Take a look around you — what do you see? Whether you’re in a big city or out in the suburbs, I bet you see a lot of long-serving brick and mortar stores closing their doors.
The reason, in large part, is because liberal prosecutors around the country are refusing to hold criminals accountable when they commit offenses aimed at these types of businesses.
In the past few months alone, Whole Foods has closed its flagship store in San Francisco, the outdoor recreation store REI is leaving Portland, and Nike is closing its popular store in Seattle after nearly 30 years. Each of these companies cites rising crime and the continued threat of theft as a reason for these closures.
While the closure of one Whole Foods, REI, or Nike hardly affects the overall health of these companies, the shuttering of these stores will undoubtedly have a crippling effect that will be felt across the affected communities.
When a grocery store closes, it affects everyone: the loyal customers who have made shopping a part of their weekly routine, the teenager who has his first job stocking shelves, and the employees who depend on these wages to provide for their families. The disruption can be felt across the community; nearby businesses who depend on traffic generated by these stores may experience an abrupt decline in sales, and people may need to travel further for basic needs. Elderly individuals who may already have trouble with the commute, and those dependent on public transportation for errands, have to make serious adjustments to their routine.
It’s important that our cities are able to not only attract, but also retain businesses both large and small. In response to this growing crisis of retail theft and the failure of progressive local prosecutors to hold criminals accountable, individuals in the business community are supporting Protecting Americans Action Fund, an organization aimed at electing prosecutors who will enforce our laws.
In the last decade, left-wing billionaire George Soros has spent over $40 million working to elect progressive prosecutors who refuse to enforce the law. Soros believes that the best way to reform our criminal justice system is to install a single prosecutor in the role of district attorney, who is willing to disregard the laws they are elected to carry out. What we need to remember as Americans is that it is the job of the legislature to write our laws. Law enforcement officials merely implement them. We need to fight back against prosecutors who are simply ignoring laws as written.
In Maricopa County, the largest county in Arizona, a Soros-supported organization called Mass Liberation AZ spent over $400,000 last year in an effort to elect a radical, far-left prosecutor who campaigned on holding police, not criminals, accountable.
Fortunately, Protecting Americans Action Fund defeated the progressive candidate and helped elect Rachel Mitchell, a district attorney committed to enforcing the law.
Across the country, we will work to replace these Soros-supported prosecutors with individuals who will enforce the law, leading to reduced retail crime and safer communities where business can flourish, rather than falter.
Jessica Curtis is the President of Protecting Americans Action Fund, whose objective is to elect prosecutors who will enforce our laws.
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