SAN DIEGO — Governor Gavin Newsom held a rally in Rolando Thursday to gain support for Proposition 1, a $6.4 billion bond measure that he said would update the state's mental health system and help address the homelessness crisis.
The rally was held at a local union hall. Several local and state leaders joined Governor Newsom, including Mayor Todd Gloria, Attorney General Rob Bonta, and State Senate Pro Temp Emeritus Toni Atkins.
"Across the spectrum of support, people get it and want to get something done. They want to be bold, they want to scale the solutions. They don't want to talk about this problem anymore, they want to see progress and that's what we're promoting," said Governor Newsom.
Supporters say a 'yes' vote would modernize the state's Mental Health Services Act, and would also provide 11,000 new treatment beds.
It would also change how counties can use state funding for mental health services, and that's where some local leaders say there could be problems.
"It’s actually going to take away some of the dollars the county was getting from the state, and the state is going to be keeping more of those dollars," said County Supervisor Jim Desmond. "Then they’re going to decide how to allocate it. San Diego is different from Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Imperial counties. We're different."
ACLU California Action also opposes Prop 1.
"The numbers and the data show this would be likely to house only about three percent of the total number of Californians who are on our streets in any given day, that number is so much larger over the course of the year," said Rachel Bhagwat, Legislative Advocate at ACLU California Action.
"We've seen potential proposals of a similar size that would house twenty times as many people," she said.