John Jefferson
A ballot measure that will roll back some of California’s most controversial soft-on-crime policies has overwhelmingly passed in the deep blue state.
Proposition 36, the Homelessness, Drug Addiction and Theft Reduction Act, sought to undo portions of Proposition 47 by increasing penalties for some crimes.
When Proposition 47 passed in 2014, it downgraded most thefts from felonies to misdemeanors if the amount stolen was under $950, “unless the defendant had prior convictions of murder, rape, certain sex offenses, or certain gun crimes.”
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An overwhelming 71% of Californians supported Proposition 36, according to a September survey by the Public Policy Institute of California, a nonpartisan think tank, despite a strong progressive rebuke of the proposition. But in the last several years, retail chains and mom-and-pop shops have been hit hard by theft, smash-and-grab robberies and organized retail crime gangs.
Proposition 47 also reclassified some felony drug offenses as misdemeanors. Progressive Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón, backed by billionaire George Soros, helped author Proposition 47, and he may also lose his seat to Republican challenger Nathan Hochman. Gascón has sought to reform the criminal justice system through more progressive policies.
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Vice President Kamala Harris, projected to lose the presidential election, dodged a question Sunday about whether she voted in favor of Proposition 36.
San Francisco Mayor London Breed threw her support behind Proposition 36, calling it a “meaningful difference for cities across California.” But Gov. Gavin Newsom remained staunchly opposed to the effort, saying it “takes us back to the 1980s, mass incarceration.”
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San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan also joined the effort to partially repeal Proposition 47. The California District Attorneys Association, the Los Angeles Police Protective League and the California State Sheriffs’ Association all endorsed Proposition 36.
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