A Prison Guard Union Is Trying to Unseat a California Criminal Justice Reformer
In an attempt to send a message to any legislators considering challenging the mass incarceration status quo, law enforcement unions in California have spent nearly $1 million to unseat Reggie Jones-Sawyer, a state assembly member and Bernie Sanders–backed criminal justice reformer.
The California Correctional Peace Officers Association released a controversial video (which has since been pulled) that placed a picture of Reggie Jones-Sawyer under crosshairs.
As high rates of police shootings and brutality in California have prompted demands for police accountability, law enforcement unions have dumped nearly $1 million into a state assembly race to try to unseat a Bernie Sanders–backed progressive legislator and longtime criminal justice reform leader, records show.
Three days after a federal judge cited prisoner abuse in ordering some California prison guards to start wearing body cameras, the California Correctional Peace Officers Association (CCPOA) started working to oust state assemblyman Reggie Jones-Sawyer.
Since September, the prison guard union’s political action committee has spent $200,000 opposing Jones-Sawyer, who chairs the Assembly’s Public Safety Committee, and roughly $500,000 promoting his opponent, Efren Martinez.
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