New DA may not be named until February if Price is recalled

OAKLAND, Calif. (KRON) – The latest vote count in the recall of Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price still has almost 65% of voters supporting the recall. 

If those numbers hold, Alameda County’s Board of Supervisors will have to appoint a new replacement. But that might not happen until February of next year. 

Board president Nate Miley says it’s critical the new DA has certain qualifications.

“We would be looking for someone who is a seasoned prosecutor because we need to make sure we have someone who has the experience and understands the role of a district attorney,” he said. 

Miley says it’s critical that person is able to strike a balance between criminal justice reform and holding criminals accountable for their actions.

“You don’t want to sacrifice one for the other, and you want to hold people accountable for their behaviors and their actions, particularly if they’re heinous and there’s no justification there,” he said. 

Miley says Alameda County would be lucky to appoint someone like San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins.

“Someone who’s knowledgeable, balanced in their approach, professional and someone that has the trust of the public,” he explained. 

The board of supervisors will set the process for selecting the new DA. Miley says he favors letting anyone apply and then having a committee appointed by the board review the applicants and narrow the choices to four or five. Those candidates would then be publicly interviewed during a supervisors’ meeting.

“So we’ll probably be looking at something in January or February of next year, when we would do the public interviewing and then make an appointment,” he said. 

Whoever the board of supervisors appoints will have to run for election in 2026. The winner there will serve out the final two years of Price’s term.