Support Grows with Local Papers Across California Calling on Voters to Vote Yes on Proposition 36
Sacramento, Calif. (October 25, 2024) – The Santa Rosa Press Democrat and San Mateo Daily Journal join six editorial boards across the state – including San Diego Union-Tribune, Santa Cruz Sentinel, The Mercury News, and La Opinion – that have published an endorsement of Yes on Proposition 36.
The Press Democrat’s endorsement notes that Prop. 36 will “provide police and prosecutors with better tools to crack down on repeat retail theft and fentanyl trafficking…Prop. 36 will correct criminal laws that have swung too far. It deserves voters’ support.” The editorial describes Prop. 36 as an opportunity for voters to course-correct the unintended consequences of Proposition 47, which led to the reclassification of retail theft and drug crimes from felonies to misdemeanors. The San Mateo Daily Journal says, “Proposition 47 had good intentions but it’s clear it didn’t work. This proposition would amend that proposition, not repeal it, in an effort to provide better outcomes for all. Vote YES.”
Highlights from the Santa Rosa Press Democrat editorial are below. You can read the full pieces by visiting the Santa Rosa Press Democrat and San Mateo Daily Journal. Here are excerpts from the Santa Rosa Press Democrat editorial:
“Prop. 36 makes modest changes in how crimes are handled… It does this while keeping in place much of California’s recent criminal justice reforms. We recommend that voters support Prop. 36.”
“Frustrated Californians put Prop. 36 on the ballot because the state’s leaders showed neither political will nor a grasp of what people have endured.”
“The state lacks in-depth data on retail crime, but other data indicate the need for the justice reform pendulum to swing back to the center. Since Prop. 47 passed, most theft under $950 has been treated as a misdemeanor with the maximum punishment reduced from three years in state prison to six months in the county jail. It is almost certainly not a coincidence that shoplifting increased 28% from 2019 to 2023.”
For more information, visit voteyesprop36.com.
