Pay attention to your vote

“Pay attention to your vote”, Carmel Pine Cone—Dec. 24, 2021

I am so tired of the media slanting things. The words in the next paragraph were reported by Don Thompson of the Associated Press in a story about Gov. Gavin Newsom’s announcement to spend
$300 million creating jobs to combat retail theft.
“He (Newsom) defended a voter-approved 2014 initiative that reduced certain thefts from felonies to misdemeanors, though prosecutors said it left them without enough legal tools.”
First, voters were fooled with the title of Prop. 47, “Safe Schools and Neighborhoods.” We had young, stupid, and even lazy people who did not read beyond the Title of Prop. 47.

Second, California sheriffs expressed concerns at the time about this proposition and the consequences that could be expected to occur. The voters would not have voted to allow stealing up to $950 being considered a misdemeanor. Since these thefts are no longer considered felonies, they (Newsom et al.) can boast about crime reductions in media sources.

However, too many of us have become victims of these crimes or know someone who has experienced first-hand the results, such as businesses limiting hours or closing their business eliminating needed jobs and services to the community.

Please educate yourself and children to look beyond the title of a proposition when voting in 2022. We still have no accountability for high-speed rail, unemployment benefits fraud and waste, or the 2014 water bond that was approved by voters.

K. Papenhausen, Pebble Beach