I have good news and bad news. The good news is the End Prop. 47 initiative is now virtually certain to have qualified for the ballot. The bad news is that our state’s politicians have come up with a shockingly cynical scheme to try to undermine it.
As the initiative was gathering signatures, the Governor and legislative leaders put together their own package of bills supposedly designed to combat retail theft. But the bills were quite limited; they did not – and could not – address the problems of Prop. 47.
Now we know the purpose of these bills. The Supermajority is adding a provision saying that if the initiative is passed by voters in November, the bills will be automatically repealed. It truly defies belief: they’re making it so their own bills will be repealed if voters pass the initiative.
What’s the point of this? To mislead voters as to what the initiative is about. Outrageously, opponents will now claim our initiative is actually soft-on-crime, because they’ve made it so passing it will trigger the repeal of these other bills. They’ll even twist the wording on the ballot.
We must fight back and save the initiative. The Legislature plans to move forward with the scheme this week. See here how you can contact your legislator and tell them not to go along with it.
Our opponents are playing political games because they know the initiative will pass. Californians are tired of having to hide their jewelry to walk outside, to get a clerk at CVS to open a lock to buy shampoo, to wade through homeless tents taking their kids’ to school.
This ploy is a desperate, disgraceful, last-ditch attempt to defy the will of the voters. Now is the moment for Californians of all party affiliations to come together and say enough his enough.