Crime and homelessness are taking a bite out of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s approval ratings.
As to what voters what done about crime, nearly two in three poll respondents want changes to Proposition 47.
According to a Berkeley IGS Poll released Tuesday, 48% of California’s registered voters approve of Newsom’s overall performance and 47% disapprove.
That compares to the governor’s 50% approval rating last summer and 64% approval in September 2020.
On homelessness, 66% of voters say Newsom is doing a “poor” or “very poor” job. That’s up 12 percentage points from 2020, which was the last time the poll asked that question.
In addition, a majority of voters (51%) aren’t happy with how Newsom is tackling crime.
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Proposition 47 and Crime
“These results suggest that some of the same dissatisfaction that’s hurting Democrats nationally is affecting Governor Newsom’s popularity in the state,” said IGS co-director Eric Schickler in a news release.
As to what voters what done about crime, nearly two in three poll respondents want changes to Proposition 47, which raised the threshold for felony theft to $950. Many police chiefs and district attorneys blame the proposition for California’s spike in shoplifting and other property crimes. Nearly 60% of voters approved Prop. 47 in 2014.
The crimes reduced from potential felonies to misdemeanors by raising the bar from $400 to $950 were shoplifting, grand theft, receiving stolen property, forgery, fraud, and writing a bad check. Personal use of small amounts of most illegal drugs also was downgraded to a misdemeanor.
Assemblyman Jim Patterson, R-Fresno, introduced a bill, AB 1599, in January that would return the threshold for felony theft back to $400. It would also return some drug crimes to felonies.
74% of Dems Approve of Newsom’s Performance
The poll delivered some good news: 66% of voters say the coronavirus pandemic situation is improving.
Attitudes about Newsom’s performance reflected party registration. Seventy-four percent of Democrats gave the governor a thumbs-up while 90% of Republicans said he wasn’t doing a good job. No party preference and voters from other parties disapproved of his performance, 51% to 41%.
Read more from the poll at this link.
