Voters in Alameda County, California, appear to have chosen to remove two George Soros-backed politicians from office amid a devastating crime surge that has prompted many businesses to flee the area.
Ahead of the November election, separate recall efforts were launched against Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao (D) and Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price (D).
‘The phony “progressive” movement is officially dead.’
Recall campaign leaders, who blamed Thao and Price for the county’s recent crime surge, gathered enough local signatures to force an election to keep or remove the politicians.
With 100% of the 108 precincts tallied, nearly 32,000 residents, 65.19%, voted to oust Thao.
With full results from all 570 precincts, more than 134,000 locals, 64.79%, voted to remove Price.
The recall efforts to replace Price, Save Alameda for Everyone and Supporters of Recall Pamela Price, spent approximately $2.6 million on their campaigns. According to KGO-TV, they were backed by several police officers’ unions, PG&E, and hedge fund executive Philip Dreyfuss.
In addition to a recall effort launched by Oakland United to Recall Sheng Thao, Thao faced calls to resign from the Oakland Police Officer’s Association. In August, the union urged Thao to step down to allow residents to vote for a new mayor in the November election.
Union president Huy Nguyen stated, “Today we are asking Mayor Sheng Thao to recall as mayor immediately for a lot of the failures in this city, going from crime, the budget crisis, the distraction of the FBI raid that prevents our ability to function as a city.”
Thao is currently wrapped up in an FBI investigation; however, no charges have been filed against her.
She refused the union’s calls to step down and accused it of “playing politics.”
While the final outcomes have not been officially announced as of Wednesday afternoon, if the results hold, the Alameda County Board of Supervisors will appoint a DA in Price’s place to finish out her term, and the Oakland City Council will step in for Thao.
In the summer of 2023, even the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People’s Oakland branch acknowledged that the area’s crime “doom-loop” resulted from “progressive policies and failed leadership.”
Businesses that have fled the area under Thao’s and Price’s leadership include Denny’s, In-N-Out, Black Bear Diner, Subway, and Starbucks, to name a few. Clorox Company, Blue Shield of California, and Kaiser Permanente were forced to increase their security due to the area’s uptick in criminal activity.
Seneca Scott, the founder of Neighbors Together Oakland and a recall spokesperson, stated, “The phony ‘progressive’ movement is officially dead. May it rest in pieces.”
Neither Thao’s nor Price’s campaigns responded to KGO’s requests for comment.
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News, California, Oakland california, Oakland, Alameda county, Pamela price, Sheng thao, Election 2024, Election, Crime, George soros, Politics