On Friday, December 6, the recall election in Alameda County was officially certified and Pamela Price was no longer district attorney. That meant her chief assistant, Royl Roberts, took over the helm of the department.
Now, in his first week as interim DA. Roberts sat down to talk about what he sees his role will be in the future.
At her farewell press conference in November, Pamela Price expressed confidence in her second-in-command’s ability to lead the district attorney’s office despite having no experience as a criminal prosecutor.
“Running an agency with a budget of more than $100 million and more than 400 employees requires much more knowledge, skills and experience than just being a deputy criminal prosecutor,” she said.
With Price’s name still on the front door of the office, Roberts met with the media to talk about what the public can expect in the meantime.
“Well, first of all, I want to say that I’m not Pamela Price,” he said. “I’m Royl Roberts and I see my role as a little bit different. The voters have spoken, and I think it’s important to listen to the voters when they speak. I see my job and my role as bridging this time frame to the next I want to do what is best for Alameda County and that is to use my expertise to continue the operations of this office.”
His expertise does not include the courtroom, as he was not licensed to practice law until 2022. Previously, he held leadership positions for private companies for ten years, ending as general counsel for the Peralta Community College District. Roberts said his focus will be on keeping the prosecutor’s office functioning smoothly.
“The Alameda County District Attorney’s Office is not in the courtroom every day prosecuting cases,” he said. “This is truly a person with a wide range of management responsibilities. Like any good manager, I have put the experts in a position to help me run this operation.”
‘Well, nice. That’s great because that’s what he has to do,” Brenda Grisham said. “Yes, right now he’s the administrative officer. He’s the office manager.’
Grisham is an anti-gun violence activist who helped lead the Price recall effort. She said she is unsure why the ousted official was allowed to choose her replacement as she walked out the door.
“Well, we all understand that the majority of the staff she hired were not qualified for the positions they were hired for,” Grisham said. “You know, there are certain qualifications you need to run that office. He was the second in command, so now he’s the first in command. But because he is a permanent leader? I seriously doubt that.’
That’s the position Roberts finds himself in. But unless the Board of Supervisors appoints someone else to fill the position until a new election in 2026, it’s up to him. And he said he has a message for both the public and those causing chaos on the streets.
“If you commit a crime, you will be prosecuted if you are charged. That’s about the clearest message I can give to those who think it’s business as usual when it comes to committing crimes in Alameda County.”
But does Roberts think this is the lesson people on the streets have learned over the past two years?
“I can’t say what message they received before I came into this position. But that’s the message I can say now,” he said.
Roberts has no idea how long he will remain in the position and said he currently has no plans to run for the position in 2026.
The Supervisory Board is expected to complete the process of choosing Price’s replacement during Tuesday evening’s meeting. It is possible that the board will select a replacement DA as early as January. It could be Roberts or someone else, meaning the DA’s office will continue to sail, but without a clear sense of direction.
