During a Thursday afternoon press conference, the California Democrat said he was focusing on other matters, including stumping for Vice President Kamala Harris, over campaigning against Proposition 36. 

“It’s a question of bandwidth,” Newsom said. “I fear I can’t do everything. I’ve got, trying to get Kamala Harris elected president of the United States, trying to get through these 900 bills.”

Newsom added that his capacity has been stretched to the limit, with five other ballot measures he is also concerned about and his focus on battling homeless encampments.

“It’s just a question of what you’re capable of doing,” he said. 

He indicated he would not spend campaign funds to target the ballot measure that would “set the state back.” Rather than waging war against the tough-on-crime ballot measure, he said he would leave the matter for residents to investigate. “I just pray, I really do, that people take a good look at Proposition 36,” he said.

His latest remarks came the day after a poll showing Californians heavily favored Proposition 36. The measure would allow felony charges for certain drug possession and thefts under $950 in value for offenders who have two prior similar convictions. It would also increase prison sentences for other drug and theft charges. Additionally, it would drop felony charges against some drug offenders if they successfully complete treatment.

Voters in the state back the ballot initiative 71% to 26%, according to the Public Policy Institute of California survey. Their support comes as property crimes have risen across the state and hot spots such as San Francisco have been decimated by drug use.

Newsom weighed in on the poll on Thursday.

“The fact that I saw a poll today and saw 70% of people want to support it, I was wondering what state I was living in,” he said during the press conference. “Prop 36 is a real setback, and it appears clearly that the public has a different point of view.”

He said Californians were supporting the measure because they “didn’t read it, and that was disappointing to me.” 

Gov. Gavin Newsom is speaking about the new @PPICNotes poll that shows 71% of CA likely voters support Prop 36:

“I was wondering what state I was living in,” he said upon reading the results of the poll.

“I know people are frustrated. I know people are angry. But this is not… pic.twitter.com/phtd327Mhx

— Eytan Wallace (@EytanWallace) September 19, 2024

Supporters of the measure said it would motivate drug users, many of whom shoplift to fund their addiction, to finish treatment programs. Newsom said it would be impossible to follow through with the promise because there is “not $1 attached” to the initiative. 

However, advocates of the bill told the Washington Examiner that facing a felony charge could be the “stick” drug offenders need to finish rehabilitation treatments. Drug offenders and shoplifters across the state currently face a misdemeanor for breaking the law.

Tom Wolf, who recently founded a drug advocacy group called the Pacific Alliance for Prevention and Recovery, said that while drug offenders often have the option of having the misdemeanor removed from their record if they finish treatment, the charge usually isn’t heavy enough to nudge them into rehabilitation. 

“Prop 36, with a felony hanging over you, there’s more of an incentive for you to actually go through complete treatment because you don’t want to face penalties,” Wolf said. 

Wolf was a homeless, recovering heroin addict from San Francisco before launching advocacy initiatives. He said Proposition 36 “may seem like negative incentives, but they’re incentives nonetheless.” 

Newsom also said there wouldn’t be enough treatment beds in the state to support the measure if it passes. It’s “an unfunded mandate to guarantee something that doesn’t even exist in 22 counties,” he warned.

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However, Wolf pointed to a ballot measure California passed earlier this year to address concerns that the state’s infrastructure would be overwhelmed. Proposition 1 poured billions of dollars into behavioral health treatment centers and created 6,800 residential treatment beds across the state.

“Proposition 1, despite what the governor says, goes literally hand in hand with Proposition 36 because Proposition 36 is going to create a vehicle, i.e., revamped the drug court system in California, to actually usher people into those treatment beds that are going to be created as a result of Proposition 1,” he said.