The free tickets are sold out, but the event will be livestreamed on Zoom.<\/p>\n
Got questions for the candidates? You can submit them here, and they\u2019ll inform the questions we ask during the forum.<\/p>\n
The candidates<\/p>\n
The incumbent: Ursula Jones Dickson: Jones Dickson<\/a> was appointed by the Alameda County Board of Supervisors in January 2025, among more than two dozen applicants for the job, and took office in February. Upon taking office, she said one of her priorities<\/a> would be supporting crime victims and making sure they receive resources. Another was to reorganize the DA\u2019s office to address what she called inefficiencies. She brought back some of the senior attorneys who had left while Price ran the office.<\/p>\n Notably, Jones Dickson reversed several of the biggest reforms<\/a> Price had implemented, including a policy that barred prosecutors from using sentencing enhancements, basically additional charges that can add more time to a defendant\u2019s prison or jail sentence, and a policy that prevented most juvenile cases<\/a> from being transferred to adult criminal court. Jones Dickson also reinstated<\/a> a policy of seeking mandatory minimum sentences for people charged with illegal gun possession. Jones Dickson also reversed course<\/a> on resentencing efforts that Price had launched to address past prosecutorial misconduct.<\/p>\n She recently toured stores<\/a> to learn about organized retail theft and worked with law enforcement to combat the problem, including the launch of a new county-wide task force<\/a> led by her office. According to Jones Dickson, her office significantly increased the number of property crime cases filed, from 3,600 in 2024 to 4,600 in 2025.<\/p>\n Some of the police officers charged with crimes under Price and her predecessor, Nancy O\u2019Malley, have seen their cases dropped by Jones Dickson. Last year, Jones Dickson dropped manslaughter charges<\/a> against a San Leandro officer who shot and killed a man inside a Walmart in 2020, saying she didn\u2019t think her prosecutors could prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt. She also dropped charges<\/a> against two sheriff\u2019s deputies accused of lying about how often they checked up on a suicidal woman who ended her life while held in the county jail awaiting trial, and dropped charges<\/a> against eight of the 11 sheriff\u2019s deputies and other jail staff charged in relation to another person\u2019s death in the Santa Rita Jail.<\/p>\n But she hasn\u2019t declined to bring charges against law enforcement officials on other matters. Earlier this year, Jones Dickson announced charges<\/a> against a Hayward police officer for bribery and exploiting sex workers.<\/p>\n Jones Dickson served as an Alameda County Superior Court Judge from 2013 to 2025. Prior to that, she was a prosecutor in the DA\u2019s office. As a judge, she primarily heard juvenile dependency cases and, from 2019 to 2022, served as presiding judge of the court\u2019s juvenile dependency division.<\/p>\n The recalled reformer: Pamela Price: A civil rights attorney, Price<\/a> founded her own law firm in 1991 and represented victims of retaliation, discrimination, wrongful termination, and other civil matters. A longtime Democratic Party member and activist, she ran unsuccessfully for state assembly in 2014, district attorney in 2018, and Oakland mayor that same year.<\/p>\n In 2022, Price joined a wave of progressive reformers<\/a> elected as district attorneys in different parts of the country, including Chesa Boudin in San Francisco, who was also recalled, and Larry Krasner, Philadelphia\u2019s current DA. She quickly drew the ire of some career prosecutors in the DA\u2019s office, police unions, and anti-crime activists over her efforts to remake the office.<\/p>\n Price tried to fundamentally change how the DA\u2019s office prosecuted cases by issuing a series of directives, including orders to not use sentencing enhancements<\/a>. Price allowed their use only in extraordinary cases and only with a supervisor\u2019s sign-off. She also ordered<\/a> that children charged with crimes, as a general rule, would no longer have their cases transferred to criminal court, even for charges of murder and other violent crimes, where this had been the past practice. She said she wanted to stop \u201cover-criminalizing youth.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n Price emphasized public accountability cases, including charging police officers for controversial in-custody deaths and shootings. For example, she charged<\/a> three Alameda police officers with manslaughter for the death of 26-year-old Oakland resident Mario Gonzalez in 2021.\u00a0<\/p>\n Some of Price\u2019s critics accused her of mismanaging the office, and some of her high-profile cases suffered from prosecutorial errors, including the Gonzalez case, which saw charges dismissed<\/a> against two of the officers due to what a judge characterized as a \u201crushed and careless\u201d case.<\/p>\n Price launched a historic review of death penalty cases<\/a> that turned up evidence from prior decades showing that multiple prosecutors in the DA\u2019s office had illegally discriminated against Black and Jewish prospective jurors. These claims of prosecutorial misconduct have led to several men being freed from prison, and others seeking resentencing.<\/p>\n Price came under fire for hiring her boyfriend<\/a> for a role in the DA\u2019s office without properly disclosing their relationship. Some of the prosecutors in her office, according to the Berkeley Scanner<\/a>, also accused her of creating a toxic workplace that resulted in seasoned lawyers leaving.<\/p>\n Her critics eventually mounted a recall campaign, arguing that Price was too soft on crime and not properly managing the DA\u2019s office. Price defended herself<\/a>, arguing that when she took over, the DA\u2019s office was in disarray, lacked good record-keeping systems, and was plagued by low morale among staff. Voters recalled<\/a> her in 2024.<\/p>\n The newcomer: Gopal Krishan: A lawyer with 16 years of experience, Krishan<\/a> works for a Milpitas law firm<\/a> where he practices family law, including cases involving divorce, parental rights, property division, and more. He describes himself as a neighbor, father, community member, and immigrant.<\/p>\n Krishan hasn\u2019t held elected office before. But at a recent candidates\u2019 forum<\/a>, he said running his own law office has provided him with relevant experience. He appears to have jumped into the race in response to the Trump administration\u2019s immigration crackdown that has shaken Bay Area communities.<\/p>\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_3469.jpg\")
Ursula Jones Dickson. Credit: Darwin BondGraham<\/p>\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/240906_District-Attorney-Pamela-Price_EG_006.jpg\")
Pamela Price. Credit: Estefany Gonzalez<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/oaklandside.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Gopal-Krishan.jpg\")
Gopal Krishan. Credit: courtesy of candidate<\/p>\n