San Jose mayor reacts to yesterday’s joint legislative hearing on Proposition 36

In response to yesterday’s joint legislative hearing of the California State Senate and Assembly Public Safety Committees on Proposition 36, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan has issued the following statement.

“Today’s hearing in Sacramento laid bare an uncomfortable reality that all Californians can see with their own eyes.  The status quo is not working.

“Since Prop. 47 passed, drug overdose deaths have skyrocketed and participation in proven diversion programs like drug courts have plummeted. Homelessness has risen by nearly 60 percent in California – even though it is falling in most other states.  Open air drug markets and an epidemic of retail theft have hollowed out once thriving urban corridors, shuttered small businesses and raised the prices that the average family pays for everyday goods by hundreds of dollars every year.

“Local city leaders – irrespective of political partisanship – are uniting in support of Proposition 36 because we know accepting this failure is neither progressive nor compassionate leadership.  It is an abdication of leadership.  Unchecked addiction, theft and homelessness isn’t just a threat to public safety — it is a far more costly problem than the alternative of incentivizing treatment and holding repeat offenders accountable.

“Proposition 36 puts back in place the legal tools we need to compel more repeat drug offenders and those who are stealing to support drug habits to utilize all of the treatment resources available to them.  It finally puts consequences in place for those who sell fentanyl that is leaving a trail of death in our communities.  And it addresses gaps in the law that lead to fewer arrests and less deterrence of career thieves, by ensuring that those who repeatedly steal are held accountable.

“With the passage of Proposition 1 this March we have 10,000 treatment beds in the pipeline.  Together, we can prioritize even more investments in treatment, diversion and other programs.  Because as today’s hearing showed, we need to do both.  And the safety of our communities demands nothing less.”