By Walter Riley
Attorney at Law

It has long been known that the criminal justice system needs to be reformed. Pamela Price campaigned on a promise to reform Alameda County’s criminal justice system.  She ran a grassroots campaign, largely funded by small donations.

Despite being outspent nearly 4 to 1, she won decisively with 53% of the vote. She took no money from police unions, freeing her to hold law enforcement accountable, something voters consistently identify as a major issue.

Recall organizing began before she even took office, showing that the recall is not about her performance.

The job of the District Attorney’s Office is to do justice, not revenge. Since I was an NAACP leader and then a Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) Field Secretary in my home of Durham, N.C., in the 1960s, I have fought for prosecutorial justice of the kind Price tries to model.

She is wrongly accused of not arresting criminals, (not her job), wrongly accused of letting criminals out of jail once arrested (not true) and failing to charge enhancements (part of a state reform movement).

Oaklandside reported. “In April 2020, a growing number of COVID-19 cases pushed the state court system to lower bail to $0 for most misdemeanor and lower-level felony offenses. The emergency bail schedule, the list setting bail at nothing for most types of crimes, was intended to help reduce the number of people being booked into county jail” during COVID.

It was the Judicial Council Order that released arrestees, not Price!

Sentencing reform makes all our communities safer. Price referred all her attorneys to guidance from the California Commission on Revision of the Penal Code, where charging and enhancements were addressed for reform at the state level.

California state law limits prosecution of youth as adults. Diversion typically yields better out­comes than arrest and prosecution in juvenile courts, including far lower likelihood of subsequent arrests.

Price’s directive to limit sentencing enhancements is a step toward creating a more just and fair system. Enhancements have disproportionately targeted marginalized communities, leading to excessive sentences without addressing the root causes of crime.

By limiting enhancements, Price is creating more balanced sentencing, focusing on rehabilitation over harsh punishment.

Her broader actions in office have shown a commitment to making Alameda County safer. According to California Gov. Gavin Newsom, crime in Oakland has dropped by 33% since DA Price took office, underscoring the effectiveness of her approach.

Her administration also expanded mental health courts, ensuring individuals with mental health challenges receive appropriate treatment, reducing recidivism.

In addition, she increased victim advocacy by 38%, providing support to over 22,500 victims.

The recall effort is premature and unjustified. DA Price has been in office for just over a year and a half, and despite significant opposition from the start, she has made transformative changes.

Some key achievements include:

• Holding corporations accountable has been a central pillar of her work, bringing in over $20 million in settlements and judgments, five times as much as previous administrations.
• Securing a $4 million settlement holding Safeway, Vons, and Albertsons accountable for overcharging customers,
• Filing 12 felony charges against a man accused of multiple armed robberies.
• Investigating and prosecuting police misconduct.

Her approach is focused on long-term reform, and residents deserve the chance to see these policies take full effect before casting judgment.

Media coverage has largely focused on sensational stories about crime, often overlooking the broader reforms and successes achieved by Price. Fear-driven narratives about crime spikes—many of which are linked to the pandemic—have often obscured her efforts to make the justice system fairer and more effective.

DA Price’s 40 years of experience as a civil rights attorney, including a win before the U.S. Supreme Court, has been foundational to her efforts to reform the criminal justice system.

Her deep understanding of justice, fairness, and accountability is precisely why she’s the right person to lead Alameda County’s justice system into the future.  We can’t go back.

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By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent

Vice President Kamala Harris decisively took control of the first presidential debate against former President Donald Trump in Philadelphia on Tuesday night, delivering a performance that put Trump on the defensive for much of the evening. Moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis of ABC News kept a tight handle on the debate, significantly improving from CNN’s June handling of Trump and President Joe Biden.

The debate began with a surprise as Harris approached Trump to shake his hand and introduced herself as “Kamala Harris,” an unusual move that set the tone for the night. Trump’s trademark scowl stayed in place throughout the debate, as Harris pressed him on his legal woes and diminished his record. Displaying her prosecutorial skills, Harris consistently turned the conversation toward Trump’s convictions, his business fraud case, and his role in the January 6 insurrection.

Harris positioned herself as a problem-solver, taking on issues like housing, childcare, and the economy. In her opening statement, she outlined her “opportunity economy” plan, which focuses on bolstering the middle class.

“I was raised as a middle-class kid, and I am actually the only person on this stage who has a plan that is about lifting up the middle class and working people of America,” Harris said. She detailed a $6,000 child tax credit as part of her plan to support young families.

Trump, by contrast, criticized the Biden-Harris economy, calling it “the worst period of time” he had seen. He defended his tariff policies and took aim at Harris, labeling her a “Marxist” while also accusing her of copying his economic policies. “I was going to send her a MAGA hat,” Trump quipped.

Abortion rights were another major focus of the night. Trump, when asked if he would veto a federal abortion ban, declined to answer directly, stating, “I won’t have to,” and arguing that the end of Roe v. Wade had satisfied everyone. Harris, in turn, vowed to restore Roe’s protections through federal legislation if elected.

“I pledge to you: when Congress passes a bill to put back in place the protections of Roe v. Wade as President of the United States, I will proudly sign it into law,” she said.

As the debate went on, Trump repeated several conspiracy theories, including a claim that migrants were eating pets in U.S. cities, which Muir quickly fact-checked. Trump doubled down, citing “people on television” as his source. Harris largely let Trump’s more outlandish statements pass, opting to stay on policy while allowing the moderators to address his factually inaccurate remarks.

In one of the most heated moments, Harris invited viewers to attend a Trump rally for themselves, commenting, “He talks about fictional characters like Hannibal Lecter and windmills causing cancer. You’ll notice people start leaving his rallies early—out of exhaustion and boredom.”

Trump, visibly irritated, retorted that he holds “the most incredible rallies in the history of politics,” but the debate soon returned to more substantive issues like crime and inflation.

The night clearly contrasted Biden’s earlier debate with Trump, as Harris managed to keep Trump on the defensive. Trump continued to fixate on conspiracy theories and past grievances, while Harris stayed focused on presenting her vision for the future.

With fewer than 60 days until the election, the debate sets the tone for what will likely be a hard-fought campaign. As the debate ended, Harris closed with a message to the American people: “This is about who we are as a country. The choice is clear—between chaos and leadership, fear and hope.”

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By Emil Guillermo

She’s still calling herself the underdog, but the biracial woman from Oakland, half Black and half Asian American, just changed the race for the presidency of the United States.

If you ever doubted Kamala Harris’ ability to be our nation’s leader, everyone who watched Tuesday’s debate saw how fully capable she is of the job.

She belongs in the White House.

Harris not only bested Donald Trump in arguing the facts; she showed how totally inadequate Trump is to again be our country’s Commander-in-Chief.

Harris deftly made her case on issue after issue, while baiting and manipulating Trump on the economy, on abortion, and on immigration.

Imagine how Putin and other world leaders play Trump. Harris exposed Trump for all to see. It wasn’t exactly an “emperor has no clothes” moment. It was more like “the twice impeached, convicted felon on 34 counts” has no business running for president. Trump is unfit mentally for the job, if not unfit morally.

It must have been a disappointment for deep MAGA to see their candidate so incapable of holding his own against Harris. At one point, she had him defending the crowd size at his rallies after she said people were leaving because he was boring.

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And then instead of real policies that impact our lives, the former president spoke passionately about… his crowd size.

When that happened, I think everyone could see: Harris ate his lunch.

Going into the debate, the consensus in this tight race was that it was a virtual tie with Trump one point ahead.

But after their first meeting ever in a head-to-head-match up, CNN’s instant poll showed Harris winning the debate well beyond any margin of error, 63 percent to 37 percent.

There’s more distance between the two than previously understood. The debate exposed that.

TRUMP’S LIES

At the beginning of the week, I said the only way Trump could win the debate was if he “played nice.”

But the bully just couldn’t do it.

Acting presidential was just one lie Trump couldn’t pull off in another debate night mired in Trump lies.

Did his administration really do “a phenomenal job in the pandemic” when over a million Americans are dead? Is Kamala Harris “a Marxist and everybody knows it”? And what about those cat-eating immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, where every local official confirmed to news organizations that the story was false. There was even a lie on that Trump lie, when the former president said the immigrants were eating cats AND dogs. No, it’s just one lie. Just cats is enough.

And all that was just a fraction of the lies Trump told in the 90-minute debate.

Still, even with all that, I wouldn’t say Kamala Harris “whooped” Donald Trump.

It was more like general domination.

In fact, she had him at “Kamala Harris.”

When Trump seemed to dismiss the possibility of an opening handshake, Harris forced the issue. She walked toward Trump’s podium, reached out her hand, and introduced herself by name.

That gesture put Trump on the defensive all night.

About the Author

Emil Guillermo is a journalist and commentator. See his micro talkshow on YouTube.com/@emilamok1

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