In 2022, San Antonio experienced a spike in violent crime and property crime, including the most homicides in 30 years. Cartels and gangs are smuggling humans and deadly drugs in record amounts through San Antonio – including the 53 migrants who cooked alive in a tractor-trailer last June. These trends are tragic and unacceptable; but they stand to get much worse.
With public safety in San Antonio sliding in such a dangerous direction, one might expect a change of heart from the activists who demonized police just a few years ago while local businesses were looted and vandalized. Unfortunately, radical anti-cop activists are poised to take the City of San Antonio down with them to advance an agenda that is out of touch with reality and the city’s residents.
Proposition A is at the center of their plans. The so-called "Justice Charter" is a political Trojan horse designed to fool naïve liberals with fantasy initiatives to decriminalize marijuana possession and abortion, both illegal measures that will not override Texas law.
The proposed charter poses a direct threat to the future of public safety in San Antonio. Proposition A expands "cite and release" policies – which immediately put dangerous criminals back on the streets – for a broad range of crimes and creates a woke bureaucratic "Justice Director" position that will be weaponized against the men and women of law enforcement.
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I spent years working directly with law enforcement as a federal prosecutor in North Texas and first assistant attorney general. I can assure you – if you incentivize criminal behavior, you will get more of it.
Property theft, simple assault, criminal mischief, vandalism, graffiti, voyeurism, aka "peeping toms," and other nefarious crimes suddenly become harder to enforce and prosecute in San Antonio overnight. Prop A puts police officers in an even worse position to keep our streets and communities safe.
Earlier this month, during Congress’ Easter break, I spent the day meeting San Antonio Police officers to better understand the challenges they face. I rode along with a young SAPD officer for a few hours and saw firsthand his dedication to public safety and the rule of law. Almost every San Antonian I spoke to that day expressed concerns about the rising crime in the city, ranging from violent pit bull attacks to record levels of car thefts.
These problems aren’t in their heads; last year’s crime statistics support their concerns.
Misguided initiatives like these harm San Antonio’s vulnerable communities the most; enabling lawlessness and disorder will not make these neighborhoods safer or improve their quality of life. Do we really want San Antonio’s children, the next generation, exposed to damaging behaviors and their personal safety at greater risk?
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The men and women of the San Antonio Police Department deserve support, not another woke bureaucrat who will seek to defund and demoralize the police force. SAPD currently cannot meet its recruiting goals, and more retirements are on the horizon. Based on my conversations with officers across the city, I fear this dangerous charter could be a point of no return.
If Prop A passes, more small businesses will be victimized and vandalized, more families will move away, and San Antonio will begin to go the way of rapidly deteriorating California cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles.
The people of San Antonio face a choice on May 6. Will they choose safety and security or a slow creep toward lawlessness and chaos?
Municipal elections are infamous for low turnout, which presents a political opportunity. Fundamentally this will come down to which side turns out the most voters. If you feel inclined, I encourage you to activate and volunteer to get out the vote. This proposition could be decided by a few hundred votes.
Texans love where we live, and rightfully so, if we want to keep it that way, then we have to take a stand for the rule of law. The people of San Antonio can send a clear, decisive message they stand for public safety and common sense, by voting against Proposition A on Election Day. I stand right alongside those who do.
