Public safety & criminal justice

Policing, criminal justice reform, sentencing, fentanyl, retail theft, and law enforcement.

Mentions, position unclear (15)

Al Muratsuchi (No Party Preference) — Superintendent of Public Instruction

…ols slashed during the recession and wrote laws to crack down on predators in our schools. Safe Neighborhoods Police officers and firefighters support Al Muratsuchi for Assembly. Al is a career prosecutor who will crack…

Ami Sheth Sagel (Nonpartisan) — Superior Court of Orange County Office No. 41

…rotected, especially from their loved ones. What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign? OC Sheriff Don Barnes; OC Register; 100+ Judges/Justices; Bipartisan Leaders including Orange County Supervisors;…

Anthony Rendon (No Party Preference) — Superintendent of Public Instruction

…ed the following issues: Safe Neighborhoods Excerpt: “I believe that we cannot afford any further cuts to our public safety and that we need to work on finding new, steady streams of revenue to adequately fund programs t…

Chad Bianco (Republican) — Governor

…ommitted to restoring trust, protecting our communities, and creating opportunity for every Californian. From public safety to economic growth, his priorities put families first and focus on building a future where we ca…

Charles Pell (Nonpartisan) — Superior Court of Orange County Office No. 41

…your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office? Public Safety: As a former federal criminal prosecutor for 20 years, I worked all day every day to serve and p…

Donald P. (Don) Wagner (Republican) — Secretary of State

…he cost of water and reduce its supply. And they do so without providing any real benefit to the environment. Crime It’s happening more and more often: Crime, drugs, and gang violence invade our communities. The sources…

Gus Mattammal (No Party Preference) — Superintendent of Public Instruction

…of low-income, mostly Black and Brown kids was fed into a school that functioned as a pit stop on a school-to-prison pipeline. The only reason I didn’t follow the same path as the other kids was that I won the parent lot…

Janelle Kellman (Democratic) — Lieutenant Governor

…en’t isolated—they’re interconnected. As a climate risk expert and former mayor, I’ll tackle homelessness and public safety by expanding housing access, strengthening mental health support, and partnering with local lead…

Janet Keo Conklin (Nonpartisan) — Orange County Assessor

…mmerce to support small businesses and create more growth in our community. On the city council, I championed public safety, economic development, ethics and transparency in government. A life-long veteran’s advocate, I…

Malia M. Cohen (Democratic) — Controller

…d serve as Chair overseeing over $80 billion in property taxes. I’ve served as President of the San Francisco Police Commission and as President of the San Francisco Employee Retirement System. I’m currently running for…

Marjorie Mikels (Green) — Attorney General

…r Air, Water, Soil and Climate! Attorney General’s job is to Protect Californians from activities threatening public safety and enforcing laws safeguarding our environment and natural resources. See my website regarding…

Matt Mahan (Democratic) — Governor

…of-life priorities and getting local government back to basics. We have made measurable progress on improving public safety, reducing street homelessness, cleaning up our neighborhoods, and accelerating housing productio…

Michael Tubbs (Democratic) — Lieutenant Governor

…ruggle in your life? In many ways, our society sets up people from backgrounds like mine for failure — namely prison or premature death. My father is in prison. My cousin, Donnell, was shot and killed when I was in colle…

Robert Mestman (Nonpartisan) — Superior Court of Orange County Office No. 13

…an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management. I have been in public service for most of my career, devoted to public safety and the fair administration of justice. I have a breadth of experience handling the most complex…

Tony Thurmond (Democratic) — Governor

…sembly because I believe that California can do better—in public education, job creation, worker protections, crime prevention and healthcare accessibility and affordability. If I am elected, I plan to continue my work o…

Methodology

Candidates’ published 2026 campaign-themes text on Ballotpedia is searched for the phrases below. When a match is found, a ~220-character snippet is extracted and scanned for support- or opposition-signal phrases. Classification is intentionally conservative — the snippet is the source of truth.

Match phrases: public safety, policing, crime, criminal justice, sentencing, fentanyl, retail theft, sheriff, police, law enforcement, incarceration, prison

Support signals: tough on crime, fund the police, stronger sentencing, back the blue

Opposition signals: defund the police, end mass incarceration, abolish, reduce sentences