By Samuel Strait, Reporter at Large – August 17, 2021

It would seem that the Follies being attached to Gavin Newsom in this
series could almost be endless as our dictator in charge has not fared
well over the past three and a half years as Governor of the State of
California.  Crime has not been any kinder to the governor’s policy
decisions.  Even before Newsom became governor of the State, his time as
San Francisco’s Mayor was fraught with difficulties, Crime, with a
capital “C” was one such.  To be fair there is a lot more to Governor
Newsom’s difficulty with reining in crime in California.  To a certain
degree the prevailing attitude among some Californians is that “justice
simply is not fair”, and as a consequence the policies of it’s
leadership have complied with that sentiment.

The bad news is that as California has emptied prisons, reduced felonies
to misdemeanors, established “no Bail” release, a sanctuary State,
limits for prosecution on thefts over $950, the level of crime has begun
to rise.  Newsom, in his infinite wisdom seems to be a one man cheer
leader for all of the above.  It has been said, that it is not all that
bad, by some Newsom allies in the press and the statistics seem to show
only a modest rise in crime during Newsom’s administration.  The problem
arises for Newsom when activities that were formerly serious crimes such
as organized shoplifting in major retail venues that go without
attention, or simple shop lifting of less than $950 without in many
cases even so much as arrest; car jacking, burglary, and violent crime
that appear nowhere in the tally of criminal activity.

It is as if Newsom has determined that if you ignore crime as much as
possible it will go away.  Despite a modest rise in reported crime,
those on the ground are signaling that it is much greater than
reported.  Law enforcement points to Propositions 47 and 57 as one of
the many problems that face policing.  As a result arrests in many
jurisdictions are down significantly.  Less reported crime looks good on
paper, but does little to stem the flood.  Newsom is not entirely the
problem, but has done little to make any meaningful changes to stem the
tide.  Closing prisons may look good at election times, but as offenders
are released into the public in large numbers it should not be much of a
surprise when they continue to commit crimes.

It has not been very difficult to point to Newsom’s failures as governor
in nearly every arena of the systematic breakdown of life in the Golden
State.  If Newsom could have restricted his attention to something that
might actually work, the Golden State might become Golden again. 
Instead, Newsom along with Silicon Valley Billionaires, Hollywood’s
elite and Union sympathizers have poured millions of dollars into
attacking his own citizens over their desire for better leadership.  It
is not as if this was born over the last few months.  Dissatisfaction
with Newsom’s reign began almost at the outset.  It has only grown
since as he stumbled from problem to problem, no solutions in sight.  If
Newsom is fortunate enough to retain his seat, the likelihood of things
becoming worse is a given.  Newsom’s retention of his office would
encourage him to more lock downs and restrictions of the Covid variety
almost immediately.  Policies that have dogged California for the time
Newsom has been in office will not only remain in place, but are likely
to burden Californians with more chaos.  Governance is an art form
Newsom has yet to learn, feathering his own nest he knows well.