In deep-blue Los Angeles County, the “godfather of progressive prosecutors” lost his re-election bid to a former Republican by more than 20 points.
In the Bay Area, voters appear to have recalled another reform-minded district attorney.
And across the state, tough-on-crime ballot initiatives passed with overwhelming support.
Four years after national calls for police accountability and a rethinking of the criminal justice system led to a landslide victory for reform candidates in California, voters dramatically reversed course Tuesday night.
Former federal prosecutor Nathan Hochman led a law-and-order campaign against the incumbent District. Atty. Georges Gascon of Los Angeles won with 23 points.
Nearly two-thirds of voters supported the recall in the Alameda County district. Atty. Pamela Price is at the center of concerns over an epidemic of crime and homelessness. This is the second time in three years that a progressive Bay Area district attorney has been fired before his term ends.
Proposition 36, which effectively repeals California’s landmark 2014 sentencing reform bill, received support from 70% of voters on Tuesday. Democrats have warned that the measure would reinstate tough drug war policies and lead to longer prison sentences for many crimes.
Since the last election, “California and national culture have become more concerned about violent crime and retail theft,” said Dan Schnur, a former adviser to California Republican politicians who teaches political communications at USC. ”
“Voters are notorious course fixers,” Schnurr said. “They’re always trying to tweak last-minute decisions to make them a little bit better.”
Violent crime soared across the country in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, with viral videos of so-called purse-snatching robberies at retail stores becoming a staple of the nightly news in Los Angeles and San Francisco. Donald Trump spent much of his successful presidential campaign portraying the United States as lawless and dangerous under the Biden administration.
Statewide violent crime increased by 15% from 2020 to 2023, and property crimes increased by about 5.5%, according to data from the California Department of Justice. In 2023, property crime began to decline in 46 counties, including 9 of the 15 largest counties. The remaining six largest counties, including Alameda, saw increases.
Former San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin, who will be recalled in 2022, understands voters are furious.
“Across the state, voters are very concerned about public safety and dissatisfied with the incumbent,” Boudin said.
Panic over San Francisco’s lawlessness ousted the progressive Mr. Boudin two years ago, even as crime rates declined during his tenure. His more traditional successor, Brooke Jenkins, slipped to re-election on Tuesday night despite data showing an increase in violent crime during her term.
Across the Bay, Price faced a recall movement almost immediately after his election. Alameda’s first Black female district attorney, she vowed to address police misconduct and end the excessive criminalization of youth. She has been criticized for not prosecuting crimes, even though county data shows she is filing lawsuits at roughly the same rate as her predecessor, according to news site Berkeleyside. has been done.
Early voting results showed 65% of Alameda County voters support her recall. Her term lasted less than two of the six years.
“It’s crazy to expect a new president to be able to accomplish what the voters want within two years,” Boudin said. “That’s not realistic.”
Tyrell Baker, 60, a San Leandro voter, also questioned whether the recall would solve the issues voters are most concerned about.
“The people who initiated the recall want someone to do something that is reversible,” Baker said. “They want this superhero politician to come in.”
Although there is no single aspect that causes crime statistics to rise or fall, victims’ rights advocates and law enforcement leaders have recently focused their frustrations on two targets. It’s progressive prosecutors in places like Los Angeles and the Bay Area, and Proposition 47.
The 2014 ballot plan came at a time when California wanted to reduce its prison population and limit its reliance on incarceration, reducing some felonies to misdemeanors and lowering convictions. It allowed some inmates to be resentenced or released if their crimes were reclassified.
In the 10 years since its passage, the ballot measure Gascon helped author has been persistently criticized by critics for increasing shoplifting and retail theft.
A study by the Public Policy Institute of California questions whether Prop. 47 is to blame for the increase in crimes such as theft and commercial robbery, and also points to low police solve rates. Overall, property crimes decreased 6% across the state from 2014 to 2023, according to the state Department of Justice.
Proposition 36 would effectively nullify the 2014 law by increasing penalties for theft and certain drug crimes. Even though polls had long predicted it would pass, it faced resistance from Sacramento and Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Some experts believe that the bill’s inclusion of a provision that would give nonviolent drug offenders the option of enrolling in rehabilitation facilities rather than incarceration could have made it more appealing to moderate and left-leaning voters. It suggests that there is. It remains unclear whether most counties will have the funding or programs ready to make that part of the law viable in January.
Questions also remain about how the measure conflicts with a series of retail theft bills that Newsom signed in August.
Nicholas Hobbs, 32, who lives in downtown Los Angeles, is one of those hoping for more collaborative efforts to clean up the streets.
He voted for Gascon and Proposition 36 and rejects the idea that crime is out of control, but noted that he lives near Skid Row and has seen the effects of mental illness and addiction firsthand. . Encampments continue to invade his neighborhood, he said, and someone recently threw a pole through a window and broke into an apartment building.
“The general point that everything is getting worse and it’s dangerous, that’s not true. But from an aesthetic perspective, it’s getting even worse,” he says.
He was concerned that Gascon’s policies were too “reactionary” for the political climate of 2020, but said he did not see Hochman as a credible alternative.
Business concerns have heightened concerns about property crime and organized retail theft, even though previous Times research suggested that these organizations often significantly inflate the economic losses incurred by crime. interests are involved, and these were repeatedly emphasized by proponents of Prop. 36. Walmart, Home Depot, and Target are among the most generous donors to this effort. Thanks in part to support from large corporations, Mr. Hochman had a significant funding advantage over Mr. Gascón.
Insar Rahman, vice president of advocacy and partnerships at the Vera Institute, a nonprofit organization that advocates for criminal justice reform, said the sight of products locked behind protective glass at pharmacies and big-box stores to prevent shoplifting is a sign that voters are worried. He said it would have a more direct impact on the More than any data point.
“Retailers are motivated to push for tougher crime policies because they’re seeing sales decline, and when they say to their customers, ‘Come back,’ they’re saying, ‘We’ve done something about retail.’ It’s the same as ‘people who are out there wandering around stealing and doing drugs,”’ she said.
Another setback this year for criminal justice advocates was the failure of Proposition 6, with 54% of voters voting “no” on Wednesday morning. This is the second failed attempt to ban involuntary servitude and forced labor for state prisoners. A similar bill is likely to pass in Nevada.
Rep. Lori D. Wilson (D-Fish), who authored the bill that became Proposition 6, questioned whether criminal justice reform went “too far.”
With polls showing the bill is unlikely to pass, Wilson told the Times before Tuesday’s vote that voters are “concerned about their safety” and that’s why prison reform in general This seems to be connected to resistance. But that doesn’t mean voters support slavery, Wilson said.
Rahman saw the election day results as a sign of panicked voters after months of alarmist rhetoric about violence and theft.
“When voters are dissatisfied, when voters are fearful, criminal justice reform becomes an easy target to exploit that fear and dissatisfaction,” she said. “We have seen the Republican Party and post-Trump conservatives use fear of crime as a political bludgeon.”
Mr. Hochman, who ran as an independent in a race in which Mr. Gascon repeatedly tried to cast him as an ultra-conservative, dismissed the idea that partisanship played a role in Tuesday’s result. He described public safety as a “crossover issue” and said California voters simply want someone who makes them feel safe.
“This election took place in a bipartisan political environment,” he said. “An independent defeated a Democrat who tried to politicize the race. … People ultimately want to be safe for themselves and their families.”
