Endorsements
Steve Cooley
Los Angeles County District Attorney
"The state should not allow the misallocation of limited penal resources by having life prison sentences for those who do not pose a serious criminal threat to society. The punishment should fit the crime."
Charlie Beck
Chief of Police
Los Angeles
"Prop. 36 is good for public safety in California. It ensures just, fair, and consistent criminal sentences. The policy has been in place in Los Angeles for over a decade and our crime rates are at record lows. Our limited prison resources should be directed at keeping violent offenders off the streets."
George Gascon
District Attorney
San Francisco
"I have been in law enforcement for over thirty years and I know that spending more money on prisons doesn’t solve the bigger issue of reducing crime. The Three Strikes Reform Act saves California taxpayers money and restores the original intent of the law by focusing on truly dangerous criminals."
Bill Bratton
Fmr. Chief of Police of Los Angeles
"Prop. 36 reforms the Three Strikes law to what it was intended to be — focused on violent serious criminals."
Jeffrey Rosen
District Attorney
Santa Clara
"Prop. 36 ensures consistency and justice under the Three Strikes law. It reflects the best practice for Three Strikes cases in California; maintains public safety; and will save taxpayers millions of dollars."
Bryan Stevenson
Executive Director
Equal Justice Initiative
"Basic services for children, senior citizens and hard-working people are being cut to pay for excessive prison terms that unnecessarily keep people in prison for decades. It's not smart, it's not right and it's time for change."
Gloria Romero
Fmr. State Senator
"As the Senator who chaired our state’s prison oversight committee, I saw firsthand the need for substantive reform in California’s sentencing laws. The Three Strikes Reform Act will enable California to not only be TOUGH on crime, but to be SMART on crime as well."
Mike Davis
California Assembly Member
Vice Chair of the Legislative Black Caucus
"Three strikes reform in California will put our state in concert with the 22 other states in the country who have three strikes policies which require a violent and serious offense for every offense including the third strike. This is a just and fair policy."
Cory Booker
Mayor of Newark, New Jersey
"Reforming California's Three Strikes law is not only the right thing to do for the people unfairly serving life sentences in the state of California; it is a positive step towards improved social justice in America."
Grover Norquist
President
Americans for Tax Reform
"The Three Strikes Reform Act is tough on crime without being tough on taxpayers. It will put a stop to needlessly wasting hundreds of millions in taxpayers’ hard-earned money, while protecting people from violent crime.”
Law Enforcement Leaders
Steve Cooley District Attorney of Los Angeles County
George Gascón District Attorney of San Francisco City and County
Jeffrey Rosen District Attorney of Santa Clara County
Charlie Beck Police Chief of Los Angeles
Jackie Lacy Chief Deputy District Attorney of Los Angeles County
Bill Bratton Fmr. Chief of Police of Los Angeles
Joseph McNamara Fmr. Chief of Police of San Jose
Jeanne Woodford Fmr. Director California Dept. of Corrections and Warden of San Quentin State Prison
Michael Hennessey Sheriff of San Francisco (Ret.)
Wendy Still Chief Adult Probation Officer of San Francisco
Matha Boersch Fmr. Federal Prosecutor
James Brosnahan Fmr. Federal Prosecutor
Angela Chan Police Commissioner of San Francisco
LaDoris H. Cordell Superior Court Judge of Santa Clara County (Ret.)
Petra DeJesus Police Commissioner of San Francisco
Stephen Downing Fmr. Deputy Chief of Police of Los Angeles
David Doddridge Fmr. Detective, Los Angeles Police Department
Percy Duran Deputy District Attorney of Los Angeles County
Gail Ehrlich Deputy District Attorney of Los Angeles County
Darryl Stallworth Fmr. Deputy District Attorney, Alameda County
Miles Ehrlich Fmr. Federal Prosecutor
Miguel Espinoza Deputy District Attorney of Los Angeles County
James P. Gray Superior Court Judge of Orange County (Ret.)
Eugene M. Hyman Superior Court Judge of Santa Clara County (Ret.)
Donald Horgan Fmr. Deputy District Attorney of Contra Costa County
Laurie Levenson Fmr. Federal Prosecutor and Professor of Law, Loyola Law School
Rory Little Fmr. Federal Prosecutor and Professor of Law, U.C. Hastings Law School
Suzy Loftus Police Commissioner of San Francisco
Thomas Mazzucco President, Police Commission of San Francisco
Kevin McCarthy Superior Court Judge of San Francisco County (Ret.)
William Alfred Newsom III California Court of Appeals Judge (Ret.)
David Onek Fmr. Police Commissioner of San Francisco
Ismail Ramsey Fmr. Federal Prosecutor
R. James Slaughter Fmr. Police Commissioner of San Francisco
Ronald Tochterman Superior Court Judge of Sacramento County (Ret.)
Mario Trujillo Deputy District Attorney of Los Angeles County
L. Julius M. Turman San Francisco Police Commissioner
Elizabeth de la Vega Fmr. Chief of the U.S. Attorney's Office, San Jose Division
Eric Woodford California Department of Corrections Parole Administrator (Ret.)
Bruce Enos Fmr. Deputy District Attorney of Sonoma County
Other Elected Officials
Antonio Villaraigosa Mayor of Los Angeles
Kevin Johnson Mayor of Sacramento
Ed Lee Mayor of San Francisco
Gavin Newsom Lt. Governor of California
Karen Bass United States Congresswoman
Barbara Lee United States Congresswoman
Maxine Waters United States Congresswoman
Bill Bradley United States Senator (Ret.)
Cory Booker Mayor of Newark, New Jersey
Loni Hancock California State Senator, Chair of Senate Public Safety Committee
Nancy Skinner California State Assemblymember
Mark Leno California State Senator, Chair of Senate Budget & Fiscal Review Committee
Tom Bates Mayor of Berkeley
Martha M. Escutia California State Senator (Ret.)
Jackie Goldberg California State Assemblymember(Ret.)
Barbara Parker City Attorney of Oakland
Gloria Romero California State Senate Majority Leader (Ret.)
Alan Sieroty California State Senator (Ret.)
Scott Wiener Supervisor of San Francisco
Betty T. Yee Member State Board of Equalization
City Councilwoman Bonnie Parnell , South Sacramento
Newspapers
Los Angeles Times
San Francisco Chronicle
Sacramento Bee
San Jose Mercury News
La Opinion
El Mensajero
San Diego Union Tribune
Bakersfield Californian
Oakland Tribune
Contra Costa Times
San Francisco Examiner
La Prensa San Diego
San Diego Free Press
North County Times
Chico News and Review
Whittier Daily News
Santa Cruz Sentinel
Press-Enterprise
Pasadena Star-News
Orange County Register
Fresno Bee
San Gabriel Valley Tribune
San Francisco Bay Guardian
Los Angeles News Group
East Bay Express
Press Democrat
The Reporter
Civil Rights Organizations
ACLU of California
NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc.
Families to Amend California’s Three Strikes (FACTS)
Dolores Huerta Foundation
California Attorneys for Criminal Justice (CACJ)
Drug Policy Alliance
Ella Baker Center
Equal Justice Society (EJS)
Labor Organizations
San Francisco Labor Council
San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council
Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO
California Nurses Association
California Labor Federation
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, California
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, District Council 57
California Federation of Teachers
Other Organizations
CREDO
Courage Campaign
Homeboy Industries
Californians United for a Responsible Budget (CURB)
Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce
Anti-Recidivism Coalition (ARC)
Mexican American Bar Association
California Nurses Association
LA Progressive – Social Justice Magazine
A New PATH (Parents for Addiction Treatment and Healing)
Community Legal Research Center
Community Works West
Youthful Offender Resource Network
Restoration House
Friends Committee on Legislation of California
National Council on Crime and Delinquency
San Francisco for Democracy
All of Us or None
Legal Services for Prisoners with Children
Mexican American Political Association
Faith Based Leadership
Bend the Arc: A Jewish Partnership for Justice (formerly Progressive Jewish Alliance)
California Council of Churches
People Improving Communities Through Organizing (PICO)
Lutheran Office of Public Policy
Rabbi Steven B. Jacobs
Progressive Christians Uniting
Justice Fellowship
Justice Ministries
Reverend Paul A. Hill, Grace United Methodist Church
Reverend Cecil Murray, Cecil Murray Center for Community Engagement
Peter Laarman, Executive Director, Progressive Christians Uniting
Pastor Rev. Dr. Lewis E. Logan II
Pilgrim United Church of Christ, Carlsbad
Office of Restorative Justice, Los Angeles Catholic Archdiocese
All Saints Church, Pasadena
Pastor Phillip G.Goudeaux of Calvary Christian Center
California Council of Church
Law School Deans
Penelope Bryan Dean of Whittier Law School
Erwin Chemerinsky Dean of U.C. Irvine Law School
Christopher Edley Jr. Dean of U.C. Berkeley Law School
Stephen Ferruolo Dean of University of San Diego Law School
Bryant Garth Dean of Southwestern Law School
Victor Gold Dean of Loyola Law School
Kevin Johnson Dean of University of California Davis Law School
Larry Kramer Dean of Stanford Law School
Francis Mootz III Dean of University of the Pacific Law School
Donald Polden Dean of Santa Clara Law School
Drucilla Ramey Dean of Golden Gate Law School
Robert K. Rasmussen Dean of University of Southern California Law School
Deanell Tacha Dean of Pepperdine Law School
Frank Wu Dean of U.C. Hastings Law School
Municipalities
Long Beach City Council
Inglewood City Council
Carson City Council
Los Angeles City Council
Marin County Board of Supervisors
Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors
Political Parties
California Democratic Party
California Young Democrats
Green Party of California
City of Alameda Democratic Club
Escondido Democratic Club
Peace and Freedom Party
San Francisco Green Party
Santa Clara County Democratic Party
Democratic Alliance For Action
Potrero Hill Democratic Club
Pacific Palisades Democratic Club
Alice B Toklas LGBT Democratic Club
San Diego Democratic Club
East Bay Young Democrats
Chico Conservation Voters
Ventura County Democratic Party
Other Community, State and National Leaders
Grover Norquist President of Americans for Tax Reform
Geoffrey Canada, President and CEO of the Harlem Children's Zone in Harlem, New York
Dolores Huerta , labor leader and founder of Dolores Huerta Foundation
Van Jones, Founder of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights
George Shultz Fmr. U.S. Secretary of State
Joe Klaas (Polly Klaas’ grandfather)
John L. Burton Fmr. State Senator, Chair of California Democratic Party
Kim Brettschneider State Coordinator for the Children’s Defense Fund California
Sergio Carrillo California Democratic Party Officer, Region 17
Ryan Fernandez Member of Alameda Democratic Central Committee
Cristina Garcia Candidate for State Assembly, District 58
Royce Kelley California Democratic Party Director, Region 6
John Burton Civil rights lawyer
Igor Tregub California Young Democrats Bay Area Regional Director, Berkeley Rent Board Commissioner
Blasé Bonpane Executive Director of Office of the Americas
Anthony Duarte Chairman of the La Puente Planning Commission
Charles Carbone, Esq. Prisoner rights lawyer
Barbara Brooks , Sentencing and Justice Reform Advocacy
Barry Krisberg , Professor of U.C. Berkeley Law School
Javier Stauring, Co-Director of the Office of Restorative Justice, Los Angeles Catholic Archdiocese