Yesenia Sanchez and Pamela Price eras begin in Alameda County
Oakland mayor’s first day in office is uneventful
COUNTY NEWS
ALAMEDA COUNTY SHERIFF
—NEW SHERIFF IN TOWN—Yesenia Sanchez became the first Latina to ever serve as Alameda County sheriff. Sanchez received the oath of office at a ceremony in Oakland on Tuesday afternoon.
—“Y’all can’t see it but I have a step stool that I have to arrange before my speech,” said Sanchez, who made up for her diminutive stature with the biggest upset in the history of Alameda County politics last June.
—Sanchez won the majority of the votes in the June primary, thereby avoiding a November runoff against Alameda County Sheriff Greg Ahern, an incumbent once thought unbeatable.
—Sanchez spoke of her faith and thanked her campaign team and supporters, many of whom took a huge risk in backing an unknown political candidate. “God put people in my path that made the impossible possible,” she said. “Thank you for believing in someone nobody had ever heard of.”
—She honored her late brother who passed away from esophageal cancer in 2021 at the age of 46. “My brother’s favorite number was 23,” Sanchez said. “Here I am the twenty-third sheriff of Alameda County in the Year 2023. The significance of this number is not lost on me.”
—To her family, Sanchez said, “Did you ever think this defiant and rebellious teenager would be sheriff? I guess I showed you.”
—Sanchez inherits a sheriff’s department repeatedly under the microscope for numerous inmate deaths at Santa Rita Jail, civil rights violations, and deputy misconduct. Improving the conditions at Santa Rita Jail will be a priority, Sanchez said.
—She will work with the trades to bring apprenticeship programs to inmates, work with local police chiefs, county fire and bring “safety to our streets.”
—A transition report is forthcoming that will be used by the administration as guide and for community transparency, she said. “And now the work begins.”
—GIFT FROM PLUMMER FAM—The family of legendary Alameda County Sheriff Charlie Plummer gave Sanchez a set of stars in recognition of her history-making administration.
—LUCIA STAYS ON—Alameda County Undersheriff Richard Lucia is staying on under Sanchez. Lucia was right-hand man under Plummer and Ahern. He is believed to be the first person in the state to ever serve as undersheriff for three sheriffs.
—HARD HABIT TO BREAK—During his remarks Lucia almost referred to Sanchez as Sheriff Ahern. He verbalized the ‘A’ in Ahern before stopping himself.
ALAMEDA COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY
—PRICE WAS RIGHT—Pamela Price was sworn-in last night as Alameda County district attorney in front of a large gathering in Oakland.
—“God is smiling over me,” Price said among a group of dignitaries that included Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao, State Sen. Aisha Wahab, and civil rights icon Angela Davis, among others.
—“This moment is an exclamation point in the history of Alameda County,” Price said, who becomes the county’s first African American DA.
—“We will administer justice with compassion,” Price said. “This campaign was never about me as a person or my place in history. We’ve never wavered from our goal to change how justice is administered in Alameda County.”
--GOLDEN HANDOFF’S LAST DAYS?--Price labeled herself on Monday night as the “first non-appointed, non-anointed district attorney in 83 years.” She added, “This office has been an untouched tower of legacy appointed and unchallenged district attorneys since Earl Warren left in 1939.”
—The observation is important and the 2022 election saw a major dismantling of what I’ve long called the “Great Handoff,” in which county elected officials often time their resignations to just prior to the end of their term. This allows them to hand-pick their successor and allow the appointee to effectively run as a quasi-incumbent in the next election.
—It’s how former Alameda County DA Nancy O’Malley got the job and Tom Orloff before her. The same with former Alameda County Sheriff Greg Ahern. This time around O’Malley chose to retire and Ahern was roundly booted out of office last June by incoming Sheriff Yesenia Sanchez.
—“The Golden Handoff” isn’t just a feature of the DA and sheriff’s offices, but all county elected positions from treasurer/tax collector, and auditor, and not to mention the Board of Supervisors. Four years ago, Phong La broke the streak at the assessor’s office. Now Price and Sanchez have done the same.
CITY NEWS
OAKLAND
—DAY ONE SNOOZER—Mayor Sheng Thao officially received the keys to the car that is Oakland at precisely 11 a.m. on Monday morning.
—Thao thanked outgoing mayor Libby Schaaf for her service over the past eight years in a tweet. Otherwise, the new mayor was curiously quiet on Day One.
—By contrast, new San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan spent New Year’s Day bringing coffee and donuts to first responders.
—Starting out without a bang may not be a signal about the new mayor’s style, according to some sources, but a plodding start to hiring staff. Questions about a potential recount of the November election that never materialized may have also slowed some of their efforts.
SAN LEANDRO
—STIPEND BONANZA—When San Leandro Mayor Juan Gonzalez III said on the campaign trail that if elected, he would retire from his job as a forensic auditor at the accounting firm KPGM. Now that he’s mayor, Gonzalez has a lot of free time to fill.
—Gonzalez, who apparently will include the suffix “III” as his official name on city documents, placed himself on all four of the city council’s committees, which include finance, rules, facilities and transportation and the ill-named disaster council. Gonzalez is also slated to serve on three intergovernmental boards.
—By the way, San Leandro Councilmember Bryan Azevedo will also serve on the disaster council. Read the entire committee rosters HERE and the city’s appointments to intergovernmental boards HERE.
—Kelly Clancy will be formally approved as San Leandro’s city clerk on Tuesday night.
—The city council will also appoint a vice mayor. Recall that last year’s appointment was highlighted by Azevedo calling his council colleague a hypocrite.
