The Alameda County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday laid out a course of for appointing an interim district lawyer to interchange Pamela Value, who was recalled from workplace in final month’s election.
In a unanimous vote, supervisors dedicated to a public utility, interview and choice course of that might ideally finish, on the newest, within the first week of February with the formal appointment and swearing in of a brand new district lawyer.
The entire thing kicks off Wednesday, when the applying course of begins. The deadline for submissions is Jan. 6 at 5 p.m.
Then, throughout the week of Jan. 13, the board is scheduled to choose finalists from the candidates throughout a not but scheduled public assembly. After that, throughout the week of Jan. 20, the supervisors will conduct candidate interviews, which may even occur throughout public conferences.
Supervisors are then anticipated to deliberate publicly and make their closing choice the week of Jan. 27, with the intention of getting the brand new interim district lawyer into the workplace by no later than Feb. 4.
“There will be at least four occasions, counting today, when the public can weigh in,” stated Supervisor Nate Miley. “So this will be very transparent and open.”
“All the applications will be public,” Miley stated.
Permitting time for public enter
The entire course of was initially proposed to finish per week sooner than what the supervisors in the end selected, however throughout a protracted public remark interval, a number of folks requested that the applying and interview course of be prolonged to account for the upcoming holidays and permit the general public extra time to evaluation candidates.
The brand new timeline additionally permits incoming Supervisor Nikki Fortunato Bas to take part in additional of the method when she takes workplace on Jan. 6 and for Supervisor David Haubert to take over as board president.
“There will be at least four occasions, counting today, when the public can weigh in. So this will be very transparent and open. All the applications will be public.”
Supervisor Nate Miley
Whoever the board selects will solely serve till the following commonly scheduled election in 2026. The winner of that election will serve the remainder of Value’s time period, which was prolonged to 2028 by a latest change in state legislation to line up elections for district attorneys and sheriffs with the presidential election.
The brand new interim district lawyer will change Royl Roberts, who took over the workplace after Value departed final week, having misplaced the Nov. 5 recall election with solely about 37 p.c supporting her in comparison with 63 p.c voting sure to recalling her.
Throughout a full day of one-on-one interviews with native media retailers Monday, Roberts hinted that he may apply to be his personal alternative.
“It’s a possibility,” he stated. “Ultimately, you know, I want to do what is best for Alameda County and I think over my past two years serving in this office, I’ve had an opportunity to meet the people working here, I know the office, know the locations and been intimately involved in the budget process.”
‘There may need to be changes’
Roberts additionally made it clear that his priorities aren’t essentially the identical as Value’s, who gained her seat with about 53 p.c of the vote by working on a legal justice reform platform.
He stated he will likely be targeted on enhancing public security with an emphasis on the rights of victims and witnesses.
Chief Assistant District Lawyer Royl Roberts has assumed non permanent management duties on the Alameda County District Lawyer’s Workplace, efficient Dec. 6, 2024. (Picture through LinkedIn)
“What I am paying attention to is the realization that being safe and feeling safe, you know, may be two different things, but they are equally as important,” he stated. “And I do think that it’s important to recognize that the public has spoken, so there may need to be changes in the way we move forward and really not shy away from that responsibility.”
Roberts appeared desirous to make his presence felt as quickly as doable and stated that final Thursday night he appointed three new chiefs of prosecution who collectively have 83 years of prosecutorial expertise.
He additionally stated he’d be working together with his senior workers to conduct a form of “forensic examination” of current district lawyer insurance policies “to see if they are things that actually made the community safer.”
“I do plan on guiding the team to take a close look at some of those policies and procedures,” Roberts stated.
