The tough-on-crime initiative divides Democratic candidates in the South Bay

Liccardo, the former mayor of San Jose, called the measure “an imperfect proposal” but said it would restore participation in drug courts, programs that offer a chance for lesser sentences if participants complete treatment. With new penalties for crimes, Liccardo said judges could offer defendants a clear choice between treatment and prison.

“Right now, that choice is never offered, so our drug courts are completely empty,” Liccardo said. “This is the only mechanism we have to actually break the link between drug abuse and crime.”

Low countered by explaining his opposition: “I refuse to return to the era of mass incarceration,” he said.

Low praised his work as a state assemblyman and said his votes on bills this year are aimed at combating retail theft in a different way: by making it easier for police to arrest suspects and consolidate charges, rather than increasing penalties.

“The fundamental job of government is to protect our communities, but we must do so surgically,” Low said.

Within days, an independent group supporting Liccardo and funded largely by former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg jumped on the divide.

The group Neighbors for Results sent a mailer across the district contrasting the candidates' positions on Proposition 36 and accusing Low of opposing “the common-sense plan to combat retail theft and save consumers billions of dollars.”

A similar mailer has landed in mailboxes from Cupertino to Sunnyvale, where two Democrats are running for the 26th District seat currently held by Low.

Patrick Ahrens, a trustee of the Foothill-DeAnza Community College District and district director of Low's, is running against fellow Democrat Tara Sreekrishnan, a member of the Santa Clara County Board of Education and legislative counsel to state Sen. Dave Cortese.

“Who can you trust to protect us?” asked the mailer from a pro-Ahrens super PAC funded by real estate and landlord lobbies, adding: “Tara opposes Prop 36 to hold criminals accountable and increase penalties for retail theft and drug-related crimes.”

What the mailer didn't mention: Ahrens doesn't support Proposition 36 either.

He said he was neutral on the initiative and would not vote yes or no. At a recent forum sponsored by the League of Women Voters, Ahrens and Sreekrishnan expressed similar concerns about crime and punishment legislation during the vote.

“I think we need to focus on enforcement [existing] “We cannot continue to govern by continually tying the hands of the legislature.”

Both mailers attacking Low and Sreekrishnan were funded by outside groups that operated independently of the Liccardo and Ahrens campaigns. Political strategist Marva Diaz said these groups are looking for a compelling contrast, even if their interests are not directly tied to public safety, because it is harder for voters to distinguish between two candidates from the same party.

“Some Democrat-Democrat races are really about defining who is the progressive and who is the more moderate,” said Diaz, who serves as editor of the California Target Book, a nonpartisan election analysis service.

In a third race in the South Bay, the fight over Proposition 36 is open. Palo Alto City Councilmember Lydia Kou, a Democrat, has made no secret of her support for the measure as she campaigns to unseat Democratic Rep. Marc Berman in the 23rd District.

Kou writes on her website that Proposition 36 is a “good example” of how “public officials too often stray from their communities and focus on big donors, special interests and ideological pressure groups.”

“Prop 36 also divides our Assembly District 23: I personally support Prop 36 and recommend a “yes” vote, and if elected I will support related measures where appropriate; My opponent, Marc Berman, was one of the primary opponents of Prop 36,” Kou wrote.

Unlike many Democrats, Berman was not reserved in his opposition to the measure.

“One thing I should emphasize [Proposition] 36 is the millions of dollars it will cost the state, it will cost our counties if it passes, and how it will take money away from diversion programs,” Berman told KQED. “Instead, people are locked up for stealing remarkably inexpensive items. That third theft, even if it’s a burrito or diapers for your kids, could suddenly be a crime.”