Business leaders disappointed City Council won’t support statewide reforms on theft, drug use and mental health
Chamber of Commerce and Visit Long Beach wanted officials to support Prop. 36 but the council shelved the item and took no stance as commercial property crimes soar.
How laws should be enforced has been a hot topic of debate since the passage of Proposition 47 a decade ago. The measure allows some low-level, non-violent felonies to be charged as misdemeanors. In November, voters will decide on an amendment to give more teeth back to law enforcement with Prop. 36.
While the Long Beach City Council often has voiced its support for or opposition to proposed state and federal regulations, members opted to steer clear of the controversial initiative, voting 5-3 to shelve the issue during its Sept. 17 meeting.
Following the decision, the Long Beach Area Chamber of Commerce released a statement expressing its “disappointment” in the City Council’s decision to not support what it calls “critical reforms” on theft, drugs and mental health.
“This vote contradicts the recommendations put forth by the city staff report and the Council's own Intergovernmental Affairs Committee, both of which had urged formal support for the proposition,” the chamber’s statement reads.
The business organization did, however, express its “gratitude” to Councilmembers Cindy Allen, Kristina Duggan and Daryl Supernaw, all of whom voted in favor of supporting Prop. 36.
During an Aug. 6 meeting of the council’s Intergovernmental Affairs Committee, members Roberto Uranga, Allen and Megan Kerr considered the proposition and whether to send the matter to the full council. At the meeting, City Prosecutor Doug Haubert took the rare step of voicing his full support of the proposition.
“In the 14 years that I have been the city prosecutor, I have never advised the council to support any ballot measure — state or local or county,” Haubert told the committee. “This is the first time I’ve done that because I believe that this is so important for the people of California, but particularly the people of LA County and of Long Beach who suffer under people who have made a career decision to continue to engage in theft through smash-and-grabs or other types of action, or people who engage in drug use without any type of intervention.”
In Long Beach, commercial property crimes, including burglaries, robberies and vandalism, have skyrocketed over the last six years, Long Beach Police Department data shows. In 2023, 5,352 incidents were reported to LBPD, up 215% from the 1,699 incidents in 2019. And with 3,588 incidents reported through July, 2024 is on track to surpass last year.
“My hands are tied with Proposition 47,” Haubert said. “When it was passed, nobody knew the theft problems that were going to result. Nobody knew that there would be a number of people that would continue to steal over and over and over again. There was no way to know. No one could predict the future, but that’s been one of the consequences.”
Kerr made the motion to approve staff recommendations to support various pieces of legislation, adding a friendly amendment to include Prop. 36, which was seconded by Allen. All three committee members voted to send the item to the full council for consideration to support the proposition.
But when it came down to the vote at the Sept. 17 City Council meeting, Uranga recommended the council receive and file the item without taking a position. Duggan, in turn, made another motion to support Prop. 36.
Duggan's motion failed, while Uranga’s motion passed 5-3, with Kerr absent due to a family emergency, according to Mayor Rex Richardson.
“It is up to the voters to decide whether Proposition 36 passes or not,” Uranga said during the council meeting. “It is not the job of this City Council to do that.”
The Chamber of Commerce isn’t the only business-related agency disappointed by the council’s decision. In a Sept. 14 letter to councilmembers, Visit Long Beach Board of Directors Chair Imran Ahmed, general manager of the Long Beach Marriott, urged support for the ballot measure, saying the reforms would enable the city to better address crime and drug issues, which it said are “serious issues” affecting its “diverse membership of more than 400 small businesses.”
“We believe the Proposition is a measured approach that balances individual and community wellbeing with common-sense reform, and that it will greatly benefit the City of Long Beach, improving the day-to-day lives of residents and visitors alike,” Ahmed wrote.
Visit Long Beach, a nonprofit founded in 1982, markets and promotes the city’s leisure travel, conventions and events. Tourism is a leading revenue generator for Long Beach and a pillar of Mayor Rex Richardson’s plan to offset the loss of oil revenue in the coming years.
While businesses are upset by the decision, many community advocacy groups voiced their opposition to Prop. 36 during the council meeting, including Long Beach Forward, Black Lives Matter Long Beach, Long Beach for a Just Economy, Californians for Justice and others.
“We know change is hard, it’s not always going to be perfect, but we know that we cannot go backwards, go back on our progress on the opportunities we’ve given people, on our changes to the justice system,” Long Beach Forward Executive Director James Suazo said during public comment.
Others argued that funding that will go toward enforcing Prop. 36 would be better spent addressing the root causes of crime and drug use.
Some residents, however, declared their support for the measure, noting that they are tired of witnessing theft and drug use due to a lack of enforcement.
“We have police officers telling the public that they won’t even bother because the guys would be out of jail in the morning,” resident Laura Selmer said during the meeting. “Our law enforcement community is disheartened that they cannot even do anything. We have choices and we have consequences.”
In a statewide poll released Wednesday, a staggering 71% of likely voters said they support Prop. 36 and its increased penalties for repeat offenders of drug and theft crimes, Politico reports.
“Prop. 47 doesn’t work,” said another resident, who added that they are a former drug addict. “One of the things that I hear regularly from this council is ‘empathy and compassion.’ It’s not empathetic and it’s not compassionate to let addicts die on our streets every day.”
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