2008 California Proposition 6

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California Proposition 6, also known as the Safe Neighborhoods Act and The Runner Initiative, is a statutory initiative that appeared on the November 2008 ballot in California. This proposition was rejected by voters on November 4 of that year.

Contents

Proposition 6 would have placed additional penalties on gang related and drug crime.

Provisions of Prop 6

Proposition 6 would:

Estimated fiscal impact

The California Legislative Analyst's Office has arrived at the following summary of Prop. 6's estimated costs:

Funds to pay for these costs, should Prop. 6 pass, will come from 0.3% of California's general fund. [2]

In the current California state budget, $600 million (0.6%) is set aside to assist with local law enforcement. If the initiative passes, an additional $350 million (0.3%) will be required to enforce some of its provisions. [3]

Authors of Prop. 6

Supporters of Prop. 6

The name of the official campaign committee supporting Proposition 6 is the Committee to Take Back Our Neighborhoods. [8]

Arguments in favor of Prop. 6

Radio ads

Path to the ballot

The petition drive to place the measure on the ballot was conducted by National Petition Management, at a cost of $1.022 million. [10]

Supporters turned in over 750,000 signatures on April 25 to qualify the measure for the November 2008 ballot, and the measure was subsequently approved for the ballot., [11] [12]

Donors who support Prop. 6

As of July 14, 2008, eight of the largest donors to Prop. 6 included:

Nicholas, who was arraigned on June 16, 2008 and pleaded not guilty on charges that included drug use, security fraud and conspiracy and has withdrawn from active support of the initiative, though the campaign has stated they will not return his $1,000,000 contribution. Ironically he is also charged with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, meaning he himself would receive the tougher penalties of this initiative. [14] [15] [16] [17] [18]

Opposition to Prop. 6

The official committee opposing Proposition 6 is known as No on Propositions 6 & 9, Communities for Safe Neighborhoods and Fiscal Responsibility.

Arguments against Prop. 6

Donors who oppose Prop. 6

The name of the official campaign committee opposing Prop. 6 is No on Propositions 6 & 9, Communities for Safe Neighborhoods. [22]

As of September 5, 2008, the five largest donors against Prop. 6 consisted of the Ella Baker Center and four labor unions:

Newspaper endorsements

Editorial boards opposed

Results

Electoral results by county. 2008 California Proposition 6 results map by county.svg
Electoral results by county.
Proposition 6 [25]
ChoiceVotes %
Light brown x.svg No8,559,64769.12
Yes3,824,37230.88
Valid votes12,384,01990.11
Invalid or blank votes1,359,1589.89
Total votes13,743,177100.00

Basic information

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References

  1. 1 2 Legislative Analyst's Office's Report
  2. http://www.ebudget.ca.gov/BudgetSummary/SUM/1249561.html Archived 2008-10-19 at the Wayback Machine "California's Budget 2008" California Department of Finance
  3. "Runners support initiative against gender law, Daily Press, Dec. 30, 2007". Archived from the original on 2008-11-21. Retrieved 2008-10-08.
  4. "Supervisor Gary Ovitt". Archived from the original on 2008-11-14. Retrieved 2008-10-29.
  5. "Senator George Runner". Archived from the original on 2008-10-07. Retrieved 2008-10-08.
  6. "A Message From Senator George Runner, Oct. 27, 2008". Archived from the original on 2008-10-08. Retrieved 2008-10-08.
  7. Safe Neighborhoods Statistics and Facts
  8. 1 2 Prop 6
  9. California Secretary of State
  10. Campaign expenditure details
  11. The Appeal Democrat, Crime initiative could hit ballot Archived 2012-07-21 at archive.today , April 30, 2008
  12. "KHTS-AM, "Runners Looking To Target Gangs In Ballot Initiative", March 18, 2008". Archived from the original on 2009-11-01. Retrieved 2008-10-08.
  13. Details of donations to the Yes on 6 committee
  14. http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2008/0605082nicholas1.html "Henry Nicholas charged with, among other things, possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute"
  15. http://news.muckety.com/2008/06/13/indicted-billionaire-henry-nicholas-iii-crusaded-for-tough-penalties-for-criminals/3401 Archived 2008-09-28 at the Wayback Machine "Indicted billionaire Henry Nicholas III crusaded for tough penalties for criminals"
  16. Los Angeles Times "The Two Henry Nicholases"
  17. Los Angeles Times "Initiative sponsor in spotlight"
  18. http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/capitolalertlatest/013300.html Archived 2008-10-12 at the Wayback Machine "Nicholas pleads not guilty"
  19. "List of Prop 6 opponents". Archived from the original on 2008-09-09. Retrieved 2008-10-08.
  20. "Tabulations from a survey of California Registered Voters about the State's Budget Deficit" (PDF). Field Research Corporation. 2008-06-10. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2020-09-04.
  21. Gang Wars: The Failure of Enforcement Tactics and the Need for Effective Public Safety Strategies, Loren Siegel, 2003
  22. "Defeat the Runner Initiative". Archived from the original on 2008-07-27. Retrieved 2008-07-12.
  23. Details of donations to the No on 6 & 9 committee
  24. Los Angeles Times, "No on Proposition 6", September 26, 2008
  25. "Statement of Vote: 2008 General Election" (PDF). California Secretary of State. 2008-12-13. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-10-18. Retrieved 2009-02-21.

Further reading