San Mateo County pushes Proposition 36 endorsement

Many county residents shared their opposition to what Proposition 36 would mean for increased incarceration rates and subsequent costs of county resources, and questioned the county’s role in commenting on state measures.

“I think it’s unjust, I think it’s on the wrong side of history,” Andrew Bigelow, an organizer with Silicon Valley De-Bug, said during public comment. “I really urge folks that are making a decision today to vote no on it and to reconsider even imposing yourself on something that is us voter’s decision in November. We don’t need this kind of influence.”

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.

Supervisor Ray Mueller, who authored the resolution to endorse the measure, said he will present it again for board consideration at a future, unspecified, date. 

“I do intend on bringing the resolution back when Supervisor Pine is present and, at that time, I plan on having the District Attorney’s Office and law enforcement to also present the alternative viewpoint of what 36 actually represents,” Mueller said.

The state proposition 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. 

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.

The effort of Proposition 47 was touted as a more compassionate approach to crime, keeping low-level offenders out of jail, instead of punitive measures that did little in the way of rehabilitation. The decade-old ballot measure is credited for shrinking the state’s prison populations significantly. 

“The hope is for this to have a deterrence effect,” Mueller said previously. “[Proposition] 47 has had the effect that it undercuts deterrents. People think they can get away with these crimes with little enforcement against them.” 

However, opponents believe this ability will only promote mass incarceration, and ultimately harm low-income residents who may have been subject to institutional racism.

“This proposition, what it would be fueling, is mass incarceration,” Ana Ramirez, an organizer with DeBug, said. “It would further perpetuate harm in our communities, it would roll back a lot of the programs and treatments that are currently in place as a result of Prop 47.” 

Proposition 47 created a process in which savings from punishment reductions must be spent on mental health and drug treatment, school truancy and dropout prevention, and victim services. This amount was estimated to be $95 million last year. Proposition 36 would ultimately reduce state savings if passed. 

Many public commenters expressed concern on how Proposition 36 would spend residents’ tax dollars. 

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. 

“Prop. 36 would greatly harm our county in many, many ways,” Supervisor Noelia Corzo said at the board meeting. “I look forward to the presentations and hearing everyone’s perspective but, at the end of the day, not only is it fiscally irresponsible, it is absolutely the wrong direction, not just for this county but for the entire state.” 

Alongside District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe; Jackie Speier, San Mateo County supervisor-elect and former U.S. representative; San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan; San Mateo Mayor Lisa Diaz Nash; Redwood City Mayor Jeff Gee and more county elected officials and law enforcement officers, Mueller held a press conference Monday, Aug. 26, in support of the state proposition.

In other business, the Board of Supervisors declared intent to purchase three buildings and three parking lot parcels in Burlingame on 6.75 acres of land — 849 Mitten Road, 863 Mitten Road, and 866 Malcolm Road — for $24.5 million. The property is intended to be used for administrative, executive and professional officers for county programs, according to a staff report.