CONTRA COSTA COUNTY — A number of East Contra Costa officials are backing Proposition 36, saying the statewide initiative on the November Ballot would help restore public safety.
The support for the measure that would declaw a landmark criminal justice reform law credited with keeping low-level offenders out of overcrowded prisons has even found support from Antioch Mayor Lamar Hernandez-Thorpe. The ballot measure proposes to make any theft, regardless of value, a felony if it is committed by a person with two prior theft convictions, rolling back Proposition 47, which voters approved in 2014.
On Tuesday, the Brentwood City Council voted unanimously to endorse Prop. 36, making it the first city in East Contra Costa County to formally do so.
In Pittsburg, Mayor Juan Antonio Banales and Vice Mayor Jelani Killings say they both personally supported the measure, with Banales saying Prop. 47 makes it difficult for law enforcement agencies to hold repeat offenders accountable, leaving retail theft unchecked.
“That obviously has an impact on our local economy. Prop. 36 helps bring some tools to our police department to be able to minimize or reduce retail theft, which I think ultimately will create a better environment for businesses to thrive in our community,” Banales said.
Killings said many of Pittsburg’s business owners are frustrated due to the lack of penalties.
“A lot of business owners say, what’s the point in reporting or calling it in when ultimately, there’s no consequences for the person who stole from these businesses,” Killings said.
Oakley City Councilmember Aaron Meadows, who did not vote in support of Prop. 47, said any argument that Prop 36’s passage would cost taxpayers more isn’t as important as deterring people from committing retail theft.
“I don’t want to live in a society that’s lawless. I want to live in a society where I can go into stores and not have to find a store clerk to unlock (things I want to buy),” he said.
Oakley Mayor Anissa Williams said Prop. 36 is a step in the right direction for people to get the help they need, even if it leaders to higher incarceration rates.
“The pendulum swung too far in the other direction. There has to be a happy medium and I think this, hopefully, is going to have a step in the right direction,” Williams said.
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Oakley Vice Mayor Shannon Shaw added people have become bold in committing petty theft as there are no real consequences.
“A lot of people are getting tired of the thefts that’s happening. Employees (at retail stores) are putting themselves in danger,” she said. “I think giving the police more authority through law will keep citizens from acting as vigilantes (in protecting themselves).”
Hernandez-Thorpe, the mayor of Antioch, has also backed Prop 36. He claimed that homeless encampments near retail stores has resulted in a spike in crime.
“This isn’t fair to those running businesses, whether it’s a large or small mom-and-pop shops,” he said.
California’s Governor Gavin Newsom has criticized Prop. 36, calling it an “unfunded mandate” that could harm the Black and Latino communities.
Antioch Councilmember Tamisha Torres-Walker disagrees with Hernandez-Thorpe.
“I do not support Prop. 36 but I do support finding more sustainable ways to address the challenges of organized retail thefts that doesn’t reverse the hands of time and leave the state of California back into a system of mass incarceration and mass criminalization of nonviolent offenders,” she said.
“I think it’s unfortunate we want to roll back the hands of time,” she added.
