explained that the perception of crime matters just as much to the vote.
“If crime is actually down, why are voters still pissed off about it? Well, these feelings linger for quite a while,” said McDaniel.
District Attorney Pamela Price is the first Black woman to serve as Alameda County’s top prosecutor. Elected in 2022, Price received criticism for an approach critics said was easy on crime, including pursuing lighter sentences for defendants and refusing to pursue life without parole for criminals. Her critics also accuse her office of being incompetent for missing legal deadlines, which on more than one occasion resulted in the dismissal of charges against defendants.
Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao was elected in November 2022 in a close race, winning by around 680 votes. During her campaign, Thao pledged to focus on crime, homelessness and affordable housing, winning over voters with her casual speaking style and knack for brokering deals behind the scenes.
However, trouble set in early during her term as mayor and followed her through her brief tenure in Oakland’s highest office. Thao’s critics said she didn’t enforce city policies on homeless encampments, stood by while Oakland businesses shuttered due to increased crime, and left Oakland’s police department without a chief for over a year.
An unexplained FBI raid of her home earlier this year stole more of her political thunder and sapped much of the confidence she had from voters. Thao denied any wrongdoing in a press conference.
In an election that stunned Democrats all over the nation, this year’s red wave also offered a rejection of progressive policies across the typically left-wing California, whose voters approved measures to increase prison sentences for some crimes including shoplifting and fentanyl-related drug crime and similarly struck down ones to expand rent control and ban forced prison labor.