Fight over retail theft is testing California Democrats’ drive to avoid mass incarceration policies

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom and state leaders reversed course on a plan to place a crime-focused initiative on the November ballot a day after announcing it.

In a statement released Tuesday night, Newsom said there’s not enough time for state leaders to work out final language before the Wednesday deadline. State leaders rolled out the proposed measure Sunday night after spending weeks unsuccessfully trying to negotiate a separate, more punitive proposal on the same subject off the ballot.

The unusual and abrupt move highlights state Democrats’ difficult balancing act between tamping down voters’ frustration on crimes and avoiding a return to mass incarceration policies — all while the Governor has his eyes set on political ambitions elsewhere.

Newsom, who reportedly has presidential goals of his own, jetted off to Washington D.C. Wednesday morning to support President Joe Biden and will spend the next few days fundraising for the president after a shaky debate performance.

“This gives you real insight into Gavin Newsom and how he thinks and where he’s at,” Sonoma State University political science professor David McCuan said. “It is that he cares about himself above all others.”

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