Recalled DA Pamela Price says she'll reclaim her seat in 2026
In a surprise press conference, Price said she would run for DA in June and serve out the rest of her six-year term.
Pamela Price, the former Alameda County district attorney who was recalled by voters last year, says she's not done yet.
In a surprise press conference Thursday, Price said she would run for DA in June 2026 and serve out the rest of her six-year term.
In her remarks to reporters, Price repeatedly pointed to Donald Trump as a driving force in her decision to seek re-election.
"I am here for our immigrant communities that are fearful of Donald Trump's policies and his Gestapo troops. I am here for our Muslim and Jewish activists who oppose genocide in Gaza," she said. "The Wakandans are not coming, y'all. We have got to be the change we want to see in Alameda County."
"I will say to ICE and any other federal agents who violate state law: 'F around and find out,'" she continued. "No one is above the law."
In her stump speech, Price roundly criticized the new district attorney, Ursula Jones Dickson, saying her successor had not done enough to oppose Trump.
"We have a DA now … an appointed district attorney who stands with the billionaires, with corporate polluters, with insurance companies who cheat, with rogue police who kill, and with prosecutors motivated by their own political agenda and ambitions and not the law," she said.
Price did not go into detail about her allegations.
But she did claim the new DA had "literally manufactured evidence to try to support the dismissal of the prosecution" in a fatal police shooting case. (That manslaughter case remains active with trial set to take place next year.)
In fact, according to recent court testimony, the DA's office under Jones Dickson uncovered evidence that Price hires — who are no longer with the office — had hidden potentially exculpatory material and shredded documents.
When called to testify about their conduct, they took the Fifth, refusing to answer questions to avoid self-incrimination.
On Thursday, Price also alleged that at least 50 of her 200 hires had been "fired unjustly" under the new DA in an act of "political retaliation."
But multiple office insiders have said many of Price's hires were brought on at the top salary step and put into leadership roles for which they had no experience — resulting in chaos, low morale and an exodus of veteran prosecutors.
Price also criticized a decision by Jones Dickson to enforce stricter sentencing requirements for people convicted of gun crimes and said more juveniles are now being tried as adults.
Emilie Raguso
On Thursday, the DA's office denied any allegations of misconduct and referred all election-related questions to the Jones Dickson campaign.
Her campaign issued its own statement saying it would continue to put victims and survivors first, build strong alliances with local leaders, and address "serious and violent crimes in a comprehensive and holistic way."
"When I was unanimously appointed by the Board of Supervisors to serve as District Attorney, I inherited a demoralized office and a charging backlog of more than 2,000 cases," Jones Dickson said in a prepared statement. "We’ve done a lot of work to turn the District Attorney’s office around, and that work will continue for as long as I am District Attorney."
Price was originally elected as district attorney in November 2022 with 53% of the vote.
Her tenure was tumultuous as her policies and practices prompted mounting public criticism about charging and sentencing decisions, not to mention allegations of racial discrimination and attempted extortion.
Her office was also recused from two high-profile cases because of her actions.
Price and her allies said her detractors were opposed to her progressive politics but many people said it was actually her conduct that turned them off, including her decision to refuse to let The Scanner attend one of her DA's office press conferences, a First Amendment violation.
(The Price campaign has never responded to requests to add The Scanner to its media list and did not invite The Scanner to Thursday's announcement, which we reviewed live thanks to TV news feeds.)
In November 2024, Alameda County voters removed Price from office via a recall campaign that won the support of 63% of the electorate.
When asked Thursday how she would close the gap and win back the support of voters, Price declined to answer the question directly.
"I can't re-litigate and I'm not going to re-litigate the recall," she said. "We are moving forward. This is an election. And, in an election, you have two parties and the people have a choice."
She said her campaign planned to post websites to collect donations and organize volunteers by Dec. 31.
As of Thursday, Price's most recent campaign filings with the Alameda County registrar of voters were from May and referenced the 2028 election.
