Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco has publicly criticized Vice President Kamala Harris for her silence on California’s Proposition 36, a measure that seeks to toughen penalties for repeat theft and drug-related offenses. Proposition 36, titled the Homelessness, Drug Addiction, and Theft Reduction Act, aims to modify the controversial Proposition 47, which was passed in 2014 and significantly reduced the penalties for several crimes, including theft and drug possession, contributing to what critics argue has been a rise in crime across the state.
Proposition 47, also known as the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act, reclassified felonies as misdemeanors “unless the defendant has a prior conviction of murder, rape, certain sex offenses, or certain gun crimes.”
If passed, Prop 36 would undo portions of Prop 47 and increase the penalties for some of the listed crimes depending on their categorization.
When asked about her stance on Prop 36, Harris confirmed she had voted on the measure but refrained from disclosing how she voted. Harris, a former attorney general of California, stated that she did not want her vote to be seen as an endorsement, explaining that, as vice president, she wants to avoid influencing state politics.
Her position has drawn criticism from law enforcement leaders like Sheriff Bianco, who argue that Harris has an obligation to take a clear stance on issues affecting California, her home state.
In a Fox Interview, Sheriff Bianco explained, “California’s Democrat leaders have long taken the side of criminals instead of standing up for crime victims and ordinary residents. Proposition 36 will roll back some of the most harmful soft-on-crime policies California Democrats have enacted.
“It is the single most important thing on California’s ballot this year, and will help clean up our streets and keep our neighborhoods safe. The Vice President’s reluctance to vocally support this critical public safety measure is yet another failure in a long career of failures when it comes to keeping our citizens safe.”
Sheriff Bianco, a strong supporter of Proposition 36, condemned Harris’s silence as a sign of detachment from the issues affecting Californians’ safety. Bianco argued that Harris’s reluctance to reveal her vote reflects a broader trend of political leaders avoiding accountability on public safety issues.
For Bianco and other advocates of stricter law enforcement measures, the vice president’s silence signals a failure to support law enforcement and address the concerns of Californians frustrated with the state’s crime policies.
