Gavin Newsom cancels alternative anti-crime ballot measure as tough-on-crime Republicans make strides in California

California Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom canceled his anti-crime ballot measure meant to compete against Republicans' Prop. 47 reform initiative that would significantly increase penalties for drug dealers and repeat offenders. The Republican-backed initiative garnered enough support from California residents in April to appear on the ballot for a vote in November, despite Democratic lawmakers working to prevent it from passing.

Gov. Newsom claimed it was too extreme to receive statewide support and introduced amendments to the initiative crafted by his administration and some Democratic lawmakers just days ago. However, in a stunning reversal on Tuesday night, Gov. Newsom said in a statement that the changes he wanted to make to the measure would not be done in time to appear on the ballot. Lawmakers were scheduled to vote on the amendments on Wednesday.

Sources with knowledge of the negotiations told KCRA that the governor "wasn't fully focused" on getting the proposal done and failed to form a coalition of law enforcement groups to back the effort. The decision by Newsom came shortly after the governor's campaign announced he was headed to the White House to stand in support of President Biden for a meeting with other Democratic governors to discuss the future of Biden's presidential campaign following his disastrous debate night.

The Prop. 47 reform initiative, named the Homeless, Drug, Addiction, and Theft Reduction Act, aims to tackle California's crime crisis by reforming the measure passed in 2014 that lessened penalties for drug dealers and repeat criminals under the guise of criminal justice reform that was meant to reduce incarcerations.

The amendments to Prop 47 that will appear on the ballot include reclassifying misdemeanor charges to felony charges for certain offenses, such as repeated thefts for individuals who steal less than $950 but have two or more prior theft-related convictions.

A wide range of drug possession convictions would also be reclassified as felonies. If passed, the initiative would authorize harsher penalties for selling lethal doses of fentanyl and add it to the list of hard substances, such as heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine. Additionally, if drug trafficking results in fatalities, traffickers could be faced with murder charges. The Republican-crafted measure is backed by many county sheriffs and district attorneys, along with major retail giants like Walmart, Home Depot, and Target.

Newsom had devoted the weekend to the task of securing votes for his proposed ballot initiative, which was intended to compete with the reform initiative. Lawmakers in the Assembly Public Safety Committee met on Tuesday morning to work on pushing the measure forward. They later learned in a closed-door meeting on Tuesday night that Newsom nixed the proposal.