What’s the latest with the Sheng Thao recall effort?

OAKLAND, Calif. (KRON) – While much has been said about the recall of Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price, that may not be the only recall Oakland voters will have to decide this November.

Members with a group called Oakland United to Recall Sheng Thao (OUST) say they have already collected more signatures than needed to force a recall election for Oakland’s mayor.

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Opponents of Thao say they have so far gathered more than 30,000 signatures, 5,000 more than the 25,000 needed to force a recall election in November.

“Voters in Oakland will be able to let the mayor know that we are not pleased with her leadership. Oakland has gotten just worse by practically every metric,” said Brenda Harbin-Forte with OUST.

The mayor takes issue with that and points to Oakland police crime stats indicating crime is down 17% over the last three years and down 34% when you compare last year to this year.

“Crime is down 34% this year with deep reductions in burglary car theft, bipping, which is breaking of windows, and most importantly, homicide,” Thao said.

And while backers of the recall admit some crimes are down, they claim that’s because people aren’t reporting crimes as much they used to and because fed-up retailers have closed their stores

“Crime is absolutely not down in any way that means something for the city,” said Seneca Scott with OUST. “Crime is not down in the way that makes us feel safer. Crime is not down in the way that makes businesses pull up.”

Backers of the recall say they will wait until they have 40,000 signatures to file since Thao only received just under 40,000 first-choice votes in the first round of the ranked choice voting election back in November 2022.

“That sends the message that we already have more people trying to recall you than voted for you to get elected in the first place. We will be calling upon her to resign,” Harbin-Forte said,

If a majority of voters vote in favor of recalling Thao in November, a special election must be scheduled so replacement candidates can run for her seat.

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