Oakland voters set to fire progressive mayor and DA blamed for huge crime spiral

Embattled Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao and District Attorney Pamela Price will almost certainly be out of a job at dawn.

Neither progressive duo will last even two years, as early recall vote counts leave them each down about 30 percent, with about a third of the ballots having been counted.

Thao faces a massive defeat after two years of failing to tackle mounting city debt and the worst crime rates in two decades.

She came to power in 2022 with just 50.3 percent of the vote, but as of 12:30 p.m. on election night, 64.6 percent of voters now want her out.

Oakland spends about $100 million more annually than it brings in in revenue, a situation that has shown no signs of improving.

The city has been plagued by crime for as long as anyone can remember, but reports have spiked since the pandemic and are only slowly declining.

Should the results, which are expected to tighten somewhat, hold, Thao would be the first Oakland mayor to be recalled in the city’s history.

Thao barely addressed the vote count when asked about it at her event in Oakland, instead touting select statistics.

“Zero murders in seven weeks, that hasn’t been heard of in decades… most of the streets are being paved this year, not only that, but we’re cleaning up our streets,” she said.

“We’re really proud of the work we did, no matter what happened.”

Thao also insisted the budget deficit was “inherited” and blamed Covid.

She claimed the recall attempt was orchestrated by a “millionaire, who doesn’t even live here, who was about to collect signatures and put out false facts.”

“But I know Oaklanders can see through that and vote to ensure we get into power,” she continued.

‘I have no regrets about all the important decisions I have made.’

Pamela Price, the Alameda County district attorney whose jurisdiction includes Oakland, is similarly roasted, with 64.8 percent voting to recall her

Price, the district attorney of Alameda County, whose jurisdiction includes Oakland, is also elated, with 64.8 percent voting to recall her.

She is the first Black woman to serve as the county’s district attorney, a reform candidate who was elected with 53 percent of the vote thanks to Black Lives Matter.

Her agenda included rehabilitation over punishment, reducing the prison population and tackling police brutality – but is already unpopular.

Barring a dramatic comeback, she will be the first Alameda County district attorney ever recalled.

Price’s likely defeat followed that of Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon, who was also elected as part of the same wave of demands for reform.

He is down 38 percent to 62 percent in his reelection bid against former U.S. Assistant Attorney General Nathan Hochman.

Price was attacked by conservative opponents for being too soft on crime with her effort to reduce mass incarceration by calling for shorter sentences.

Crime rose across California and much of the US last year, and fell again this year in Alameda County, but probably too late to save it.

Criticism of Thao was much broader, including her disastrous failure to prevent the city’s finances from spiraling.

A major reason for the 2023 budget deficit was a $50 million reduction in the real estate transfer tax – a percentage tax on real estate sales.

This is volatile at the best of times, but is further hampered by the perception that Oakland is crime-ridden and in decline, so no one wants to move in.

Instead of exercising any kind of caution, Thao assumed that tax revenues would increase, but of course that didn’t happen – and the city is even deeper in debt.