☆ Why local voters passed Proposition 36—by a gigantic margin
View of Freyung Plaza in Vienna from South-East (1760) depicts a lively, industrious marketplace in the center of town. From renowned Italian painter Bernardo Bellotto.
Welp, it happened: 69.8% of Bay Areans (and 68.9% CA-wide) voted “yes” to reinstating felony charges for certain property crimes and establishing “treatment-mandated felonies” for some repeat offenders. But why was Prop 36 so overwhelmingly supported? In this exclusive, we trace back Opp Now's Prop 47 & Prop 36 coverage, beginning in January 2022 and up 'til Election Day.
Proposition 47:
Long before Prop 36 made its way to our ballot, Bay Area residents were noticing—and suffering under—the destructive fallout from Proposition 47.
After it was approved by voters in 2014, Prop 47 downgraded the felony charges of certain property crimes (e.g., theft cases under $950) to misdemeanors. As a result, it became harder for local retailers to stay profitable, police to arrest offenders, courts to close jails' “revolving door,” and everyday residents to feel safe in their own streets. [Editor's note: For a dose of irony, check out Prop 47's title on the '14 ballot.]
Opp Now's coverage combined commentary from local mayors, councilmembers, police chiefs, and more—beginning in January 2022.
Here are some of our favorite Prop 47 stories:
Palo Alto mayor: Prop 47 unleashed destruction on small business, consumers, and—yes—drug addicts 11/14/2023
How Prop 47 transformed California's once-safe streets 8/29/2024
Opinion: Prop 47 didn't help CA's vulnerable drug addicts; it enabled self-destructive behaviors 9/30/2024
We also sought opinions from politicians and city planners outside of the Bay Area:
Stockton mayor: Prosecuting theft less rigidly only (you guessed it) increases theft 10/23/2023
SF shoplifting analysis: Prop 47 binds police, shifts burden of arrest to citizens 10/27/2023
Analysis: California outpaces other states when it comes to violent crime 10/31/2023
Perspectives (part 2): CA's ballot measure wizardry confuses voters 11/13/2023
“Police are powerless”: Prop 47 revisited, critiqued by CA law enforcement analyst 2/14/2024
The perils of decarceration 7/15/2024
Long Beach case study: Prop 47's passage led to an explosion in crime 9/4/2024
Moreover, our coverage of the decarceration movement provides context for the controversies over 36 & 47:
Ellenberg, far-left groups float discredited decarceration tropes in county jail debate 1/21/2022
Case study S.F.: Defund police. Empty the jails. Watch anti-Asian hate crimes soar 1/27/2022
SJ’s decarceration ambitions built on the myth of mass incarceration 7/19/2022
Asian Industry B2B president rebuts SJ jailbreak advocates’ wacky zero bail claims 8/5/2022
The “nonviolent drug offender”: Refuting pro-jailbreak’s elusive exemplar 3/6/2023
Research speaks: The abrasive real consequences of decarceration 3/9/2023
Analysis: Criminal leniency risks public safety 3/14/2023
Oakland perspective: Gung-ho decarceration isn't compassionate; it's dangerous 6/19/2023
CA's “coddle-the-criminal” policies making crime rates soar 7/6/2023
In CA, crime spikes as arrest rates dwindle 7/27/2023
In SF, crime-lenient policies fuel anti-Asian hate crimes 8/3/2023
Book reviews: Decarceration a flawed, dangerous strategy 8/14/2023
Analysis: Decarceration orthodoxy shot down by % of violent crimes, recidivism 9/20/2024
Proposition 36:
Proposition 36 was endorsed by a variety of community organizations, advocacy groups, local businesses, and elected officials like SJ Mayor Matt Mahan and SF Mayor London Breed. Many Bay Areans (of all political affiliations and leanings) were calling for Prop 47 reform via this ballot measure. But why?
Its promises were simple: reinstate felony charges where Prop 47 had lowered them to misdemeanors, and allow certain habitual offenders to expunge their record through drug treatment (“treatment-mandated felony”).
As evidenced by the whopping 68.9% voting “yes” in November 2024, a lot of Californians were on board with this mission. More on that, from Bay Area experts and elected officials, below.
Here are some of our favorite Prop 36 stories from local voices:
Khamis gives Mahan thumbs-up on plan to roll back job-killing downtown biz taxes 9/23/2024
SJ D2 candidate Lopez: Prop 36 a 'compassionate solution' for homelessness, addiction, crime 10/17/2024
Local experts dispute Ellenberg's confused Proposition 36 invective 10/24/2024
We also got perspectives from folks outside of the Bay Area:
Why some retail thieves slip through the cracks—and what CA can do about it 9/13/2024
Insight: Three threats to CA'n safety, and how Prop 36 endeavors to conquer them 9/24/2024
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