Community groups ask for transparency in selection of interim Alameda County District Attorney
September 15, 2009 by donal brown
Filed under 1st Amendment News, Access to Meetings, News & Opinion
A coalition of community groups is asking for an open selection process in selecting an interim District Attorney for Alameda County particularly given the key decisions the interim DA will be making concerning seeking the death penalty rather than life imprisonment. The Alameda County Board of Supervisors is considering the appointment Tuesday, Sept. 15. -DB
American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California
Press Release
September 14, 2009
OAKLAND–The Alameda County Coalition for Alternatives to the Death Penalty will ask the Board of Supervisors to implement a fair, open and transparent process for selecting an interim District Attorney at the Board’s meeting on Tuesday, September 15. Following District Attorney Tom Orloff’s surprise announcement last week that he would retire, the Board of Supervisors must select an interim District Attorney to serve the remainder of Orloff’s term, through 2010.
The Board has placed “consideration” of the appointment on the agenda but not made public what process, if any, will be used to select an interim.
“Our concern is with the process for filling a vacancy caused by an incumbent resigning a few months before an election,” said Marion Taylor of the League of Women Voters in Oakland. “By appointing someone now, they create a different race for the office when it comes up for election,” Taylor observed. The District Attorney election will be in June 2010.
“The interim District Attorney will have the authority to make key decisions, such as seeking the death penalty rather than permanent imprisonment, which costs the county millions of additional tax dollars,” said Stefanie Faucher of Death Penalty Focus. “The Board needs to consider the serious consequences of this decision for the people of Alameda County.”
“Appointing an interim District Attorney is one of the most important duties delegated to the Board of Supervisors and it is not a decision that should be made behind closed doors,” said Natasha Minsker of the ACLU of Northern California. “We are asking the Board to implement a fair, open and transparent process to ensure that Alameda County residents can know how this critical decision will be made.”
The Alameda County Coalition for Alternatives to the Death Penalty consists of a broad range of community leaders and organizations working to increase awareness about the problems with the death penalty on a local level and to promote alternatives that effectively increase public safety.
The coalition includes the League of Women Voters, the ACLU of Northern California, Death Penalty Focus, and religious congregations. To date, 67 community groups have adopted the coalition’s resolution calling for the District Attorney to stop pursing death sentences and over 1,500 individuals have signed the coalition’s petition.
For more information, visit www.alamedadeathpenalty.org
