California Primary Election
Alameda County District Attorney
Ursula M. Jones Dickson
NonpartisanIn one year, Ursula Jones-Dickson has already changed the trajectory of public safety in Alameda County. Her office reviewed 22,386 police reports and filed 16,715 cases – a 23% increase from 2024. Over $1M in stolen property was recovered. More than $2M was returned to survivors of crime. She rebuilt the DA's office from the ground up, bringing in staff with a combined 569 years of experience.
Her approach is clear: rehabilitation and second chances for youth and first-time offenders, real consequences for repeat and violent offenders. Before taking this role she spent 15 years as a deputy DA and 11 years as an Alameda County Superior Court judge. She knows this system from every angle – and the results show it.
You might hear:
"She's only been in office a year. It's too soon to know if it's working."
A 23% increase in case filings and $3M returned to victims and communities in 12 months doesn't happen on its own. Her 26 years of prior experience in this exact system meant she didn't need a learning curve.
Ursula Jones-Dickson is a DA that puts victims, survivors, and our communities first and that's why she has our full support.
Source (https://www.empoweroakland.com/voter-guide#district-attorney)
Alameda County Superior Court Judge - Office 13
Michael P. Johnson — Michael Johnson has practiced law in Oakland for over 30 years. For the past seven years, he has served as a Temporary Judge in Alameda County Superior Court, presiding over hundreds of trials, hearings, and arraignments. Past Presiding Judge Charles Smiley – now an Appellate Court Justice – said Mr. Johnson's work on the bench was "among the best in the county."
His background spans civil rights, corporate law, privacy, and personal injury. He's composed, thorough, and doesn't bring an agenda into the courtroom. His opponent, A. Cabral Bonner, is an impressive civil rights attorney with genuine passion for this city – we think very highly of him.
But for this seat, Mr. Johnson's depth and breadth of actual courtroom experience is the right fit.
You might hear:
"His opponent is a passionate civil rights advocate – shouldn't that matter for this court?"
It does matter, and we respect Mr. Bonner's commitment to Oakland. But a Superior Court judge handles an enormous range of cases – criminal, civil, family, probate. Advocacy experience alone doesn't prepare you for that breadth. Michael Johnson's seven years on the bench across that full range is proof he can do the job best.
Source (https://www.empoweroakland.com/voter-guide#judge-seat-13)
Alameda County Superior Court Judge - Office 19
Selia Warren — Selia Warren has spent more than a decade as a Deputy City Attorney for Oakland, litigating in trial and appellate courts on civil rights, land use, elections law, and constitutional matters. She has family roots in Oakland going back decades, owns a home here, has kids in Oakland schools, and her investment in our community resonated strongly.
Her opponent, the Honorable Patricia Miles, is deeply experienced and genuinely impressed us. But her 13 years as an Administrative Law Judge, while impressive, is narrow by design, focused on structured hearings within a very specific regulatory framework. A Superior Court docket is far broader: criminal cases, civil jury trials, constitutional questions.
You might hear:
"Patricia Miles has 13 years of judicial experience. Selia Warren has none."
ALJ experience and Superior Court experience are not the same thing. Administrative law judges don't handle criminal cases, civil jury trials, or the constitutional questions that regularly come before Superior Court.
Selia Warren has spent over a decade litigating exactly those kinds of cases in the courts where this judge position will serve.
Source (https://www.empoweroakland.com/voter-guide#judge-seat-19)
