SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — There were opposing rallies on opposite sides of the San Francisco Bay.
Both of them were regarding Proposition 36, a ballot measure that voters will decide on during next month’s election.
If passed, Prop 36 would increase sentencing for certain drug and theft crimes, rolling back previous criminal justice reforms passed by voters in 2014.
“We have a situation right now in San Francisco where there’s just a level of public drug use that we can’t tolerate. It’s not helping our neighborhoods. It’s not helping our economy. But least of all, it’s not helping anybody who is struggling with a substance use disorder,” said San Francisco Supervisor Matt Dorsey.
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Dorsey was a part of the Yes on 36 rally.
He said in addition to reintroducing harsher penalties for some crimes, Prop 36 would also create a new treatment-focused court process for some drug possession crimes.
It’s a proposal that Dorsey says is popular among many in the rehabilitation community, of which he considers himself a part of.
“The bottom line is treatment sometimes needs to be mandated or coerced. Sometimes up to 90% of treatment experiences involve some form of coercion,” Dorsey said.
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Across the bay in San Leandro, people gathered for another Prop 36 rally.
That one was urging folks to vote “no.”
Jose Bernal of the Ella Baker Center was one of the speakers.
Bernal believes, if passed, Prop 36 would roll back hard fought criminal justice reforms and return the state to failed tough on crime policies.
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“We know that it has disastrous consequences. We know that it filled our prisons up. We know that it didn’t make us any safer. And if this passes, it will absolutely send us back,” Bernal said.
Also in attendance was Addie Kitchen.
Kitchen’s grandson, Steven Taylor, was killed in a San Leandro Walmart back in April 2020.
That’s where the rally was held Thursday.
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Kitchen tells me she worries if Prop 36 is passed, it will lead to more violent police encounters and jail time for people like her grandson.
“They accused him of stealing. He wasn’t stealing. He was in a mental health crisis. He was unhoused at the time, and he was a drug addict. He was Black. That should not be a reason to be executed,” Kitchen said.
Recent polling from the Public Policy Institute of California shows as many as 71% of Californians plan to vote yes on Prop 36.
They are numbers that Bernal attributes to companies like Walmart, spending millions of dollars to get the measure passed.
However, he believes with hard work, those figures could be turned around.
“I think once voters actually hear what it does, what it will do and what it will mean, I think that polling sways a lot more,” Bernal said.
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