California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom rescinded an offer on Wednesday to help a blue city district attorney combat crime, according to a letter obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.
The move comes after Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price failed to onboard attorneys the state provided in an attempt to better prosecute drug crime, according to the letter sent to Price by Newsom’s cabinet secretary, Ann Paterson. Price and Oakland Mayor Sheng Tao face recall votes in November due to their failure to control crime in Oakland. (RELATED: ‘Sh*tshow’: Residents Say Dem City Is In ‘Chaos’ Amid Crime Wave, ‘Fiscal Crisis’) (RELATED: Prosecutors’ Union Wants Left-Wing DA Booted Out Of Office: REPORT)
“After several months of communications, however, including fulfilling requests from your office for resumes and interviews, you have not taken the initial steps of finalizing the memorandum of understanding or deputizing Cal Guard attorneys to work in your office,” Patterson wrote. “Accordingly, we have decided to shift these resources.”
The letter is a rare public rebuke of left-wing district attorneys by the governor.
.@CAgovernor Newsom figured out what everyone, painfully, knows in Alameda County. @AlamedaCountyDA has no intention in prosecuting violent criminals. So, he took back his attorney general resources as they had nothing to do. https://t.co/B63BKkdVRWhttps://t.co/EpngBgZnJ8
— Recall_Pamela_Price (@Recall_Price) July 11, 2024
Nevertheless, Newsom will continue to provide Alameda County with state authorities.
“The Governor has also directed the California Highway Patrol (CHP) to focus efforts in Oakland and Alameda County, in partnership with the Oakland Police Department, to crack down on criminal activity, including vehicle theft, retail theft, and violent crime.”
Crime in Oakland increased last year, with motor vehicle theft up 44%, robbery up 38%, violent crime up 21% and overall crime up 17%, according to a crime report from December 2023. (RELATED: California Dems Touted Decline In Violent Blue City’s Crime Rate. But The Data Isn’t What It Seems)
More broadly, Democrat-run cities have had a surge in criminal behavior since the COVID-19 pandemic. Portland, for instance, had a homicide rate of 13.2 per 100,000 residents as of 2023, an almost 140% increase from its pre-pandemic rate of 5.5 per 100,000, according to Census and city data.
Price’s platform during her 2022 campaign was centered around reducing incarceration and punishing police misconduct. A presentation used by Price’s office to train victim-witness advocates teaches that “the carceral state grew out of chattel slavery,” and repeatedly asserted there is racial bias in the criminal justice system. Crime has risen across Alameda County since she took office in January 2023,
Price received $700,000 from the George Soros-funded California Justice and Public Safety PAC for her 2018 campaign.
Price’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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