Even in deep blue California, a place where Republicans have little power to do much of anything, the state is currently moving to the right on property crime. That’s because the situation has become bad enough that even Democratic voters are sick of it. That discontent has bubbled up to the point that elected officials feel compelled to act. Yesterday Gov. Newsom announced a push for new legislation to crack down on property crime.
Newsom is laying out his priorities at a politically fraught moment for Democrats navigating rising concerns about public safety, exacerbated by highly visible incidents of people making off with merchandise. Elected officials who have backed lighter sentencing in an effort to reduce mass incarceration are looking for ways to address crime without abandoning a yearslong movement away from lengthy prison terms.
Those dynamics have amplified calls to…
