{"id":10733,"date":"2020-11-12T08:42:25","date_gmt":"2020-11-12T16:42:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stagewww.aiasurety.com\/bail\/?p=10733"},"modified":"2020-11-12T08:42:58","modified_gmt":"2020-11-12T16:42:58","slug":"another-failed-attempt-at-bail-reform-and-here-come-the-excuses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aiasurety.com\/bail\/another-failed-attempt-at-bail-reform-and-here-come-the-excuses\/","title":{"rendered":"Another Failed Attempt at Bail Reform and Here Come the Excuses"},"content":{"rendered":"BEHIND THE PAPER WITH ERIC GRANOF<\/p>\n
\n![\"Proposition](\"https:\/\/www.aiasurety.com\/bail\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/noprop25.jpg\")
For those of us in the bail industry, last week was one giant emotional rollercoaster.\u00a0 It began with fear, uncertainty and a little panic and ended with relief, happiness, and exhaustion.\u00a0 While the votes on Proposition 25 are still being tabulated the result could not be more certain, Californians DO NOT WANT TO ELIMINATE CASH BAIL.\u00a0 As of this afternoon the vote tally stood at 44.2% (6,062,160) YES to 55.8% (7,656,100) NO.\u00a0 That is not just a victory, that is an old fashion butt kicking, period.\u00a0 However, before the vote counting was even over and before the victory confetti could even hit the ground, the proponents of Proposition 25 were already creating a myriad of excuses why the proposition failed, and just for the record, none of the reasons are that it was a bad piece of legislation.<\/p>\n
Reason #1 \u2013 Consumers were not aware of the proposition<\/strong>.\u00a0 This is an interesting argument to make especially since the proponent\u2019s campaign (the \u201cYes\u201d side) outspent the opponent\u2019s campaign (the \u201cNo\u201d side) more than 2 to 1.\u00a0 During the final week of the campaign, almost every other commercial was a Yes on 25 commercial.\u00a0 In fact, we received many reports that people were seeing multiple Yes ads back to back on network television.\u00a0 The Yes side even advertised during the World Series, which means that millions of Los Angeles Dodgers fans (Los Angeles voters) were exposed to the Proposition.\u00a0 Pre-election polling just four days out showed that over 60% of Californians had seen, read, or heard about the proposition. I think we can say with pretty good accuracy that Proposition 25 did not fail because of a lack of awareness.<\/p>\nReason #2 \u2013 Consumers were confused by the bail industry and they did not understand the proposition<\/strong>.\u00a0 Once again, an almost laughable argument.\u00a0 The purpose of Proposition 25 could not have been clearer.\u00a0 The title of the Proposition was \u201cREFERENDUM ON LAW THAT REPLACED MONEY BAIL WITH SYSTEM BASED ON PUBLIC SAFETY AND FLIGHT RISK.\u201d\u00a0 That is hardly a confusing title from the perspective of the \u201cyou should vote yes\u201d side.\u00a0 Additionally, the California Secretary of State (not someone I would call a friend of bail) wrote the ballot title and description. \u00a0In other words, they got to name it and they got to explain it.\u00a0 \u00a0To say that the bail industry had some influence or power of persuasion over the composition of the ballot title and description is flat out false and ridiculous.\u00a0 As usual, the deck was stacked against us.<\/p>\nReason #3 \u2013 Consumers got ballot fatigue by the time they got to Proposition 25<\/strong>.\u00a0 Really? Ballot fatigue?\u00a0 That is what they decided to go with?\u00a0 I do not think that voters get ballot fatigue.\u00a0 If you believe that people really care about the issues that they are voting for, than how can you ever assume that people would stop caring by the time they voted on the 10th<\/sup> measure on the ballot.\u00a0 If anything, this comment is less an excuse and more an insult to voters.\u00a0 Californians care about public safety and they care about a fair criminal justice system.\u00a0 Proposition 25 provided neither of those, no matter how \u201cfatigued\u201d voters were by the time they got to it.<\/p>\nThe reasons for the failing of proposition 25 just keep piling up, yet not once has anyone who supported the proposition said, \u201cMaybe we got it wrong.\u201d\u00a0 \u201cMaybe we need to re-think bail reform, because it is obvious that Senate Bill 10 was not the solution because the public is saying they want the money bail option.\u201d\u00a0 No\u2026instead, all we have heard is that Proposition failed for every other reason under the sun except the most obvious one\u2026it was bad policy.<\/p>\n
The way our representative government is supposed to work is that the people elect representatives to state legislatures that are supposed to represent the will of the people.\u00a0 Pretty simple, right?\u00a0 But unfortunately, it seems like some of our elected representatives have lost their way in that purpose.\u00a0 No longer are they representing the people, but rather instead they are representing their own interests and focusing on their own objectives.\u00a0 Eliminating the public\u2019s constitutional right to bail has never been a mandate from the public.\u00a0 In fact, the overwhelming results from last week\u2019s election should show our elected officials that the actual mandate from the public is the complete opposite.\u00a0 The public absolutely wants its right to bail.\u00a0 It does not want to replace that right with a questionable computer algorithm and an unaccountable system of wholesale release and detention.<\/p>\n
The big question that remains is will our elected officials accept that reality and move on, or will they continue to turn their backs on the will of their constituency and push for legislation that the public rejects?\u00a0 Only time will tell, but either way, I can tell you that our company will continue to defend the bail industry and we promise that we will be there to fight every step of the way for the livelihoods of our agents and to defend the public\u2019s constitutional right to bail.<\/p>\n
Eric Granof<\/a> is the Vice President of Corporate Communications for AIA Surety.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BEHIND THE PAPER WITH ERIC GRANOF For those of us in the bail industry, last week was one giant emotional rollercoaster.\u00a0 It began with fear, uncertainty and a little panic and ended with relief, happiness, and exhaustion.\u00a0 While the votes on Proposition 25 are still… <\/p>\n