Newsom pulls anti-crime ballot measure, capping Democrats’ chaotic response to Prop. 47 reform

In a wild turn of events, Gov. 47” that reflected a “balanced approach.” He said it would “put public safety first without reverting to outdated and ineffective policies of decades past.” But it fundamentally sought to do something that Newsom and legislative leaders had said for months that they did not want to do — ask voters to change Proposition 47, a pillar of the state’s progressive criminal justice reforms that’s meant to reduce incarceration. “We are unable to meet the ballot deadline to secure necessary amendments to ensure this measure’s success and we will be withdrawing it from consideration,” Newsom said in a statement. “I’d like to thank the Legislature and countless stakeholders who came to the table to work on meaningful reforms and I look forward to our work ahead.” Although Newsom said his measure had the necessary votes to pass, three Democratic lawmakers said it lacked support — an astonishing political miscalculation in a body where Democrats hold a sizable supermajority. Daniel Conway, a vice president of the California Grocers Assn., which supported both ballot measures, said, “I think with just one measure on the ballot, it’s a much more clear choice for voters.” Newsom said he planned to “soon” sign the package of anti-crime bills, calling them “the most significant reform in decades.”