Gloria joins Prop. 47 fight in State of the City speech
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In his fourth State of the City speech, Mayor Todd Gloria promised to roll back a decade-old criminal justice reform, increase homeless shelter beds and fast-track building permits.
Why it matters: Gloria, up for re-election this year, organized his Wednesday evening speech around meat-and-potatoes city issues: Crime, housing, infrastructure and homelessness.
Driving the news: He made a case for last year's accomplishments and rolled out a handful of new policy announcements.
Prop 47 reform: In 2014, voters approved a ballot measure intended to reduce mass incarceration by downgrading certain property and drug crimes from felonies to misdemeanors.
- Gloria said criminal enterprises have exploited those changes by turning retail theft into an enterprise, and announced he "will be supporting statewide action this year to amend Proposition 47."
- "We should be locking up criminals, not laundry detergent," Gloria said.
- California Gov. Gavin Newsom is already asking for a legislative package to combat crime, particularly retail theft. But he's attempted to sidestep amending the measure, arguing for the creation of new crime categories targeted at "professional" criminals.
- Two legislators have already proposed efforts this year to change the law, and a third announced he was jumping into the fray.
Faster permits: In last year's speech, Gloria pledged that any housing project with 100% affordable units would get permits in less than a month.
- He extended that promise this year to Complete Communities projects — developments near transit that reserve units for low- and middle-income residents in exchange for increased density.
- That program produced 1,000 total units last year, Gloria said.
- The mayor added the city permitted 8,000 housing units last year, based on preliminary data. That would be the city's highest annual total since 1990, according to HUD data.
Shelter beds: Gloria said the city would add 1,000 shelter beds this year, including a new facility at Barracks H near the airport.
- He also announced a redevelopment of the old downtown library into both shelter space and new affordable housing.
- Gloria unveiled a philanthropic fund targeted at the homelessness crisis, which already has $250,000 in commitments. He did not reveal details on where the fund would be housed or where the initial donation came from.
Meanwhile, the city has reached a compromise with local unions on a project labor agreement for all "major" construction projects. Project labor agreements stipulate wages and benefits for construction workers and require contractors to hire through union halls.
Of note: Protesters gathered outside Balboa Theater in support of animal rights ahead of the upcoming rodeo at Petco Park. Others called for an end to the violence in the Israel-Hamas War.
- The action continued inside, with a handful of audience members interrupting Gloria's speech, chanting "ceasefire now!"
- The mayor responded with an acknowledgement of their First Amendment rights and thanked them for attending.
One for the road: The city has also started the process of renaming one of the streets leading into Petco Park "Peter Seidler Way" to honor the beloved Padres owner who died last year.