By Cara Liu
KTVU.com
SAN FRANCISCO —
Inside Harrington's Bar and Grill in San Francisco Monday night, a few dozen voters listened as two of the Bay Area’s legal minds debated the merits of Proposition 47.
Known as the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act, Proposition 47 would make certain drug and property crimes -- such as drug possession, grand theft, shoplifting and check forgery -- misdemeanors.
San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi spoke in favor of it.
“We are spending more money on corrections than higher education in California,” Adachi told the crowd.
San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe argued against it.
“One of the other big problems for me is that it is not offender based. It's offense based,” said Wagstaffe.
Supporters say millions of dollars would be saved from shorter jail and prison terms, and that savings would help fund schools, victim advocacy and drug treatment programs. The Yes on 47 website lists Lt. Govenor Gavin Newsom, San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon and the Bay Area Crime Survivors Network as supporters.
“This is about making our communities safer. We're talking about crimes that should not be treated as felonies -- possession of drugs. There are 18 other states that treat possession of drugs as a misdemeanor and California needs to follow that lead,” said Adachi.
Those against say it potentially releases 10,000 felons and reduces penalties for stealing guns and possession of date rape drugs. The No on 47 website lists Senator Dianne Feinstein, the California Police Chief's Association and the California District Attorney's Association as endorsements.
“The problem with Prop 47 is that somebody can have a long criminal record of robbery, kidnapping, carjacking, domestic violence even human trafficking, and if they commit one of these felonies - now felonies - they'll only be able to be charged as a misdemeanor,” said Wagstaffe.
Both Adachi and Wagstaffe said they took part in the debate in hopes of better educating voters when they head to the polls Nov. 4.