Early in the morning of August 17th, five suspects burst into a bakery in the Alum Rock area of San Jose and held some of the employees at knifepoint, while they robbed the bakery of its petty cash. The owners had to be grateful no one was hurt, take the financial loss, and carry on with zero expectations that the perpetrators would be caught or punished. A crime occurs every nine minutes, on average, in Santa Clara County. The odds of your being a victim of violent crime may be as high as 1 in 219 in some county neighborhoods. Your chances of being a victim of property crime are even higher.
Welcome to Blue State America, where it's apparent that the Democrats in power want our society devolved into criminal chaos. We've watched the steady removal of any policy geared towards community safety or rule of law. Why are these Democrats soft on crime? Perhaps they like the rules to be bent for themselves. They send the FBI to political opponents’ private homes. They grift taxpayer dollars and enrich themselves and their cohorts. It's no wonder with these people at the top, that we have fostered a culture of crime. Their devolving of civil society leads to chaos, at which point they can sweep in when the public clambors for someone to take control.
Toward this end, they defunded our police. In November 2020, the Los Angeles Police Department announced that they would cut their budget by $150 million; seven months later, homicide rates were up 41 percent. In the summer of 2020, New York City officials took $484 million away from NYPD; a year later, reported shootings were up 64 percent. In Portland, homicides were up 533 percent from 2020 to 2021.
Also, they release criminals from jail and prison at unprecedented rates. In California, just this year, more than 40 County District Attorneys sued the CA Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) for its plan to make permanent the temporary early-release programs originally intended to minimize the spread of COVID-19 in prisons. This early-release program applies to both violent and non-violent criminals. For example, a person sentenced to 10 years in prison could be released after serving just over three years. Sentencing no longer has the deterrent effect of full prison terms. These soft-on-crime policies evidence themselves in local arrest practices, as well. Between January 2020 and April 2022, San Jose police report having arrested 43 individuals who went on to be arrested 10 or more times each. In one case, an individual was rearrested 34 times while under the 'supervision' of the County. According to Santa Clara County data, nearly 50 percent of individuals arrested in the county who are 'caught-and-released' before their trials, violate the terms of their release by reoffending or failing to appear in court.
Finally, they have abandoned our youth. Youth homicides and nonfatal physical assault-related injuries result in an estimated $100 billion annually in costs including medical, lost work, and quality and value of life. This estimate does not include costs to the criminal justice system. We are losing our youth and young adults to drugs brought freely across the open southern border. With the rest of American society at odds with itself, and next to no consequences for criminal actions, what enticements do young adults have to respect the rule of law?
These policies break my heart, as I know they do yours. When elected, I will ensure our law enforcement agencies are fully funded, while at the same time holding accountable the damaging behavior of the few who perform unprofessionally. When elected, I will ensure that our criminal justice system provides both adequate sentences and true rehabilitation of all our inmates. When elected, I will ensure that we pay attention to the health of our youth, provide them with the best educational and mental health services, and offer them the hope that the best years for America and each of them still lie ahead.
I would like it noted that, also in the aforementioned Santa Clara County, aka Silicon Valley, a very wealthy section of California, where local shop owners have to bar their windows against criminals and pray they can stay in business, my opponent Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren lives behind a nice big wall with big gates to keep herself safe.
Peter Hernandez is a first generation Mexican-American, born and raised in San Benito County, California, by parents who worked the fields, and he grew up in the agricultural community. His parents instilled in him a strong work ethic, a love for God, and a deep respect for the American Dream and American Exceptionalism. As a small business owner today, Peter understands firsthand how inflation, over-regulation and burdensome taxes are killing the middle class economy. As a Latino man, Peter is dedicated to encouraging Hispanic families in the civic and electoral process, and looks forward to serving as their voice and representative in US Congress. Peter currently holds office as a County Supervisor for San Benito County. During the oppressive California pandemic shutdowns, Peter stood against the overreaches of the Administrative State, and fought to keep businesses open, believing the local communities should decide for themselves how to best care for and protect their constituents. Peter is an America First candidate who stands against the harmful progressive policies of the Biden administration and the current Democrat Congress. He will fight to: RENEW the rule of law; RESTORE strong families and parental rights; REVIVE the middle class and small businesses. www.hernandezforcongress.com
