WEATHER VANES TURN AROUND LESS OFTEN: After brief moderation, California’s Newsom swings back to left with ICE protests.
When Newsom ran for governor in 2018 and for re-election in 2022, his platform included progressive causes like universal healthcare, climate change policy, criminal justice reform, and expansion of social welfare programs.
While presumably well-meaning, Newsom’s tenure as governor has exacerbated many of the state’s challenges like prolific homelessness and rising crime. As of 2023, California is home to over 180,000 homeless people, including over 10,000 veterans. Public safety has taken a demonstrable hit since California’s passage of Proposition 47, which, in addition to making drug possession no longer a felony, also classifies five property offenses for which the dollar value is less than $950 as misdemeanors: 1) theft, 2) receiving stolen property, 3) shoplifting, 4) check forgery, and 5) writing bad checks. Before the passage of the proposition, these offenses could be charged as either felonies or misdemeanors.
Prior to his term as California’s governor, in San Francisco, where Newsom was mayor from 2004 to 2011, shoplifting and property crimes spiked, with police reporting a 15% increase in theft-related incidents from 2022 to 2024.
Additionally, it is increasingly harder for residents of the Golden State to purchase a home. California’s median home price has surged to over $900,000, pricing out many middle-class families. Newsom’s policies have also increased taxes and regulatory burdens on businesses.
“Presumably” is doing an awful lot of work in that second graf.
