Mayor Gloria takes backseat as Prop 47 reform heats up
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The fight is heating up at the state Capitol to roll back Proposition 47, a decade-old criminal justice reform measure, and Mayor Todd Gloria is taking a wait-and-see approach on his potential involvement.
Why it matters: Voters passed Prop 47 in 2014, recategorizing some felonies as misdemeanors, such as theft of up to $950; but the measure has increasingly been blamed for exacerbating the state's drug, retail theft and homelessness problems.
State of play: Gov. Gavin Newsom and Democratic legislative leaders are negotiating a package of bills aimed at addressing the fentanyl crisis and retail theft issues without altering Prop. 47.
- Meanwhile, a separate measure, the Homelessness, Drug Addiction, and Theft Reduction Act, is headed to the November ballot and would go further than those bills and amend the law. It's backed by retail businesses and prosecutors, including district attorney Summer Stephan.
Driving the news: Democratic leaders have said they would negotiate with proponents of the November initiative over strengthening their legislation, but CBS News California revealed Monday that Newsom's office required proponents to delay the ballot measure until the 2026 election as a condition of negotiations.
- Legislative leaders last week amended their package of bills so that the public safety changes they make would be repealed if voters approve the November initiative.
- Supporters of the measure, including state Senate Republican leader Brian Jones of San Diego, called the amended bills a "poison pill" intended to kill the initiative.
What he's saying: Gloria made addressing Prop 47 a focal point of his State of the City speech this year, including the applause line, "We should be locking up criminals, not laundry detergent."
- Gloria spokesperson Rachel Laing told Voice of San Diego last week that the mayor is speaking with leaders to ensure "the strongest possible measures get enacted."
- "If these bipartisan efforts fail to yield new laws with real consequences for criminal behavior, the mayor will support the citizens' initiative that recently qualified," Laing said.
The other side: Shelley Zimmerman, the police chief who departed before Gloria became mayor, responded on X, calling the statement "word salad."
- "He is silent on the sham poison pill legislation amendments," she wrote. "Translation: I am not allowed to say until I get the OK from Gov./others who will help me get my next job."
What we're watching: Newsom and initiative proponents would need to strike a deal by June 27 — the deadline for placing propositions on the ballot.