Newsom, however, has resisted these changes, proposing instead new crime categories targeting “professional” offenders, as noted in a Daily Mail report from April 9, 2024. Bianco dismissed this approach as inadequate, arguing that only a voter-approved amendment can overturn Prop 47’s flaws due to its status as a ballot initiative. “The governor is going to have to get on board because this is 100% complete common sense,” Bianco stated, accusing Newsom of defending a “disaster” for political reasons. He further criticized the state’s broader political agenda, calling it a “social experiment” that has worsened under Newsom’s tenure as mayor of San Francisco, lieutenant governor, and now governor.

The sheriff’s critique has not gone unchallenged. A 2025 report from the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice highlighted Bianco’s own record, noting that Riverside County’s crime-solving rate under his leadership from 2019 to 2024 was just 9.2%, less than half the state average, and that the county experienced 17% of California’s jail homicides despite housing only 6% of the state’s jailed population. Critics argue that Bianco’s tough-on-crime rhetoric oversimplifies complex issues, pointing to Newsom’s efforts to address crime through other means, such as deploying 120 California Highway Patrol officers to Oakland, where crime rates have since dropped, according to a June 26, 2024, Fox 11 report. Newsom’s office also emphasized new public safety laws effective in 2025, claiming they build on California’s “near-record-low crime rates.”

Public sentiment, as reflected on X, is divided. Some users, like @Rafa_Mangual on August 15, 2025, praised tougher policing strategies, while others, like @SEIU, argued that community investments reduce crime more effectively than punitive measures. Bianco remains undeterred, leveraging his law-and-order stance in his campaign for governor, announced in February 2025. Supporters like former state Sen. Dennis Hollingsworth call him a “real alternative” to Sacramento’s policies. As California grapples with these issues, Bianco’s push to overhaul Prop 47 underscores a broader struggle over the state’s approach to public safety, with implications for its future leadership and direction.