OAKLAND — Dozens of supporters gathered near the Rockridge BART station Sunday to support embattled Mayor Sheng Thao and oppose the upcoming recall election.

“Oakland has seen enough instability in the last few years — COVID, crime, camps,” Thao told the lunchtime crowd. “What we need now is stability and experienced leadership to guide us through these difficult and challenging times.”

The rally, organized by the group Oaklanders Defending Democracy, is a response to a campaign calling for Thao's removal only a yr into his term.

Her critics accused her of neglecting and mismanaging town's funds. Rallies had previously taken place calling for her resignation.

Elaine Peng, president of Asian Americans for a Progressive America, defended Thao's leadership, pointing to a decline in town's murder rate as evidence of progress.

“I strongly oppose the recall,” Peng said. “Oakland’s murder rate was higher in 2021 than it was in 2023, the mayor’s first year in office.”

Statistics from the Oakland Police Department show a 33% decrease in overall crime year-to-date in comparison with the identical period last yr. However, the decline followed a pointy rise in crime, meaning overall rates remain high.

An independent evaluation by the Bay Area News Group found that Oakland's crime rate rose 65% in 2023 in comparison with 2020, the sharpest increase among the many region's major cities, including San Francisco and San Jose.

Although crime stays a key issue, recent incidents have increased concerns.

Last week, an Oakland resident was shot and killed at a faculty reunion in DeFremery Park, and in June, 15 people were injured in a mass shooting at Lake Merritt. There have been 70 homicides recorded in Oakland to this point in 2024, barely fewer than the 76 recorded in 2023.

But advocates point to signs of improvement.

West Oakland resident Josh Gunter highlighted the revitalization of Raimondi Park, once home to Northern California's largest homeless encampment.

“Thanks to coordinated efforts and city investments, more homeless residents have received services and are now housed in housing,” Gunter said.

He also argued that recalls must be reserved for cases of negligence and never political disagreements.

“Recalls should occur because of serious negligence, not because of political differences,” Gunter said.

In addition to Thao, Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price can be facing a recall effort, with critics accusing her of failing to adequately address violent crime.

Thao also addressed the FBI raid on her home in June, again suggesting that it was politically motivated.

“I want to make it clear that I am innocent and not the target of the FBI investigation,” Thao said. She likened the situation to “external forces putting a finger on the scale to influence the outcome.”

“I humbly ask Oakland voters to let the U.S. justice system take its course,” she said. “A recall is not the way the rule of law is supposed to work.”

Thao praised her government's achievements but acknowledged that challenges remain.

“This problem didn’t happen overnight – not through illegal dumping, camps or disease,” she said. “We have solutions to address these challenges head-on. We cleared tons of debris and created a path to permanent housing for those in need.”

Originally published: October 6, 2024 at 4:47 p.m

A Boar's Head deli in Virginia linked to an outbreak of deadly food poisoning has repeatedly violated federal regulations, including mold, insects, liquid dripping from the ceiling and meat and grease residue on partitions, floors and equipment, in accordance with newly released records.

According to documents released under a federal Freedom of Information Act request, state inspectors have logged 69 cases of “non-compliance” with federal regulations over the past 12 months, including several in recent weeks.

Inspections on the factory have been suspended and it’s going to remain closed “until the facility can demonstrate its ability to produce safe products,” U.S. Department of Agriculture officials said in an announcement Thursday. Boar's Head officials had halted production on the Jarratt, Virginia, factory in late July.

The plant is linked to the deaths of at the very least nine people and the hospitalization of about 50 others in 18 states. All became ailing with listeria after eating sausage products made by Boar's Head Provisions Co. Inc. The company recalled greater than 7 million kilos of products last month after tests confirmed that listeria bacteria in Boar's Head products was making people sick.

Between August 1, 2023, and August 2, 2024, inspectors found “heavily discolored meat deposits” and “meat mist on the walls and large chunks of meat on the floor.” They also documented flies “flying in and out of the curing bins” and “black mold spots” on a ceiling. One inspector described pools of blood on the ground and “a rancid odor in the cooler.” According to the documents, plant staff were repeatedly told they weren’t meeting requirements.

“I find it disgusting and disgraceful,” said Garshon Morgenstein, whose 88-year-old father, Gunter, died on July 18 from a listeria infection traced to Boar's Head liver sausage. “I'm just more shocked that this was allowed to happen.”

The plant was inspected by Virginia state authorities at the side of the U.S. Food Safety and Inspection Service. When problems were identified, Boar's Head “took corrective action in accordance with FSIS regulations,” officials said. According to essentially the most recent available records, no enforcement actions were taken against Boar's Head between January and March.

The documents, first reported by CBS News, didn’t include test results confirming listeria on the plant. The bacteria thrive on floors, partitions and drains, in cracks and crevices, and hard-to-clean parts of food processing equipment. Pests like flies can easily spread the bacteria throughout a factory, and the germ can survive in biofilms – thin, slimy collections of bacteria which might be difficult to eradicate.

Representatives for Boar's Head didn’t reply to a request for comment from The Associated Press, but a spokesperson told CBS that the corporate regrets the impact of the recall and makes food safety its highest priority. On its website, the corporate said all issues raised by government inspectors were immediately corrected.

Barbara Kowalcyk, director of the Institute for Food Safety and Nutrition Security at George Washington University, said the records raise quite a few warning flags.

“I wonder why the company’s management and regulators have not taken further action,” she said.

Donald Schaffner, a food science and safety expert at Rutgers University who reviewed the inspection documents, said reports of condensation throughout the factory are concerning since it is a known risk factor for listeria.

“The fact that they keep having the same problems several weeks apart is an indication that they are really struggling to keep up with hygiene,” Schaffner said.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about 1,600 people within the United States change into ailing with listeria annually and about 260 people die from it. Those most vulnerable are people over 65, pregnant women, and folks with weakened immune systems.

Bill Marler, a Seattle lawyer who has sued several firms over food poisoning, said the conditions described within the inspection reports were the worst he had seen in three many years.

Garshon Morgenstein said his father bought Boar's Head products due to company's repute.

“For the rest of my life, every time I see or hear the name Boar's Head, I will think of my father's death,” he said.

The Giants welcomed back Camilo Doval on Saturday.

Doval, an All-Star closer in 2022, was sent to Sacramento on August 9 after his earned run average (ERA) rose to 4.70 following a series of ineffective performances that included five blown saves.

Doval can be available out of the bullpen when the Giants visit the Seattle Mariners after losing 6-5 in 10 innings on Friday night.

In five games with the River Cats, Doval was 1-0 with a 3.18 earned run average, one walk and 7 strikeouts. Considering Doval allowed 29 batters to walk in 44 innings this season, the reduced walk total is encouraging.

“We just hoped he understood what was going on and realized this was an opportunity for him to get a handle on things,” Giants manager Bob Melvin told reporters before the sport. “There's always a chance that somebody could go down and feel a little cheated. It was anything but that. He's been working on those things. I give him a lot of credit for a guy who was an All-Star last year to take that time to really be productive.”

The Giants announced the move before Saturday's game against Seattle.

With closer Ryan Walker likely unavailable after 25 pitches and two innings Friday night, Doval could play as a better if needed.

Last season, Doval led the National League with 39 saves in 69 appearances and was a member of the NL All-Star team.

To make room for Doval, Landon Roupp was sent to Sacramento.

Originally published: August 24, 2024 at 12:17 pm

Millbrae residents voted to recall Vice Mayor Maurice Goodman and Councilwoman Angelina Cahalan over disagreements about an area housing project, based on semi-official San Mateo County results released Friday afternoon.

More than 70% of voters within the Second District voted for Cahalan's recall, while 29% voted no. Nearly 79% of voters within the Fourth District voted yes for Goodman's recall. Polls for the local recall election closed on July 23.

Of Millbrae's 5,688 registered voters, 2,208 solid their ballots, representing a turnout of 38.8%.

Goodman said in a text message that he was pleased with the general public's engagement within the election but was upset with the final result.

“I am disappointed by the potential consequences for other elected officials who demonstrate political courage and represent the voiceless and hyper-marginalized in the face of misinformation,” Goodman said.

The recall effort was sparked by the controversial La Quinta Inn and Suites project. San Mateo County is attempting to buy the hotel to accommodate homeless families and seniors. The plan met with opposition from the community and sparked a legal battle between the town and the county.

In September of last yr, the Millbrae City Council voted to send a letter to the county opposing the county's purchase of the property. Cahalan abstained, while Goodman voted against sending the letter.

Last yr, the town sued San Mateo County over the project, arguing that the state violated Article 34 of the California Constitution, which requires public housing to undergo an area vote before being approved.

San Mateo County argues that the project is exempt from Article 34 since it falls under recent updates to state law fine-tuning the definition of “vertical housing.”

A San Mateo County Superior Court judge dismissed Millbrae's housing lawsuit against the county without prejudice last month, ruling that the case was filed prematurely. The city can refile the case at a later date.

The recall initiative was led by a bunch of volunteers who supported the conversion project “against the will of their voters.”

Albert Yam, an organizer who’s in favor of the recall resolution, didn’t reply to a request for comment. However, Laura Smith, a Millbrae resident who’s in favor of the recall resolution, previously told this news organization that she believes the 2 council members don’t represent the voice of the community.

“Because of what we believe was an unfair process and their very poor representation of the community, people felt they should be removed from office,” Smith said.

Originally published: July 26, 2024 at 16:59

OAKLAND — Efforts to remove Mayor Sheng Thao from office will likely head to the November election after city officials confirmed Tuesday that enough valid signatures have been collected for a recall campaign against the mayor.

Thao, a progressive mayor who took office as town was still struggling to get better from the pandemic, may now be forced to return to campaign mode. The City Council is anticipated to contemplate whether to place the recall on the November ballot during a July 2 meeting.

Earlier this month, recall organizers submitted around 40,000 petitions to town – excess of the 24,644 valid signatures needed to force recent elections.

After sampling a portion of the petitions, the Alameda County elections office estimated last week that the whole batch would exceed 110% of the required threshold, enough to trigger an election without the necessity for a full hand count of signatures.

Organizers of the recall campaign, led by retired District Judge Brenda Grisham and former mayoral candidate Seneca Scott, celebrated the news of the valid signatures on social media.

“Thao's actions have brought Oakland to the brink, but the community is saying, 'STOP IT. We want Thao gone,'” Grisham said in a written statement.

Thao's opponents have pilloried her and other local progressives because they consider she is just too soft on crime and mismanages public funds.

Oakland experienced a devastating increase in crime throughout the pandemic, which is now slowly subsiding: As of Sunday, total crime across town had fallen 33% in comparison with the 2023 annual statistics.

The city, mired in a devastating budget crisis, plans to make use of proceeds from a non-public sale of its share of the Oakland Coliseum property over the subsequent two years to cover its budget deficit – a move that financial experts have criticized as a short-sighted use of long-term funds.

Thao has cited her revival of the Ceasefire strategy, an anti-violence program in Oakland that stalled throughout the pandemic, as a reason behind the recent drop in crime.

She also cited her support of out of doors investment in Oakland as a hit, including by the Ballers, a minor league baseball team founded this yr before the A's left for Las Vegas via the Sacramento region.

Recalls, once a rare political maneuver, have gained traction in California. Voters in Alameda County are in search of to recall District Attorney Pamela Price in November.

Perhaps the largest criticism of Thao comes from supporters of town's former police chief, LeRonne Armstrong, who sued the mayor after she fired him in January of last yr over his response to an internal cover-up scandal involving a police officer's hit-and-run.

Armstrong, who’s currently running for City Council, will likely be one other candidate within the upcoming November election.

OAKLAND — The Alameda County Board of Supervisors opened the door Wednesday to the recall bid against District Attorney Pamela Price failing on the November ballot.

Unfortunately for Price's opponents, the board decided to attend until May 14 to set a recall date. That gave the board the flexibleness to either call a special election for sometime between Aug. 10 and Sept. 16 or postpone it until the Nov. 5 general election.

The move raises the likelihood that a recall query with little – if any – precedent in Alameda County will appear on a ballot that features the whole lot from a rematch between the country's last two presidents to an untold variety of ballot measures and a one-off Generational race for U.S. Senate.

Several supervisors expressed a desire to take the method slowly, given the rarity of recalls in Alameda County and the way complicated the method has change into with the passage of recall election reforms in March. At least one even looked as if it would welcome legal motion to present county leaders guidance on which laws they need to apply and when.

“I would like to take this step by step,” said supervisor Lena Tam, waiting until May 14 to set a date.

“I will support this motion in the hopes that litigation will be filed so we can get clearer direction,” Supervisor Elisa Márquez added. “Because we can’t do it ourselves.”

After the meeting, Carl Chan, certainly one of the recall organizers and Oakland Chinatown leader, expressed frustration that the board had raised the likelihood that a call on the recall couldn’t be made for six months. The group he co-founded, Save Alameda For Everyone, submitted greater than 123,000 signatures to place the query on a ballot in early March and had to attend greater than a month while the voter registry counted each signature to make sure they were was valid.

In the tip, the registrar counted 74,757 valid signatures – ensuring the group would exceed the required threshold by about 1,560 after 48,617 signatures were found to be invalid.

“It is a disappointment that they are afraid to hold a special election starting today,” Chan said.

Price's campaign attorney also expressed frustration, but more with Marquez's testimony and the way the county has handled the transition between old and latest recall election laws.

“They expect Pamela to raise several hundred thousand dollars in a lawsuit,” said attorney Jim Sutton. “So why don’t (supervisors) file a lawsuit? And why doesn't anyone push her? Isn’t it the county’s duty to resolve these legal issues?”

Tim Dupuis, the county's voter registrar, cited a protracted list of budgetary and logistical concerns in expressing his preference for delaying the recall query until November. Special elections in Alameda County typically cost $15 million to $20 million, he said. And holding a special election so near a general election could force the agency to acquire latest voting equipment, since decommissioning and repairing voting machines in only a number of months is a challenge.

“We have resource needs for both elections that will be emphasized,” Dupuis told the board. “It would jeopardize our availability of resources and equipment for the consolidated election” in November.

Before the meeting, supporters and opponents of the recall shouted over one another with megaphones outside the County Administration Building in downtown Oakland, dueling chants of “Recall Price” and “We love Price.”

“Let’s make some noise for Pamela Price,” one supporter shouted right into a microphone while surrounded by signs saying, “Stop wasting our money!” and “Protect our budget!”

“The citizens have spoken,” shouted Brenda Grisham, a recall organizer. “We want Pamela Price removed sooner than later to ensure the safety of our citizens, our families and the safety of Alameda County.”

For greater than a yr, Price's opponents have been fighting the district attorney's try to overhaul the East Bay's justice system. In particular, they’ve railed against Price's decision to not impose longer prison sentences on defendants.

On Wednesday, recall supporters held signs reading “Special Election Now!” and “Your security is FREE,” while complaining to regulators that any delay in setting an election date would ignore the desires of tens of 1000’s of people that have signed on to the recall effort.

Some of the individuals who spoke to supervisors were relatives of individuals killed within the East Bay, and others felt Price had not been tough enough on crime during her 16 months in office.

“I don't understand why we have to delay this,” said one caller, John Guerrero, who added that crime “has a huge, huge impact on the community – in life, in property and certainly in business.” People want that. “

But Price's supporters questioned the recall effort coming so early in an elected official's term — particularly a measure that would cost taxpayers tens of thousands and thousands of dollars. They suggested that Price didn’t have time to completely implement her reforms.

Removing Price from office will only end in the DA's office continuing “the same arrest, re-arrest and re-incarceration cycle that we have had for 30 years, primarily affecting Black and brown communities,” one caller said , Mickey Duxbury.

Sutton went further, suggesting that supervisors had no legal authority to call an election due to concerns about how recall organizers collected signatures and the way the county's voter registry counted them.

“We believe you have a legal obligation not to move forward with the planning of this election at all,” Sutton said.

The specter of the recall falling on the November election was partly a results of newly reformed election laws that Alameda County voters approved just two months ago.

Before March 5, recall elections in Alameda County were governed by laws dating back to at the least the Nineteen Twenties that required quick scheduling of election dates. In most cases, supervisors have needed to schedule elections as early as 35 to 40 days after receiving validated signatures calling for recall.

But that each one modified through the March primary when county voters approved Measure B, opting to align the county's recall ordinances with California's recently rewritten laws. These state laws give counties two to 4 months to conduct such elections.

Importantly, the brand new laws also aim to limit the likelihood that multimillion-dollar special elections will conflict with long-scheduled general elections. Specifically, the laws open the door to a consolidation of the 2 if the recall is scheduled inside six months of a general election.

It stays unclear which election date might prove more advantageous for Price or her opponents.

“Special election voters tend to be less diverse, wealthier and far more attuned to the specific issue being voted on in a special election,” said Jason McDaniel, an associate professor of political science at San Francisco State University.

“It will be people who are primarily motivated to vote,” McDaniel said. “It’s harder to generate enthusiasm to block a recall.”

But Joshua Spivak, a senior research fellow at Berkeley Law's California Constitution Center, said his review of nearly 1,200 recall elections from 2011 to 2023 shows that in 61 percent of cases, the official facing a recall is faraway from office . The number is barely higher, at about 67%, when recall questions find yourself on the overall election ballot, while special election recalls are successful about 57% of the time, he said.

The U.S. government's auto safety agency is investigating whether last 12 months's recall of Tesla's Autopilot driving system was enough to make sure drivers paid attention to the road.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration it says in documents published on its website on Friday that Tesla had reported 20 additional accidents involving Autopilot for the reason that recall. The crashes and regulatory testing raised concerns in regards to the drug's effectiveness. The recall affected greater than 2 million vehicles, almost the entire vehicles Tesla had sold on the time.

The agency pushed the corporate into the recall after a two-year investigation into the Autopilot driver monitoring system, which measures steering wheel torque based on a driver's hands. As a part of the investigation, the agency examined several cases through which Teslas with Autopilot struck emergency vehicles parked on highways.

The recall fix includes an internet software update to extend alerts for drivers. However, the agency said in documents that it found evidence of crashes after the fix and that Tesla tried to handle problems with additional software updates after the recall fix was sent out. The updates may not have worked.

“This investigation will examine why these updates were not part of the recall or were otherwise intended to address a defect that poses a disproportionate safety risk,” the agency wrote.

A message in search of comment from Tesla was left early Friday.

NHTSA said Tesla reported the 20 accidents involving vehicles that had the recall software fixed. The authority has required Tesla and other automobile manufacturers to report accidents involving partially and fully automated driving systems.

NHTSA said it should evaluate the recall, including the “importance and scope” of the Autopilot controls, to handle misuse, confusion and use in areas for which the system isn’t designed.

It also said that Tesla has stated that owners can resolve whether or not they wish to opt-in to parts of the recall and that it allows drivers to undo parts of it.

Safety advocates have long expressed concern that Autopilot, which may keep a vehicle in its lane and maintain a distance from objects in front of it, isn’t designed to operate on roads apart from limited-access highways.

The investigation comes just every week after a Tesla could have undergone surgery Autopilot struck and killed a motorcyclist near SeattleThis raises questions on whether a recent recall went far enough to make sure Tesla drivers using Autopilot concentrate to the road.

After the April 19 crash in a suburb about 15 miles (24 kilometers) northeast of the town, the motive force of a 2022 Tesla Model S told a Washington State Patrol trooper that he was using Autopilot and checked out his cellphone, while the Tesla was driving.

“The next thing he knew was a bang and the vehicle spun forward, accelerated and collided with the motorcycle in front of him,” the trooper wrote in a probable cause document.

The 56-year-old driver was arrested for investigation of manslaughter “due to admitted inattention while driving in autopilot mode and distracted use of the cell phone while driving forward, trusting the machine to drive for him.” the affidavit says.

The motorcyclist, Jeffrey Nissen, 28, of Stanwood, Washington, was pronounced dead on the scene, authorities reported.

Authorities said that they had not yet independently verified whether the autopilot was in use on the time of the crash.

On Thursday, NHTSA finished his investigation of Autopilot, citing the recall and the study of its effectiveness. The agency said it found evidence “that Tesla's weak driver engagement system was not suitable for Autopilot's permissive operating capabilities.”

Tesla, the leading electric vehicle manufacturer, reluctantly agreed to the recall last 12 months after NHTSA determined the motive force monitoring system was defective.

The Associated Press reported shortly after the recall that experts said the answer was fixed depend on technology that will not work.

Research from NHTSA, the National Transportation Safety Board and other researchers shows that simply measuring torque on the steering wheel doesn’t make sure that the motive force is paying enough attention. Experts say night vision cameras are needed to watch drivers' eyes and ensure they’re taking a look at the road.

Michael Brooks, executive director of the nonprofit Center for Auto Safety, said NHTSA is reviewing where Tesla allows using Autopilot.

The company doesn’t limit its use, though it was designed to operate on limited-access highways. Tesla, he said, appears to depend on computers to choose whether Autopilot can work, moderately than maps that show a vehicle's location.

“If you get to the point where you're in an area that the autopilot isn't designed for, and the car knows it's in that area, why is it still allowed to engage?” he asked .

Brooks said NHTSA could seek civil penalties and extra repairs from Tesla.

Government documents filed by Tesla as a part of the recall in December say the net software change will increase alerts and warnings to drivers to maintain their hands on the steering wheel.

NHTSA began investigating an Autopilot accident in 2021 after receiving 11 reports that Teslas using Autopilot had struck parked emergency vehicles. In documents explaining why the investigation was closed, NHTSA said it ultimately found 467 accidents involving Autopilot, leading to 54 injuries and 14 deaths.

In investigative documents, NHTSA said it found 75 accidents and one fatality related to full self-driving. It's not clear whether the system was in charge.

CEO Elon Musk has said for several years that “Full Self Driving” will allow a fleet of robotaxis to generate revenue for the corporate and owners by utilizing the electrical vehicles once they are parked. Since full self-driving hardware hit the market in late 2015, Musk has touted self-driving vehicles as a growth catalyst for Tesla. The system is being tested by 1000’s of householders on public roads.

In 2019, Musk promised a fleet of autonomous robot taxis by 2020 that will rival Teslas in value. Instead, they’ve declined with price cuts, as was the case with autonomous robotaxis Delayed 12 months after 12 months because it is tested by owners as the corporate collects road data for its computers.

Tesla says not one of the systems can drive themselves and that drivers have to be able to take control at any time.

Neither Musk nor other Tesla executives would indicate on Tuesday's earnings conference call once they expect Tesla vehicles to drive independently in addition to humans. Instead, Musk praised the newest version of “Full Self Driving” and said that “it's only a matter of time before we surpass human reliability, and certainly not for very long.”

Musk further emphasized: “If someone doesn't believe Tesla will solve autonomy, I don't think they should be an investor in the company.”

Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price appears to be facing recall this 12 months after her opponents cleared the ultimate major hurdle in putting the query before voters on Monday.

Nearly 15 months after taking office, Price must now work to maintain her job after county officials said Monday that the Save Alameda For Everyone recall campaign had submitted valid signatures to force an election. According to Tim Dupuis, the county's registrar of voters, the group submitted 74,757 valid signatures, just barely greater than the 73,195 needed to get the query on a ballot. Another 48,617 signatures were found to be invalid, meaning they may not be considered within the group's try to unseat Price.

The Alameda County Board of Supervisors must now settle on a date for the election.

On Monday, recall organizers hailed the announcement as a pointy rejection of the district attorney's try to overhaul the East Bay's justice system. For greater than a 12 months, they’ve railed against Price's decisions to not impose long prison sentences on defendants – calling such measures too lenient on crime.

Since a recall was nearly as good as possible, they vowed to perform their try to remove Price from office.

“The successful collection of signatures demonstrates the overwhelming support of residents throughout Alameda County for a change in leadership and a renewed commitment to the principles of integrity and public service,” the group’s announcement said.

Messages left as a part of Price's “Protect the Win” campaign weren’t immediately returned.

The move marks the second time in recent times that a recall effort has been made against a Bay Area district attorney. In June 2022, San Francisco voters removed their very own progressive District Attorney Chesa Boudin from office in a nationally watched campaign.

Price has faced vocal opposition for the reason that first months of her term, with opponents first holding a rally in April 2023 to call for her impeachment on the identical courthouse steps where Monday's rally took place. She filed formal paperwork to form a recall committee over the summer and worked from September through early March to gather enough signatures to force an election.

Recall leaders say Price has been too soft on crime since taking office and criticized her efforts to shorten prison sentences and reduce the variety of sentencing enhancements given to defendants. They identified that her handling of several high-profile murder charges – including a plea deal for a person once accused in three murders as an adolescent – was an indication that Price was not tough enough on crime.

However, Price calls the long prison sentences a remnant of the country's racist overreaction to crime – a response that has devastated communities of color and led to the unnecessary mass incarceration of criminals. A vocal critic of law enforcement, she has also taken steps to reopen misconduct cases against police and sheriff's deputies.