El Dorado County officials join SLT Police Chief Uhler in opposition of Prop 47

The list of people against California's Proposition 47 grew today with the addition of El Dorado County District Attorney Vern Pierson, Sheriff John D'Agostini and County Supervisors joining the fight against what has been touted "The Safe Neighborhood and Schools Act."

A story on South Tahoe Now October 6th explained the proposition which opponents say "unfairly misleads the public into believing that the Act will strengthen criminal laws to protect neighborhoods and schools,: according to the El Dorado County officials.

In a joint statement release today, the DA, Sheriff and Supervisors said that with Proposition 47 the exact opposite is true. Contrary to the claims of its supporters, the Act is crafted to weak en criminal laws, reduce a multitude of crimes to misdemeanors from felonies (including theft of most hand guns), release currently imprisoned felons with serious or violent criminal records and impose an impossibly demanding standard of proof in re-sentencings, including the three strikes re=sentencings enacted in 2012’s Proposition 36. This Act also proposes that any savings will be directed into prevention and support programs in K- 12 schools, victim services and treatment. However, it ignores the costs to the criminal justice system for the proposed “re-sentencings”, costs to business owners and costs of recidivism to the community . Nothing in this Act translates to safer neighborhoods or to safer schools.

Sheriff D’Agostini stated, “As the Sheriff of El Dorado County, I cannot stand by and allow such a travesty of our criminal justice system run through the process without expressing my strong opposition to Proposition 47.”

Earlier this month, South Lake Tahoe Police Chief Brian Uhler also came out against Prop 47. "I cannot imagine how anyone’s neighborhood or school will be safer by releasing thousands of known violent offenders from prison," Uhler said. "A better title might have been, 'Locals Pay for the State Problem Act.'"

In the Photo: left to right: Placerville Police Chief: Scott Heller, Supervisor Dist.4: Ron Briggs, District Attorney: Vernon Pierson, Supervisor Dist1: Shiva Frenzen, Sheriff: John D’Agostini, Supervisor Dist.5: Norma Santiago, Supervisor Dist. 3: Brian Veerkamp, Supervisor Dist. 4: Ron Mikulako