Opponents: Diana Becton, District Attorney Contra Costa County; Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice
The passage of PROP 47 was groundbreaking in its approach to ending the revolving door of imprisonment that affected too many Californians, especially those from poor communities. Like all cutting-edge legislation, experience has shown that it is imperfect and needs adjustment. Instead of using a scalpel, PROP-36 takes a sledgehammer and destroys it.
Most concerning is the return to the failed War On Drugs and its treatment of addiction as a crime instead of a health crisis. As tempting as it is to believe that addicts can be forced into treatment and be magically cured, they will not be successful until they realize that they need help.
PROP 47 reduced the amount the state spent on the prison system and allowed it to focus more on rehabilitation and reentry programs that reduce recidivism. We cannot go back. I am voting "No."
Carl Petersen is a parent advocate for public education, particularly for students with special education needs, who serves as the Education Chair for the Northridge East Neighborhood Council. As a Green Party candidate in LAUSD's District 2 School Board race, he was endorsed by Network for Public Education (NPE) Action. Dr. Diane Ravitch has called him "a valiant fighter for public schools in Los Angeles." For links to his blogs, please visit www.ChangeTheLAUSD.com. Opinions are his own.
Next Page 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
1
1
