Rally against Proposition 36 in San Mateo County

Silicon Valley De-Bug is a San Jose organization helping people navigate the criminal justice system in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties and advocating for system changes.

“What will feed the prison industrial complex is Proposition 36,” Nunn said. “What they’re doing is rolling back a fight we already had.” 

Proposition 36 looks to reverse some of the changes enacted by Proposition 47, approved by voters in 2014, which reclassified as misdemeanors certain nonviolent property and drug offenses that were previously classified as felonies or crimes that could be charged as such. 

The state measure on the November ballot was described by Supervisor Ray Mueller, a proponent, to have a “deterrence effect” that was undercut by Proposition 47.

Specifically, Proposition 47 increased the threshold for thefts to be considered felonies up to $950 of assessed value. While this threshold would remain the same under the measure placed on November ballots, repeat offenders can be considered for felony charges regardless of combined value. 

Nunn, and other speakers who have personally interacted with the criminal justice system, believe that if Proposition 36 were to pass, it will only promote mass incarceration, and ultimately harm low-income residents and underrepresented minorities subject to institutional racism. 

“Crime is not about opportunity, it’s about desperation,” Nunn said. 

The rally was also an effort to make sure those opposing Proposition 36 were heard against the well-funded campaigns in its favor, Ana Ramirez Zarate, a community organizer with Silicon Valley De-Bug, said.

“We know this proposition is being funded by a lot of retail companies like Target and Walmart, so there’s a lot of corporate interest behind this passing and it’s going to lead to the further criminalization of our communities,” Ramirez Zarate said. 

Another influential proponent of Proposition 36 includes Mueller who authored a resolution for the Board of Supervisors to endorse it. He said it would equip law enforcement with more of an ability to address quality-of-life concerns such as retail theft and fentanyl trafficking.  

“I really believe we need to give law enforcement and our D.A.’s Office the tools they’re requesting to combat these crimes,” Mueller said previously. 

Though intended to be voted on at the Board of Supervisors meeting Aug. 27, Supervisor Dave Pine’s absence pushed it to be considered at a future, currently unspecified, date. 

“It’s very clear where [Mueller’s] values are at,” Ramirez Zarate said. “All these positions of power, they’re elected positions, so he is definitely subject and accountable to the community. He sent a clear message to us and we’re going to definitely turn out when it comes to reelection.” 

At the meeting Aug. 27, those in attendance shared their opposition to such an endorsement, citing concern over increased incarceration rates and subsequent costs of county resources, and questioned the county’s role in commenting on state measures. 

The ballot measure is projected to increase both state and local criminal justice costs. Locally, the measure could cost tens of millions of dollars annually, due to increase in county jail population and court-related workload, according to the Legislative Analyst’s Office. 

“They say 36 is going to win,” Nunn said. “What they don’t say, is who is going to lose.” 

At the rally, De-Bug organizers were also calling for support for Proposition 6, a state measure that looks to eliminate the constitutional provision that allows the forcing of incarcerated people to work. 

Organizers said involuntary servitude to punish crime maintains “modern-day slavery.” Despite commissary prices going up due to inflation, the extremely low wages earned from mandatory work remain “close to nothing,” said Xavier España, a formerly incarcerated organizer with Silicon Valley De-Bug. 

Work is often mandated at the same time as rehabilitation courses, España said, making it so someone has to choose between the two. Completion of such rehabilitation courses are often considered heavily when an incarcerated person is up for parole. 

“We ain’t asking for a dime in Prop. 6,” Nunn said. “The only thing we’re asking for is consent for our labor. We’re asking for an opportunity to choose rehabilitation instead of torture.”