Sophia Bollag

In her final days in office, Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley tried to persuade county supervisors to transfer $20 million from her office’s budget to projects she started, county documents show.

O’Malley had requested that supervisors transfer the money from the District Attorney Consumer and Environmental Trust account into a general county fund to expand programs she created to help domestic violence survivors and people accused of low-level crimes who struggled with mental illness or drug addiction.

In an email Friday, incoming District Attorney Pamela Price wrote to O’Malley asking her to withdraw the request.

“I am very concerned about such a large transfer of resources from my office,” she wrote, according to a copy of the email obtained by The Chronicle.

Price will become district attorney in January.

In a statement, Price told The Chronicle that O’Malley didn’t alert her or consult her about the request, which would have represented about a fifth of the D.A. office budget.

In 2022, the district attorney’s office’s budget was about $94 million.

The board was to take up the request, which county staff recommended supervisors approve, but by Monday it had been withdrawn by the district attorney’s office, according to meeting agendas.

In a letter to county supervisors before the request was withdrawn, O’Malley said the money would fund a second office for the Alameda County Family Justice Center for three years, including the office’s lease and staff.

The Alameda County Family Justice Center provides resources for victims of sexual exploitation, domestic violence, child abuse, stalking and other crimes, including counseling, legal help and housing assistance.

The program has been overseen by the D.A.’s office, and also collects some funding through a nonprofit arm called the Alameda County Family Justice Center Inc. O’Malley is listed as an executive at the nonprofit in its financial filings.

O’Malley intends to continue being involved with the Family Justice Center after she leaves office and hopes to open a second office in the future, said Angela Ruggiero, a spokesperson for her office. She did not respond to questions about why she withdrew the request for the fund transfer or why she initially proposed transferring the funds.

The money also would have funded an expansion of the CARES Navigation Center, a program launched by the district attorney’s office that aims to divert people accused of low-level crimes into supportive services instead of jail.

O’Malley wanted to transfer the $20 million from a fund of settlement money obtained by the office through public interest cases over fraud, environmental regulations and unfair business practices.

“Those funds are from settlements of cases on behalf of Alameda residents,” Price said in her statement to The Chronicle. “They are meant to support the work around consumer and environmental protection of Alameda residents.”

With a potential recession looming, Price said she believes the funds will be needed to protect families from wage theft, unlawful evictions and price gouging. She said she still plans to fund services for people with mental illness and victims of domestic violence.

Price challenged O’Malley for the district attorney job in 2018, but lost. Last year, O’Malley announced her plans to retire and did not run for re-election. Alameda County voters elected Price to succeed her in last month’s election, where Price beat Chief Assistant District Attorney Terry Wiley.

Sophia Bollag is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: sophia.bollag@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SophiaBollag