City Government
Contra Costa County DA Diana Becton Describes Accomplishments in Letter to Voters
Change is hard, but it is necessary to serve and protect our community.
Dear Friends and Supporters,
I won’t lie to you. Being a progressive district attorney is a challenging job. I was elected to bring change, and resistance to that change is something I encounter every single day.
But I am not accountable to those who resist. I am accountable to voters like you. And every day I am very clear about why I am here.
First and foremost, my job is to keep our community safe. This requires focusing the resources of the District Attorney’s office on prosecuting serious crimes. It requires exploring opportunities with the potential to reduce future crime by helping individuals become healthy and productive members of our community. It requires an unwavering commitment to the integrity of our work to provide justice for victims of crime.
Change is hard, but it is necessary to serve and protect our community. Here are some of the changes I have made so far:
- Established the Office’s first Human Trafficking Unit. This unit is tasked with developing a collaborative, comprehensive approach to combat exploitation of persons for sex or labor, to coordinate victim services, and to raise community awareness of these serious crimes.
- Eliminated the backlog of untested sexual assault kits that sat on the shelves of local law enforcement agencies in Contra Costa County.
- Proactively dismissed thousands of old marijuana convictions that only served as obstacles to people trying to live as productive members of the community.
- Joined a bipartisan statewide district attorney effort to re-sentence and release people whose confinement is no longer in the interest of justice by elevating the use of AB 2942, which allows prosecutors to petition the court for re-sentencing in support of an individual’s successful return to the community.
- Created the first stand-alone Conviction Integrity Unit. The unit investigates prior convictions and seeks justice for the wrongly convicted.
- Prioritized charging decisions away from low-level nonviolent offenses by diverting individuals to substance abuse treatment and other relevant programs and services.
These changes improve our justice system for every member of our community. Change may be hard, but it is necessary to meet the challenges and changes we face every day as a community.
City Government
Court Throws Out Law That Allowed Californians to Build Duplexes, Triplexes and RDUs on Their Properties
Charter cities in California won a lawsuit last week against the state that declared Senate Bill (SB) 9, a pro-housing bill, unconstitutional. Passed in 2021, SB 9 is also known as the California Housing Opportunity and More Efficiency Act (HOME). That law permits up to four residential units — counting individual units of duplexes, triplexes and residential dwelling units (RDUs) – to be built on properties in neighborhoods that were previously zoned for only single-family homes.
Charter cities in California won a lawsuit last week against the state that declared Senate Bill (SB) 9, a pro-housing bill, unconstitutional.
Passed in 2021, SB 9 is also known as the California Housing Opportunity and More Efficiency Act (HOME). That law permits up to four residential units — counting individual units of duplexes, triplexes and residential dwelling units (RDUs) – to be built on properties in neighborhoods that were previously zoned for only single-family homes.
A Los Angeles Superior Court Judge ruled in favor of the cities, pointing out that SB 9 discredited charter cities that were granted jurisdiction to create new governance systems and enact policy reforms. The court ruling affects 121 charter cities that have local constitutions.
Attorney Pam Lee represented five Southern California cities in the lawsuit against the state and Attorney General Rob Bonta.
“This is a monumental victory for all charter cities in California,” Lee said.
However, general law cities are excluded from the court ruling as state housing laws still apply in residential areas.
Attorney General Bonta and his team are working to review the decision and consider all options that will protect SB 9 as a state law. Bonta said the law has helped provide affordable housing for residents in California.
“Our statewide housing shortage and affordability crisis requires collaboration, innovation, and a good faith effort by local governments to increase the housing supply,” Bonta said.
“SB9 is an important tool in this effort, and we’re going to make sure homeowners have the opportunity to utilize it,” he said.
Charter cities remain adamant that the state should refrain from making land-use decisions on their behalf. In the lawsuit, city representatives argued that SB 9 eliminates local authority to create single-family zoning districts and approve housing developments.
Alameda County
Board of Supervisors Accepts Certification of Signatures, Will Schedule Recall Election May 14
The Alameda Board of Supervisors unanimously accepted the certification of the results of the valid signatures submitted for the recall of District Attorney Pamela Price on Tuesday evening. The Board will set the election date at a special meeting on May 14. Before the meeting, recall proponents and opponents held separate press conferences to plead their cases to the Board and residents of Alameda County.
By Magaly Muñoz
The Alameda Board of Supervisors unanimously accepted the certification of the results of the valid signatures submitted for the recall of District Attorney Pamela Price on Tuesday evening. The Board will set the election date at a special meeting on May 14.
Before the meeting, recall proponents and opponents held separate press conferences to plead their cases to the Board and residents of Alameda County.
Price, who up until this point has made little public comment about the recall, held her press conference in Jack London to announce that the California Fair Political Practices Commission has opened an investigation into the finances of the Save Alameda For Everyone (SAFE) recall campaign.
The political action committee (PAC), Reviving the Bay Area, has been the largest contributor to the SAFE organization and has allegedly donated over half a million dollars to the recall efforts.
“Between September 2023 and November 2023, [Revive the Bay Area] donated approximately $578,000 to SAFE without complying with the laws that govern all political committees in California,” Price said.
Price accused the recall campaigns of using irregular signature-gathering processes, such as paying gatherers per signature, and using misleading information to get people to sign their petitions.
SAFE held their own press conference outside of the Alameda County Administration Building at 1221 Oak St. in Oakland, once again calling for the Board to certify their signatures and set a date for the recall election.
Their press conference turned contentious quickly as Price’s “Protect the Win” supporters attempted to yell over the SAFE staff and volunteers. “Stop scapegoating Price” and “Recall Price” chants went on for several moments at a time during this event.
Families of victims urged the Board to think of their loved ones whose lives are worth much more than the millions of dollars that many opponents of the recall say is too much to spend on a special election.
The Registrar of Voters (ROV) estimates the special election could cost anywhere from $15 to $20 million, an amount that is not in their budget.
The Board was presented with several options on when and how to conduct the recall election. They have to set a date no less than 88 days or more than 125 days after May 14, meaning the date could fall anywhere from late July to September.
But the County charter also states that if a general election takes place within 180 days of their scheduling deadline, the Board could choose to use the November ballot as a way to consolidate the two events.
In the event that Price is recalled, the Supervisors would appoint someone to fill the vacancy, though neither the County nor the California charter specifies how long they would have to pick a replacement.
The appointee would serve as district attorney spot until the next election in 2026. Afterwards, either they, if they run and win, or a newly elected candidate would serve the rest of Price’s six-year term until 2029. Price is unique as the only district attorney wo serves a term of six years.
The Board acknowledged that they knew last fall that this recall would come with its own set of complications when Measure B, which changed the local recall charter to match California’s, was first brought to their consideration.
Supervisors Nate Miley and David Haubert opposed discussing the measure, stating that the public would think that the Board was attempting to influence the recall campaign that had already taken off months prior.
“I think ultimately this feels like it’s going to end up in court, one way or the other, depending on who files what,” Haubert said.
Price’s legal team told the Post that the district attorney intended to consider all legal options should the recall election take place.
Miley stated that while he was in support of the amendment to the charter, he did not think it was right to schedule it for the March ballot as it would ultimately cause confusion for everyone involved.
“It has produced some legal entanglements that I think, potentially, could’ve been avoided,” Miley said.
California Black Media
State Ed Chief Tony Thurmond Pushes Bill to Train Educators
State Superintendent of Public Instruction (SSPI) Tony Thurmond is advocating for comprehensive training for teachers in reading and math, emphasizing the urgent need to improve student academic outcomes across California. On April 24, during testimony in the Senate Education Committee, Thurmond backed Senate Bill (SB)1115, which aims to provide evidence-backed educator training. The committee passed the bill with a 7-0 vote.
By California Black Media
State Superintendent of Public Instruction (SSPI) Tony Thurmond is advocating for comprehensive training for teachers in reading and math, emphasizing the urgent need to improve student academic outcomes across California.
On April 24, during testimony in the Senate Education Committee, Thurmond backed Senate Bill (SB)1115, which aims to provide evidence-backed educator training. The committee passed the bill with a 7-0 vote.
Thurmond pointed out to the committee that existing funding for educator training in literacy and math only covers about one-third of California’s educator workforce. SB 1115, Thurmond said, would fund the remaining two-thirds.
“This is an issue of moral clarity,” according to Thurmond. “In the fifth-largest economy in the world, and in an age when we have access to substantial brain science about how students learn, it should be unacceptable to train only some educators in the best strategies to teach essential skills.”
SB 1115 incorporates multiple research-backed methods, including phonics, and it aligns with the California ELA/ELD Framework, which encourages biliteracy and multilingualism.
Thurmond emphasized the moral imperative behind the push for enhanced training by noting that 70% of incarcerated adults struggle with reading or are illiterate.
“Every child should feel supported as they learn to read and every teacher should feel confident in their ability to support students’ foundational literacy,” Thurmond said. “SB 1115 is about ensuring that all children have the opportunity to read by third grade, and that all children have a shot at the life-changing outcomes that come from early literacy.”
The next step for SB 1115 is a hearing in the Senate Appropriations Committee on May 6.
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