‘Unintended consequences': Bay Area mayors Breed and Mahan join Republicans in calls for Prop 47 reform

SAN FRANCISCO ( KRON ) — The mayors of two of the Bay Area’s biggest cities on Thursday threw their support behind an effort to reform a bill intended to reduce incarceration in the state. Prop 47, which was approved by voters in 2014, reduced punishments for drug possession and for property thefts of items worth less than $950.

On Thursday, San Francisco Mayor London Breed and San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan joined a growing chorus of lawmakers calling for Prop 47 to be reformed.

"In San Francisco, we are making progress on property crimes, but the challenges we are facing related to fentanyl and organized retail theft require real change to our state laws. Fentanyl is deadlier and more addictive than any drug we've ever seen, and it is tearing communities and families apart. We need greater interventions to get people into treatment and to hold those selling this drug in our community accountable," said San Francisco Mayor London Breed. "The Homelessness, Drug Addiction, and Theft Reduction Act will make targeted but impactful changes to our laws around fentanyl and help us tackle the chronic retail theft that hurts our retailers, our workers, and our cities. I fully support this measure and know it will make a meaningful difference for cities across California."

Mayor Mahan’s office called the law a “well-intentioned initiative,” in a statement, adding that it was “not perfect” and has had “significant unintended consequences.”

“A small number of people brazenly commit crimes without fear of accountability, people are so trapped in addiction that they refuse services and subsist in misery on our streets and, in the worst cases, are dying of fentanyl overdoses in increasing numbers,” Mayor Mahan’s office said.

Mahan’s statement argues that doing away with legal penalties associated with illegal drug possession did away with the system that mandated compulsory substance abuse treatment, “resulting in an addiction crisis that has grown unchecked.”

Mayor Mahan is supporting reforms which, if passed, would reclassify theft with two or more prior convictions as a jail-eligible felony, and after two hard drug convictions would provide discretion to change a third hard drug possession as a treatment mandated felon.

"We cannot be afraid to challenge the status quo when it is clearly not working for our residents," said Mayor of San Jose Matt Mahan. "Prop 47 was well-intended but what really matters is its impact - and unfortunately, it's hurting far too many families and small businesses across the state. We need reform that doesn't take us back to the era of mass incarceration but allows judges to mandate treatment for those struggling with severe addiction, hold repeat offenders accountable, and treat fentanyl like the killer it is."

In addition to Mayor Mahan and Mayor Breed, the reform initiative has also been widely endorsed by law enforcement officials and elected prosecutors across the state. California Assemblymember Vince Fong and Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer, both Republicans, have also endorsed the initiative.

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