In a scathing rebuke of California Governor Gavin Newsom’s policies, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco has emerged as a vocal critic, accusing the governor of “failed leadership” that has fueled a surge in crime and homelessness across the state. Speaking to Fox News Digital in an interview last updated on April 9, 2024, Bianco pointed to Proposition 47, a 2012 ballot measure that reclassified certain felonies as misdemeanors, as a primary driver of California’s public safety crisis. His outspoken criticism, coupled with a proposed ballot initiative to reform Prop 47, has reignited debates over crime policy in the Golden State, drawing both support and scrutiny as Bianco campaigns to succeed Newsom as governor in 2026.
Bianco argues that Prop 47, which reduced penalties for theft under $950 and certain drug offenses, has emboldened criminals, contributing to rampant retail theft, smash-and-grab robberies, and a worsening fentanyl crisis. “We were lied to and misled by our state,” Bianco said, referencing the measure’s branding as the “Safe Schools and Safe Streets Initiative,” which he claims delivered neither. He contends that the reclassification of felonies to misdemeanors has led to a lack of consequences, allowing repeat offenders to cycle through the system without meaningful punishment. This, he asserts, has directly fueled increases in homelessness, drug addiction, and property crimes, with Riverside County alone seeing a 22% higher fentanyl death rate than the state average, according to 2025 data from the USCDC. The proposed Homelessness, Drug Addiction, and Theft Reduction Act seeks to address these issues by restoring felony status to certain offenses and allowing judges to order drug rehabilitation for offenders.
The effort to reform Prop 47 has garnered significant support, with organizers, backed by Bianco, collecting over 546,000 signatures to place the measure on the November 2024 ballot. San Francisco Mayor London Breed, a Democrat, has endorsed the initiative, stating, “The Homelessness, Drug Addiction, and Theft Reduction Act will make targeted but impactful changes to our laws around fentanyl and help us tackle the chronic retail theft that hurts our retailers, our workers, and our cities.” Polls conducted in recent years show strong public support for amending Prop 47, reflecting widespread frustration with rising crime rates. Bianco remains optimistic about the measure’s chances, warning that without it, “crime will just remain rampant. Drugs will remain rampant. The disaster that we have with fentanyl and fentanyl dealers will continue to grow.”
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.
