On April 29, Alameda County voters will get a front-row look at the three contenders who want to run the county’s prosecutor’s office. Interim DA Ursula Jones Dickson will share the stage with former DA Pamela Price and challenger Gopal Krishan as the June 2 primary closes in. The conversation is expected to zero in on public safety, police accountability and how prosecutorial discretion will be used in Alameda County.
The forum, co-hosted by The Oaklandside and Berkeleyside, is scheduled for Oakstop’s Broadway Event Hall, with doors opening at 5:30 PM and the program set for 6 to 7:30 PM. Free tickets are listed as sold out, and organizers say the event will be livestreamed on Zoom, according to Eventbrite.
Ursula Jones Dickson was appointed by the Alameda County Board of Supervisors and sworn in as interim district attorney in February 2025, according to the Alameda County DA’s Office. Pamela Price, who was recalled by voters in November 2024 and who founded Price & Associates in 1991, is mounting a comeback bid, according to Wikipedia. Challenger Gopal Krishan is a Milpitas-based family and immigration attorney running on a public-safety platform, according to Elect Gopal.
Legal cases to watch
Jones Dickson has already used prosecutorial discretion in high-profile cases. In December, she moved to dismiss manslaughter charges against a former San Leandro officer in a 2020 fatal shooting, a decision that touched off a local debate over accountability, according to KQED. Her office also filed a criminal bribery case this spring against a Hayward officer accused of taking cash and perks tied to a prostitution operation, per the Pleasanton Weekly.
Price’s term included a sweeping review of Alameda County death penalty files after prosecutors’ notes surfaced that a judge said raised “strong evidence” of biased jury strikes, as reported by Berkeleyscanner. Krishan has emphasized a tough public-safety message on his campaign site, writing, “I will ensure no cooperation with unlawful ICE operations,” per Elect Gopal.
What to watch at the forum
One big theme is likely to be the DA’s budget and workload. The Oaklandside reports the office manages roughly a $111 million budget and about 368 staff, and notes the office said property-crime cases filed rose from about 3,600 in 2024 to roughly 4,600 in 2025. According to The Oaklandside, those figures and trends are expected to shape exchanges about staffing levels, charging priorities and how prosecutors work with police.
How to watch
The in-person venue is Oakstop’s Broadway space at 2323 Broadway in Oakland, per Oakstop. If you missed the sold-out registration, the hosts say the forum will be livestreamed on Zoom and recorded for later viewing, so voters can check the organizers’ pages for the access link.
The June 2 primary will decide who finishes the current term and serves as Alameda County’s next elected district attorney; the date is part of California’s statewide primary calendar. For the official statewide schedule, see the California Secretary of State. The Oakstop forum is the clearest opportunity before the ballot to see how each candidate answers the practical questions voters care about, including police cooperation and case-by-case charging decisions.
