Americans Continue To Revolt Against Democrats’ Soft-on-Crime Policies

‘In Portland, The Backlash Has Arrived’: Mike Schmidt, ‘The Incumbent Progressive Prosecutor In Oregon’s Multnomah County’ Was Voted Out Of Office

“Centrist district attorney candidate Nathan Vasquez has ousted the incumbent progressive prosecutor in Oregon’s Multnomah County, home to Portland, after running a campaign in which he vowed to be tough on crime.” (“Centrist Challenger Ousts Progressive Prosecutor In DA Race In Portland, Oregon,” The Associated Press, 5/22/2024)

·       “One of District Attorney Mike Schmidt’s deputies, Vasquez was endorsed by several police groups. He won Tuesday’s nonpartisan primary election after returns showed him receiving more than 50% of the vote.” (“Centrist Challenger Ousts Progressive Prosecutor In DA Race In Portland, Oregon,” The Associated Press, 5/22/2024)

“Mr. Schmidt, a Democrat, was one of a series of progressive prosecutors around the country who had vowed to reshape the criminal justice system. But in the years since Mr. Schmidt’s election in 2020, voters in Portland have signaled an interest in cracking down on crime and homelessness. As businesses fled the city center, people reported feeling unsafe on the streets. Homicides and overdoses soared.” (“Voters Oust Progressive Prosecutor in Portland,” The New York Times, 5/22/2024)

·       “In 2020, Schmidt ran for district attorney and pitched himself as a progressive prosecutor, tapping into a national movement that elevated reform-minded candidates who vowed to enact policies to reduce mass incarceration. Schmidt promised to eliminate cash bail, focus on prosecuting violent offenses over low-level crimes, and reduce the long-term effects of the criminal justice system by clearing away old criminal charges …” (“Multnomah County District Attorney Race: A Progressive Prosecutor Vs. A Challenger Colleague,” OPB, 5/06/2024)

·       “Mr. Vasquez called for a new approach, setting up a bitter campaign against his boss. He promised to take on lawless behavior and petty crimes, differentiating himself from Mr. Schmidt, who had won four years ago with pledges to move away from focusing on low-level crimes.” (“Voters Oust Progressive Prosecutor in Portland,” The New York Times, 5/22/2024)

“Schmidt was originally elected in 2020 during the Black Lives Matter riots following the murder of George Floyd. Black Lives Matter and Antifa rioters were particularly active in Portland throughout summer 2020, taking the streets for weeks at a time and frequently committing acts of violence. Schmidt’s office declined to prosecute many of the protesters under a policy of ‘preemptive decline’ for lower level offenses.” (“Portland DA Braces for Voter Backlash to 2020 Soft-on-Crime Policies,” National Review, 5/21/2024)

‘The Culmination Of Simmering Local Frustration With Crime, Homelessness And Drug Abuse’

“In Portland, the backlash has arrived. … [Schmidt’s] defeat would represent a full circle moment from 2020…” (Jonathan Martin, “Democrats Beware: A Progressive DA Fights for His Job — in Hipster Portland,” Politico Magazine, 5/21/2024)

·       “… [I]t would represent more than the rejection of a progressive prosecutor. It would be the culmination of simmering local frustration with crime, homelessness and drug abuse and a resounding correction to the shift left on criminal justice that took place here and in so many cities in 2020.” (Jonathan Martin, “Democrats Beware: A Progressive DA Fights for His Job — in Hipster Portland,” Politico Magazine, 5/21/2024)

·       “It should also get the attention of Democratic lawmakers everywhere.” (Jonathan Martin, “Democrats Beware: A Progressive DA Fights for His Job — in Hipster Portland,” Politico Magazine, 5/21/2024)

“A poll commissioned by the Portland Metro Chamber found that 69% of Multnomah County voters who were surveyed in December said the city is on the wrong track, pointing to concerns with crime, homelessness and the cost of living. ‘People are seeing this election as an avatar for crime and public safety in their community, and it’s a chance for them to express their feelings about that,’ said John Horvick, senior vice president of Portland-based DHM Research, which conducted the poll.” (“Multnomah County District Attorney Race: A Progressive Prosecutor Vs. A Challenger Colleague,” OPB, 5/06/2024)

Schmidt’s Opponent ‘Pledged To Go Further … To Hold People Accountable For Lower-Level Crimes’

“While Schmidt’s campaign has focused on continuing progressive reforms to the criminal justice system, Vasquez has pledged to go further than his boss to hold people accountable for lower-level crimes and improve the office’s collaboration with law enforcement.” (“Nathan Vasquez Has Sizable Lead Over Mike Schmidt In Race To Be Multnomah County District Attorney,” OPB, 5/22/2024)

“During the campaign, Vasquez denounced some of Schmidt’s policies, such as his decision not to prosecute protesters arrested during the 2020 demonstrations for low-level, non-violent offenses, and his past support of Measure 110, a ballot measure approved by voters in 2020 that decriminalized the possession of small amounts of drugs.” (“Centrist Challenger Ousts Progressive Prosecutor In DA Race In Portland, Oregon,” The Associated Press, 5/22/2024)

·       “‘I am committed to ending the open-air drug use, to ending the open-air drug dealing that we have suffered from as a community,’ Vasquez said to a cheering crowd of supporters. ‘I am also committed to restoring that idea that it is OK to hold people accountable and do it in a compassionate manner.’” (“Nathan Vasquez Has Sizable Lead Over Mike Schmidt In Race To Be Multnomah County District Attorney,” Oregon Public Broadcasting, 5/22/2024)

“Vasquez points to the declining size of police and a plunge in prosecutions since 2020 under Schmidt. ‘Prior to him coming into office, we ranged somewhere between 12,000 to 20,000 cases a year,’ said the challenger. ‘Under him, post-Covid, we were under 6,000.’” (Jonathan Martin, “Democrats Beware: A Progressive DA Fights for His Job — in Hipster Portland,” Politico Magazine, 5/21/2024)

Crime & Drug Overdoses Spiraled Out Of Control In Portland And Across The State 

“Portland shattered its homicide record in 2021 with 92 murders and again the next year with 101 killings, according to OregonLive data. Last year, violent crime decreased in Portland but remains significantly higher than pre-pandemic levels.” (“Portland DA Braces for Voter Backlash to 2020 Soft-on-Crime Policies,” National Review, 5/21/2024)

·       “In the year following Schmidt’s election, violent crime in Oregon surged nearly 17 percent and it remains above pre-pandemic levels, according to a report by a state government commission.” (“Portland DA Braces for Voter Backlash to 2020 Soft-on-Crime Policies,” National Review, 5/21/2024)

“In the past decade, violent crime in Oregon has steadily risen, according to recently released FBI crime data. Why it matters: A pandemic-era surge in violent crime in some major cities has led government officials to increase funding for police department budgets.” (Axios, 10/30/2023)

·       “There were 342.4 reported violent crimes for every 100,000 people in Oregon in 2022, up 16.6% from 2019, just prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, per the FBI crime data. Zoom in: With the exception of robbery and arson, all violent crimes in Oregon — which include rape, homicide and burglary — are above pre-pandemic levels, according to the data.” (Axios, 10/30/2023)

·       “Car thefts surged nearly 50%, with 551.5 thefts reported for every 100,000 people in Oregon in 2022, compared to the national average of 282.7.” (“Crisis In The Northwest: Are Voters ‘Beyond A Turning Point’ After Decades Of Progressive Politics?” Fox News, 1/27/2024)

“Amid one of the nation’s largest spikes in overdose fatalities, state lawmakers this year ended up rolling back the first-in-the-nation law and restoring criminal penalties for so-called ‘personal use’ possession. Schmidt supported reinstating the penalties.” (“Centrist Challenger Ousts Progressive Prosecutor In DA Race In Portland, Oregon,” The Associated Press, 5/22/2024)

Policing In Portland Has Been So Insufficient That Private Security Guards Appeared All Over The City

“The private security guards — always a sign of insufficient or ineffective policing — are not just at Powell’s. They’re at Nordstroms and inside that Whole Foods. And the CVS across from the Whole Foods doesn’t have a single aisle without at least one locked enclosure to prevent theft.” (Jonathan Martin, “Democrats Beware: A Progressive DA Fights for His Job — in Hipster Portland,” Politico Magazine, 5/21/2024)

·       “Just last week, Willamette Week reported the county signed a five-year, $40 million contract earlier this year with a California-based firm for armed and unarmed security at libraries, homeless shelters and county offices.” (Jonathan Martin, “Democrats Beware: A Progressive DA Fights for His Job — in Hipster Portland,” Politico Magazine, 5/21/2024)

“‘People are risking their catalytic converter to come downtown for dinner,’ Betsy Johnson, a salty, Democrat-turned-independent former state senator told me. ‘And now some of the rich people in the southwest and northwest hills [of Portland] have seen the chaos in downtown and they’re wondering: when do we have to get a guard for our community?’” (Jonathan Martin, “Democrats Beware: A Progressive DA Fights for His Job — in Hipster Portland,” Politico Magazine, 5/21/2024)

Schmidt Championed Oregon’s Notorious Drug Decriminalization Effort, Measure 110, Which Proved So Disastrous That Democrats In The State Have Already Begun To Roll Parts Of It Back

“Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek signed House Bill 4002 on Monday, according to the legislature's information system, officially rolling back a key portion of Measure 110 and recriminalizing drug possession in the state. The bill was one of the most significant pieces of legislation to emerge from the 2024 session, passing with bipartisan support in both the House and Senate.” (“Gov. Kotek Signs Bill Overhauling Measure 110,” KGW8, 4/01/2024)

·       “Oregon voters approved Measure 110 in 2020. The law decriminalized small amounts of hard drugs, making possession punishable only by a fine.” (“Gov. Kotek Signs Bill Overhauling Measure 110,” KGW8, 4/01/2024)

·       “Faced with the threat of a Measure 110 rollback initiative on the November 2024 ballot, lawmakers began the session with a clear goal of passing their own overhaul plan. The result was HB 4002, which rolls back decriminalization by creating a new ‘drug enforcement misdemeanor’ for simple possession cases…” (“Gov. Kotek Signs Bill Overhauling Measure 110,” KGW8, 4/01/2024)

·       “The abrupt rollback is a devastating turn for decriminalization proponents …” (“Oregon Is Recriminalizing Drugs, Dealing Setback to Reform Movement,” The New York Times, 3/01/2024) 

Schmidt And The Soros-Funded Drug Policy Alliance Backed Measure 110, And Schmidt Even ‘Implemented Its Provisions Early’

“Oregon voters decriminalized small amounts of drugs through Measure 110, coinciding with an influx of cheap and deadly fentanyl on Portland’s streets. Schmidt backed Measure 110.” (“Multnomah County District Attorney Race: A Progressive Prosecutor Vs. A Challenger Colleague,” OPB, 5/06/2024)

·       “The Drug Policy Alliance, a nonprofit that spent millions to support the 2020 decriminalization effort, had envisioned Measure 110 as the start of a series of similar campaigns in states like Washington, Vermont, Maine and California.” (“Oregon Is Recriminalizing Drugs, Dealing Setback to Reform Movement,” The New York Times, 3/01/2024)

“After the decriminalization initiative passed in 2020, Mr. Schmidt implemented its provisions early, saying it was time to move past ‘failed practices’ to ‘focus our limited law enforcement resources to target high-level, commercial drug offenses.’” (“Oregon Is Recriminalizing Drugs, Dealing Setback to Reform Movement,” The New York Times, 3/01/2024)

·       “‘What we've been doing for the last number of decades has completely failed,’ says Mike Schmidt, district attorney for Oregon's most populated county, Multnomah, which includes Portland. Schmidt, who publicly supported Measure 110, says he firmly believes the health model — not criminalization — is the best way to battle the disease substance use disorder.” (“Oregon's Pioneering Drug Decriminalization Experiment Is Now Facing The Hard Test,” National Public Radio, 6/28/2021)

‘Measure 110 Did Not Reduce Oregon’s Drug Problems,’: ‘Oregon Still Has Among The Highest Addiction Rates In The Country,’ ‘Overdose Deaths Skyrocketed’

“Measure 110 did not reduce Oregon’s drug problems. The drug-overdose-death rate increased by 43 percent in 2021, its first year of implementation—and then kept rising. The latest CDC data show that in the 12 months ending in September 2023, deaths by overdose grew by 41.6 percent, versus 2.1 percent nationwide. No other state saw a higher rise in deaths.” (Keith Humphreys and Rob Bovett, “Why Oregon’s Drug Decriminalization Failed,” The Atlantic, 3/17/2024)

·       “… Oregon still has among the highest addiction rates in the country. Fatal overdoses have increased almost 20% over the previous year, with over a thousand dead.” (“Oregon’s Drug Decriminalization Effort Sends Fewer Than 1% Of People To Treatment,” The Oregonian, 9/25/2022)

“Neither did decriminalization produce a flood of help-seeking. The replacement for criminal penalties, a $100 ticket for drug possession with the fine waived if the individual called a toll-free number for a health assessment, with the aim of encouraging treatment, failed completely. More than 95 percent of people ignored the ticket, for which—in keeping with the spirit of Measure 110—there was no consequence.” (Keith Humphreys and Rob Bovett, “Why Oregon’s Drug Decriminalization Failed,” The Atlantic, 3/17/2024)

·       “Of 16,000 people who accessed services in the first year of decriminalization, only 0.85% entered treatment, the health authority said.” (“Oregon’s Drug Decriminalization Effort Sends Fewer Than 1% Of People To Treatment,” The Oregonian, 9/25/2022)

“Meanwhile, fentanyl was flooding the region. In Portland’s downtown, streets already barren as a result of the pandemic felt threatening, with people using drugs openly or acting out in crisis. Overdose deaths skyrocketed. From September 2022 to September 2023, deaths in the state rose an estimated 42 percent — the highest increase in the country, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (The fatality rate nationwide went up 2 percent.) Since the start of 2020, Portland’s Multnomah County has recorded more overdose deaths than Covid-19 deaths.” (“Oregon Is Recriminalizing Drugs, Dealing Setback to Reform Movement,” The New York Times, 3/01/2024)

“These realities, as well as associated disorder such as open-air drug markets and a sharp rise in violent crime—while such crime was falling nationally—led Oregonians to rethink their drug policy.” (Keith Humphreys and Rob Bovett, “Why Oregon’s Drug Decriminalization Failed,” The Atlantic, 3/17/2024)

Schimdt’s Campaign Was Bankrolled In Part By PACs And Organizations Funded By George Soros That Support Drug Decriminalization And Other Radical Policies

“Incumbent Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt has accelerated his fundraising … The latest filings show that Schmidt has now recorded a total of $294,937 in contributions from the Working Families Party of Oregon…. The Working Families Party money soon began flowing to Schmidt’s campaign. The Oregonian closed the loop earlier this week, noting a Soros contribution to the Working Families national PAC.” (“Schmidt Continues to Collect Big Campaign Donations, Gaining Ground on Vasquez,” Willamette Week, 5/10/2024)

“On May 9, Schmidt also disclosed a $33,000 contribution from the Drug Policy Alliance, the Soros-funded group that funded Measure 110, the 2020 drug decriminalization law. DPA has given Schmidt $63,000 …” (“Schmidt Continues to Collect Big Campaign Donations, Gaining Ground on Vasquez,” Willamette Week, 5/10/2024)

·       “Schmidt’s collected nearly $500,000 more than he raised in his 2020 run. Some of his top donations have come from the Drug Policy Alliance, the New York organization that backed Measure 110, and the Safety and Justice PAC, a committee that advocates for criminal justice reform-minded candidates and policies, such as Measure 110.” (“Multnomah County District Attorney Race: A Progressive Prosecutor Vs. A Challenger Colleague,” OPB, 5/06/2024)

“[In 2020] Schmidt raised more than $233,000, including an estimated $26,500 from the Safety & Justice PAC, a political group tied to the influential criminal justice reform group, Partnership for Safety and Justice of Portland.” (“Portland Gets First Outsider District Attorney In Mike Schmidt, Part Of National Wave Of Progressive Prosecutors,” The Oregonian, 5/20/2020)

·       Safety and Justice PAC gave tens of thousands of dollars to Mike Schmidt’s campaign, and in turn Safety and Justice PAC received at least $16,000 from the Drug Policy Alliance. (Oregon Secretary of State Website, Accessed 5/23/2024)

‘While San Francisco’s Recall Of San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin Momentarily Drew National Attention Two Years Ago, The Prosecutor Battles Have Raged On’

“[P]rogressive DAs and candidates in liberal bastions ranging from the San Francisco Bay Area to Seattle have faced setbacks as frustrations over public safety and homelessness have risen.” (“Tough-On-Crime Challenger Leading In Race For District Attorney In Portland, Oregon,” The Associated Press, 5/22/2024)

“Voter support for progressive prosecutors has been tested elsewhere in the U.S.” (“Tough-On-Crime Challenger Leading In Race For District Attorney In Portland, Oregon,” The Associated Press, 5/22/2024)

·       “While San Francisco’s recall of San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin momentarily drew national attention two years ago, the prosecutor battles have raged on…” (Jonathan Martin, “Democrats Beware: A Progressive DA Fights for His Job — in Hipster Portland,” Politico Magazine, 5/21/2024)

·       “Pamela Price, the district attorney in California’s Alameda County, which includes Oakland and Berkeley, is facing a recall in November — two years after San Francisco voters ousted progressive prosecutor Chesa Boudin.” (“Tough-On-Crime Challenger Leading In Race For District Attorney In Portland, Oregon,” The Associated Press, 5/22/2024)

·       “In Chicago, home to the second-largest DA’s office in the country, the progressive Kim Foxx did not run again and was replaced in March by a former judge who pledged to prosecute retail theft as a felony and said Foxx did ‘not believe in accountability.’” (Jonathan Martin, “Democrats Beware: A Progressive DA Fights for His Job — in Hipster Portland,” Politico Magazine, 5/21/2024)

·       “In 2021, deep-blue Seattle elected a Republican city attorney over a police abolitionist because of public safety issues.” (“Portland DA Braces for Voter Backlash to 2020 Soft-on-Crime Policies,” National Review, 5/21/2024)

·       “And in Los Angeles, George Gascon, who’s called himself the ‘godfather of progressive prosecutors,’ is facing a challenge this November from a former Republican, who’s decrying ‘a culture of lawlessness’ and sounds a lot like a subscriber to the broken windows theory of law enforcement.” (Jonathan Martin, “Democrats Beware: A Progressive DA Fights for His Job — in Hipster Portland,” Politico Magazine, 5/21/2024)