SACRAMENTO — In the coalition pushing Proposition 6, an anti-crime initiative on the Nov. 4 ballot, the person who has contributed the most financially stands to gain little and has become the campaign's biggest liability.
With a single $1-million contribution last December, billionaire and Broadcom co-founder Henry T. Nicholas III supplied most of the cash raised to date by proponents of the so-called Safe Neighborhoods Act. Then during the summer, he was indicted on drug, fraud and conspiracy charges.
Though he is accused of manipulating stock options, supplying customers with prostitutes and maintaining properties for cocaine and methamphetamine use and distribu- tion, Proposition 6's proponents say they see no reason to give the money back.
"The crimes that he's accused of are not the kinds of things we're dealing with," said Sen. George Runner (R-Lancaster), one of the initiative's authors. "We're dealing with street crimes that Californians are confronted with every day."
David Warren, a lobbyist with Taxpayers for Improving Public Safety, criticized the measure's supporters for keeping Nicholas' money after his indictment.
"Having knowledge that he has been indicted and not returning it is very hypocritical," Warren said.
Critics contend that the proposition would be too expensive and punitive and would abridge civil rights. They say its 60% increase in law enforcement funding -- to nearly $1 billion a year -- would steal money from education and other programs.
Some argue that the harsh new penalties would worsen problems in the state's prison system, now swollen with 170,000 inmates.
The longer sentences could cost the state $500 million for more prison space, according to the nonpartisan legislative analyst. And a requirement that the state reduce average parole agent caseloads from 70 to 50 could entail hiring hundreds more agents, each at a cost of nearly $123,000 a year for salary, benefits and a car.
"Do we want to take a chance on spending our money on policies that may make the problem worse?" asked Maureen Pacheco, a deputy public defender in Los Angeles County, at a legislative hearing last month.
Among other changes, the initiative would increase punishment for home invasion robbery or carjacking from the existing 15-year maximum to a possible life term -- and allow people who lie to the police about gang crimes to be prosecuted as accessories. But Proposition 6 also would direct some money toward probation departments and rehabilitation programs and create a commission to scrutinize rehabilitation efforts.
