Pamela Price’s stolen laptop actually bolsters her case against a recall

Recall petitioners are not getting paid much; the unsexy reason why San Leandro’s police chief was placed on leave; Khanna to debate GOP prez candidate

Volunteers for the campaign to recall Alameda County DA Pamela Price seeking signatures outside the San Leandro Library last Thursday evening.

PRICE RECALL

—DEFLECTION—Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price’s laptop was stolen from her vehicle in Oakland on Friday.

—The story got worse when it was revealed Price was told to wait an hour for Oakland police to show up or she could just go online and file a report.

—High-profile thefts happening to one of the people assigned with protecting the public is a bad look, especially for someone is the midst of a recall campaign.

—But the second part of the story is actually a positive for Price.

—That’s because one of Price’s main talking points for rebutting the recall is the perception that OPD’s intransigence when it comes to responding to and investigating crimes is one of the reasons for the rise in crime, not her policies.

—Recall Price’s stinging barrage against OPD at a Wellstone Renewal Democratic Club in Oakland last August. The headline below says it all.

DA Price to Oakland Police: 'Don’t tell me you’re going to get paid but you’re not going to do your job'

—For fighting back the recall, Price has three strong rhetorical weapons at her disposal:

• She’s only been on the job 10 months and is still cleaning house at the DA’s office.

• OPD is the problem.

• Former Alameda County DA Nancy O’Malley was the problem.

—The last two are particularly potent only because neither are likely to respond to Price’s constant attacks. If they do, the recall becomes about them and they may be more unpopular than Price.