Elected officials in San Mateo County held a press conference ahead of what they hope is a vote by the county Board of Supervisors to accept a resolution voicing support for Proposition 36 this November.
The Proposition 36 ballot initiative would reform parts of 2014’s Proposition 47, which reduced some felony theft crimes to misdemeanors, among other changes.
According to San Mateo County Supervisor Ray Mueller’s office, Proposition 36 would modify existing law related to punishment for theft and drug crimes by creating incentives for those suffering from addiction to enter treatment, treat fentanyl like other dangerous drugs and discourage retail theft.
Standing in front of county buildings in Redwood City on Monday, among the din of loud construction and overhead planes included District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe, San Mateo County Supervisor-elect and former U.S. Rep. Jackie Speier, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, San Mateo Mayor Lisa Diaz Nash, Redwood City Mayor Jeff Gee and Mueller, author of the resolution.
Since its inception, Prop 47 has faced sharp criticism, from being blamed for organized retail theft to the rise in deaths from fentanyl. Proponents of the law hoped that it would stave off mass incarceration in California by keeping low-level offenders out of jail. Most notably, Prop 47 classifies theft crimes — such as shoplifting — of items under $950 a misdemeanor.
Sending a ‘clear message’
For Mueller, crime has indeed gone up in the wake of Prop 47. The supervisor cited a rise in retail thefts in Daly City of 240% between 2019 and 2023. He said similar crimes have gone up in Redwood City by 50% during the same time period. San Mateo has had a 75% increase in thefts since 2020, he said.
“Now, notably, Proposition 36 makes amendments to Proposition 47 to go ahead and provide safeguards, both in penalty increases and also in rehabilitation,” said Mueller. “I believe that voting tomorrow to endorse Proposition 36, the San Mateo Board of Supervisors can send a clear message that San Mateo supervisors join San Francisco’s Mayor [London Breed] and San Jose’s mayor in supporting a brighter and safer future for this region.”
Prop 36 would open the door for prosecutors to charge repeat offenders with felonies and to mete out harsher penalties for drug dealing.
Wagstaffe, the county district attorney, was quick to defend the role that prosecutors would take under an amended law, which he said needs to be changed.
“I believe that voting tomorrow to endorse Proposition 36, the San Mateo Board of Supervisors can send a clear message that San Mateo supervisors join San Francisco’s Mayor [London Breed] and San Jose’s mayor in supporting a brighter and safer future for this region.”
Supervisor Ray Mueller
“Not obliterated,” he clarified, “but changed.”
Wagstaffe said Prop 36 deals with the two “most horrific” problems in the state of California — fentanyl and theft.
“[Prop 36] doesn’t overwhelmingly say, ‘Let’s lock people up,’” he said. “I know the opponents all say, all it’s going to do is lead to incredible incarceration, and I disagree.”
Wagstaffe said it will be up to district attorneys to decide who to prosecute, but that ultimately the final decision will be back in the hands of judges.
“It’s also to deal with our fentanyl problem,” he continued. “Put fentanyl not just as a simple drug, but to make it the hard drug that it is, the killer drug, the poison that it is.”
Prop 36 increases prison time for some drug offenses but imposes mandated drug treatment in some cases as well.
Speier, making her first appearance as a supervisor-elect, said she had supported Prop 47 at the time, but has seen the rise in retail theft and now supports Prop 36, which she called “necessary and common sense.”
“Shoplifting is like walking down the sidewalk and stepping on a big wad of chewing gum,” she quipped. “It’s there, it’s messy, and eventually you can get it cleaned up. But of course, that’s only one version of shoplifting. At other times, store clerks or customers get seriously injured or they die as the robberies and organized crime syndicates get involved.”
Mahan, the San Jose mayor, also spoke about the ravages of fentanyl and increased crime in San Jose, which he sees as easing under Prop 36.
“This is not about going back to era of mass incarceration, far from it,” he said. “It’s about launching a new era of mass treatment.”
The San Mateo County Board of Supervisors meets Tuesday at 9 a.m. in the board chambers at 400 County Center in Redwood City.
