Like many of California’s biggest cities, Sacramento recently reaffirmed the Democratic model while voting against recalling Gov. Gavin Newsom. That same Democratic model is seeing the city struggle with crime and homelessness.
Sacramento businesses are having to deal with vandalism, assaults on employees, frequent shoplifting, and homeless people defecating on the sidewalks in front of their enterprises. One liquor store owner arrives three hours before his store opens to pressure wash the sidewalk. A gas station manager recently told a local ABC affiliate, “It’s not safe for me. It’s not safe for me or for anybody to work here, to be here around all these kind of people.”
The Monthly Sacramento Police Department Chief’s Report from August indicates that the city has seen a 43.6% increase in reported shootings and a 35.2% increase in gunshot victims. According to the city’s website, Sacramento has seen an increase in homicides, rapes, assaults, and motor vehicle thefts when compared to data from the same period last year.
This is the reality that many in California and in Democratic cities throughout the country have had to deal with, but it is a trade-off that many have accepted. Sacramento residents have voted for this. Rampant homelessness and the acceptance of crime are a part of the package when handing complete control of your city to progressive Democrats. Californians from Los Angeles to San Francisco have seen the same. But this is the bargain they’ve made.
There are other options, and some Republicans have provided results. Kevin Faulconer was the mayor of the state’s second-most populous city, San Diego, and made progress on homelessness in the city. But Faulconer was one of the candidates rejected by Californians, including residents of Sacramento, in favor of Newsom and the status quo. Solutions are available, but these are problems that residents of Sacramento have to want to solve.
