Criminals Decriminalized

Where did San Diego’s most prominent political givers place their bets during this year’s California primary? Padres owner John Moores gave $15,000 to the ill-fated “Yes on Prop 93” campaign to loosen up legislative term limits, a measure favored by his best buddy, Democratic state senator Don Perata. Moores also kicked in $70,000 to the state Democratic Party, along with $50,000 to the “Voter Education and Registration Fund,” a controversial political action committee run by Perata that is now at the center of an FBI probe of alleged Perata-related kickbacks and sweetheart hiring deals. And for good measure, Moores gave $25,000 to Perata’s legal defense committee, set up to pay for an army of attorneys retained to deal with the investigation.… For his part, Qualcomm founder and billionaire Irwin Mark Jacobs forked over $50,000 to the “Campaign for nonviolent offender rehabilitation,” a committee run by the national Drug Policy Alliance Network, which seeks to legalize marijuana and hand out free needles to drug abusers. In May of this year, the measure backed by Jacobs qualified for the November ballot with more than 700,000 signatures. Designated Proposition 5, the proposal would reduce the penalty for possession of small amounts of pot from a misdemeanor to an infraction, similar to a parking ticket, and would allow so-called nonviolent offenders to go to treatment programs instead of prison. The Drug Policy Alliance is not without controversy in some quarters. In an April editorial, Rupert Murdoch’s New York Post attacked it as “a radical left-wing group that opposes the war on drugs and is funded by even more left-wing billionaire George Soros.” San Diego D.A. Bonnie Dumanis and ex-GOP governor Pete Wilson, along with Mothers Against Drunk Driving, also oppose the measure, according to the opponents' website.