Tough-on-crime Prop 36 gains support from business, Bay Area city leaders
ANTIOCH -- A controversial ballot measure intended to increase penalties for theft and drug charges is gaining serious momentum with California voters.
Prop 36 is one of ten propositions appearing on the Novermber ballot. It promises to increase sentences for theft based on property value and would require courts to warn people convicted of drug charges about future possible charges if they sell deadly drugs like fentanyl, heroin and cocaine among other things.
In a recent poll done by the Public Policy Institute of California, the statewide survey director Mark Baldassare found that most Californians overwhelmingly support increased penalties for drug and theft charges. Baldassare said he was shocked that the study was almost equally supported across the political divide.
"Majorities in both groups say that they're going to vote yes on Proposition 36," Baldassare told CBS Bay Area in a phone interview. "There's not a lot of things out there that Trump and Harris supporters agree on but this appears to be one of them."
Mike Roetzer is one of many Californians planning to support Prop 36. He owns an antique shop in downtown Martinez and is no stranger to break-ins.
"I mean, it really has an impact on us," Roetzer said.
City officials are also backing Prop 36. Antioch mayor Lamar Hernandez-Thorpe admits this ballot measure isn't a cure-all for crime but thinks it's a good place to start.
"I don't think this measure or this proposal answers every single question that we're facing with. I do think it'll help," he said.
One of the most outspoken critics of Prop 36 is Gov. Gavin Newsom. In a press conference Thursday he said the measure would set California back by decades.
"It's about mass incarceration," Newsom said. "It's about bringing it back to 1980s mindset where it's possession of drugs and you end up in state prison at the cost of 100 plus $1,000 per taxpayer."
Despite the divide among city and state officials, Roetzer says he wants what is best for his shop and his city. Right now, the best to him looks like Prop 36.
"I think it's about time that we rethink our strategy on how we deal with people who are stealing things from small business people," Roezter said. "So I'm in support of Prop 36."