California Democrats continue to avoid real solutions to combat crime | Opinion

This week, as the California State Legislature hammers out the final details of our current state budget, we have one more chance to fulfill the will of the people and fund Proposition 36 in a manner befitting the clear priority voters gave when nearly 70% of Californians supported the anti-crime ballot measure last November. Instead of properly funding the proposition, however, Democrats continue to show the extreme lengths they will go to avoid combating crime.

While Gov. Gavin Newsom has remained obstinate in his opposition to Prop. 36, leaving out any funding for it in his May Revise, other Democrats have recognized that voters have nonetheless given state leaders a mandate to clean up rampant drug and theft crimes. Public safety, after all, is the primary role of government.

One Democratic Senator, Catherine Blakespear of Encinitas, put it emphatically to Inside California Politics: “At the end of the day, we need to fund it.”

Some of her colleagues agreed. Earlier this year, for example, Orange County Democratic Sen. Thomas Umberg offered a serious, detailed request for $250 million to be budgeted for Prop. 36 implementation. More than half of that request included funds clearly dedicated to lowering crime, including $85 million for law enforcement to continue targeted retail crime prevention, and $47 million for county probation departments.

Along with my senate Republican colleagues, I believe Prop. 36 funding should be more in the $400 million range, but $250 million was a good-faith starting point.

Many law enforcement leaders saw the $85 million as a reasonable first step, while groups such as the California District Attorneys Association saw funding for county probation departments as a critical element in Prop. 36 implementation.

Even leading Democrats like Attorney General Rob Bonta have said, “The people have spoken loud and clear. And so, I think, getting a funding, a full implementation is critical,” according to KCRA 3.

However, that sense clearly wasn’t held by the majority of California’s Democratic leaders. Sulking in his stubbornness, the governor included none of this in his May Budget Revise. Nothing if not consistent, Newsom has shown a continued insistence on snubbing his nose at super-majorities of Californians — and even a majority of Democrats — who supported Prop. 36.

And details of an agreed upon budget by the governor and legislative Democrats shows how extreme they have become: Despite $100 million being budgeted for Prop. 36, gone is every single dollar proposed by Umberg for retail crime prevention or county probation departments, the elements that many law enforcement leaders believe would most move the needle toward reducing crime.

Californians knew what they were getting into when they voted for Prop. 36 last November. Every analysis of the anti-crime initiative clearly communicated to voters that this would cost hundreds of millions of dollars annually. And with that knowledge, millions of conservatives and liberals came together, and for the first time in the governor’s tenure, every single county — from Kern to Marin — gave it their full stamp of approval.

Californians deserve for their elected leaders to respect their overwhelming mandate, and that means giving Prop. 36 the implementation funding it needs.

Without significant funding for initiatives like retail crime prevention and funding for county probation departments, what is currently being proposed is nothing more than a nine-figure way for Democrats to look like they’re addressing a problem all while purposely starving law enforcement from the funding needed to make any real difference. The California District Attorneys Association pointedly called this proposal “a blueprint for the failure of Proposition 36.”

Californians are sick and tired of serious, repeat drug offenders and retail thieves going unpunished. They want action, not budget games. The way to turn the corner and best protect our neighborhoods is to make sure Prop. 36 is fully funded.

This story was originally published June 27, 2025 at 10:16 AM with the headline "California Democrats continue to avoid real solutions to combat crime | Opinion."