San Diego business owners react to the passage of Prop 36

SAN DIEGO (KGTV) – On Tuesday, California voters overwhelmingly passed Prop 36, which would mean tougher penalties for drug and theft crimes.

San Diego business owners say they desperately hoped this proposal would pass.

Walid Alraheb will be the first to tell you that owning and running a business is not easy.

He owns three businesses on El Cajon Boulevard: ABC Market and Deli, the Cage Smoke Shop and Cage Three.

“It’s all over; these people are all over the city and they know exactly what the law is,” Alraheb said of thieves stealing from his store.

In addition to running his business, he says in recent years he and his employees also had to keep an eye on thieves coming into the store and taking whatever they wanted.

“There are a lot of people who come, and we can’t even see them because we’re super busy and we can’t even talk to them, and we know inventory is missing, and there’s nothing we can do about it,” says Alraheb.

When Alraheb heard on Tuesday that Prop 36 passed by a 70-30 margin, he was elated. The proposal would allow misdemeanor charges for thefts under $950 for repeat offenders, as well as misdemeanor charges for possession of certain drugs.

“Of course, fewer thieves, we are going to save a lot of money on people stealing things, and we believe that with this law we can at least call the police,” says Alraheb.

Opponents of the proposal argued that passing the measure would lead to more crime, claiming it would waste money on prisons and divert money from mental health and rehabilitation programs.