Recalled DA Pamela Price slams replacement, accuses her of rebuilding the pathway to prison pipeline

Price says she's not interested in running for DA next year. Can we believe her?; East Bay MUD's security releases report on allegations against Board Director April Chan

Recalled Alameda County DA Pamela Price at a press conference in Oakland on Wednesday morning.

☕️MORNING BUZZ

—In an exhaustive nearly one-hour press conference on Wednesday morning in Oakland, recalled Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price launched an aggressive critique of her successor, newly appointed DA Ursula Jones Dickson.

Price accused Dickson of working to dismantle her progressive reforms and “rebuild the pathway to prison.”

Price broke a longstanding personal policy of not publicly criticizing Black women in leadership. “In this case, I had to break that statement,” Price said. “It is clear to me that her own agenda at this point is to undo the work that my administration did,” she said of Jones Dickson.

—Price said she is not interested in running for DA in the June 2026 primary, and does not plan to mount a recall campaign against Jones Dickson.

Price sharply criticized Dickson’s recent decision to drop a case against Radius Recycling in Oakland (formerly Schnitzer Steel) for its involvement in a 2023 fire, and painted the new DA as lacking the political and managerial experience to lead the large, complex office.

Some of Price’s claims veered into legal minutiae, including references to historical prosecutorial misconduct in Alameda County.

Prosecutors under previous administrations systematically excluded Black women and Jews from juries, Price said, and that Dickson—who was once appointed to the bench with the backing of former Alameda County DAs Tom Orloff and Nancy O'Malley—was continuing a legacy of institutional bias.

Throughout the event, Price frequently invoked what sounded like a debate with an imagined version of Jones Dickson, defending her own record and casting doubt on her successor’s intentions.

Price later criticized the Alameda County Board of Supervisors’ decision in February to appoint Dickson Jones, who Price said had no managerial or political experience. “We are now just beginning to see the results of that position,” she opined.

—More inside:

• If Pamela Price decides to run for DA in 2026, can she win? The answer is…

• An East Bay MUD investigation, one of potentially three, largely sided with Board Director April Chan, finding no misconduct on her part, along with a surprising twist.

• San Leandro’s mayor also wants a “fair share” of the county’s windfall of sales tax revenues, and may even push for a council resolution to underscore his point.

• Hayward Council adds closed session to discuss acting city manager; budget hearing pushed to June 17.

—411 ON THE 510—Become an East Bay Insiders subscriber today and get FULL ACCESS to the inside scoop every weekday morning at 6 a.m. It’s what the insiders read.