Editing Alameda County, California (section)

===Government===
{{Main|Government of Alameda County, California}}

The [[Government of Alameda County, California|Government of Alameda County]] is defined and authorized under the [[California Constitution]], [[California law]], and the Charter of the County of Alameda.<ref>California Government Code § 23004</ref> Much of the [[Government of California]] is in practice the responsibility of county governments such as the Government of Alameda County, while municipalities such as the City of [[Oakland, California|Oakland]] and the City of [[Berkeley, California|Berkeley]] provide additional, often non-essential services. The County government provides countywide services such as elections and voter registration, law enforcement, jails, vital records, property records, tax collection, and public health. In addition it is the local government for all unincorporated areas, and provides services such as law enforcement to some incorporated cities under a contract arrangement.

It is composed of the elected five-member [[Alameda County Board of Supervisors]] (BOS) as the county legislature, several other elected offices and officers including the [[Alameda County Sheriff's Department|Sheriff]], the [[Alameda County District Attorney|District Attorney]], [[Alameda County Assessor|Assessor]], [[Alameda County Auditor-Controller/County Clerk/Recorder|Auditor-Controller/County Clerk/Recorder]], [[Alameda County Treasurer/Tax Collector|Treasurer/Tax Collector]], and numerous county departments and entities under the supervision of the County Administrator. In addition, several entities of the [[government of California]] have jurisdiction conterminous with Alameda County, such as the [[Alameda County Superior Court]].

The current supervisors are:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.acgov.org/board/|title=Board of Supervisors|publisher=Alameda County|access-date=January 22, 2015}}</ref>
* David Haubert, district 1,
* Elisa Márquez, district 2,
* Lena Tam, district 3,
* Nate Miley, district 4, and
* Keith Carson, district 5.

The Board elects a president who presides at all meetings of the Board and appoints committees to handle work involving the major programs of the county. If the president is absent for a meeting, the vice president shall be responsible. A Board election occurs every two years for these positions. Supervisor Carson is serving currently as president; Supervisor Miley is vice president.

The county's law enforcement is overseen by an elected Sheriff/Coroner and an elected District Attorney. The Sheriff supervises the deputies of the [[Alameda County Sheriff's Office]], whose primary responsibilities include policing unincorporated areas of the county and cities within the county which contract with the Sheriff's Office for police services; providing security and law enforcement for county buildings including courthouses, the county jail and other county properties; providing support resources, such as a forensics laboratory and search and rescue capabilities, to other law enforcement agencies throughout the county; and serving the process of the county's Superior Court system. The District Attorney's office is responsible for prosecuting all criminal violations of the laws of the state of California, the county, or its constituent municipalities, in the Alameda County Superior Court. The current Sheriff is [[Yesenia Sanchez]], who was elected in 2022, succeeding [[Greg Ahern]], who had served in the post for 16 years. The Sheriff's Office operates two jails: [[Santa Rita Jail]] in [[Dublin, CA|Dublin]], and [[Glenn E. Dyer Detention Facility]] in downtown [[Oakland, CA|Oakland]].

In 2009, [[Nancy E. O'Malley]] was appointed Alameda County district attorney after [[Tom Orloff]] retired. She served two terms and did not run for reelection in 2022.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Morris |first1=Scott |title=Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O'Malley is stepping aside |url=https://oaklandside.org/2021/07/15/alameda-county-district-attorney-nancy-omalley-legacy-victims-rights-police-accountability/ |access-date=July 28, 2022 |work=The Oaklandside |date=July 15, 2021}}</ref> [[Pamela Price]] was elected as district attorney in 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sharpe |first=Joshua |date=November 19, 2022 |title=Civil rights attorney Pamela Price makes history as Alameda County's next district attorney |url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/election/article/Civil-rights-attorney-Pamela-Price-makes-history-17596670.php |access-date=September 17, 2023 |website=San Francisco Chronicle |language=en-US}}</ref>

The Alameda County Fire Department (ACFD)<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.acgov.org/fire/|title=Alameda County Fire Department|access-date=June 22, 2010|archive-date=March 29, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160329195026/http://acgov.org/fire/|url-status=dead}}</ref> was formed on July 1, 1993, as a dependent district, with the Board of Supervisors as its governing body. Municipal and specialized fire departments have been consolidated into the ACFD over the years. 1993 brought in the Castro Valley and Eden Consolidated FD, and the County Fire Patrol. San Leandro joined in 1995, Dublin in 1997, [[Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory]] in 2002, [[Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory]] in 2007, The [[Alameda County Regional Emergency Communications Center]] in 2008, and Newark and Union City in 2010. Emeryville joined the ACFD in 2012.

The [[Alameda County Water District]] is a special district within Alameda County created to distribute water, but it is not operated by Alameda County administrators. It is operated by an elected board of directors.

[[Alameda County Superior Court]] operates in twelve separate locations throughout the county, with its central [[René C. Davidson Courthouse]] located in Oakland near [[Lake Merritt]]. Most major criminal trials and complex civil cases are heard at this location or in courtrooms within the County Administration Building across the street.