Republican Tom Patti, running in California’s Ninth Congressional District against Democrat Rep. Josh Harder, told Breitbart News Saturday that crime is a problem and he is for having reform, but “there are [some] violent criminals that are beyond reform.”
Patti — a businessman, county supervisor, and five-time State and Golden Gloves boxing champion who grew up with Mike Tyson and recently did a fundraiser together — said when they used to train, “The one thing that becomes apparent is that we never quit. You just don’t quit. You have to keep going forward every day.”
He explained that during his time as a county supervisor, he’s been “honest” and filled with “integrity,” but noted when it comes to homelessness, he can sometimes be “pushy” because he “expect[s] more than the status quo.”
“If some people object to that when it comes to the homeless, some people like to protect and own it,” he added. “Well, I like to challenge it and do more for those that are living in squalor and despair. And others find that threatening because the status quo allows them to stay … in a comfortable place with how they manage the homeless crisis that we’re dealing with.”
However, when bringing up the overall crime, the Golden State Republican acknowledged that it is a massive problem around the country, including California.
In fact, as reports and polling showed that the rise of violent crime across the United States has emerged as the deciding issue in the 2022 midterm elections; Patti explained that “some of the most vocal defund the police advocates are now retracting and saying, ‘well, we need to fund police.'”
“What we’ve seen is criminals being coddled, and the thought process has been that criminals are merely misunderstood victims,” Patti explained about what is happening across the country. “And if we show them leniency, and in fact, if we don’t even prosecute them, they’ll realize that society is very accepting and very benevolent, and therefore they could change their sinful ways. And we know clearly that there are some people that are bad actors.”
“I’m all in favor of reform,” he added when referring to the type of criminal reform he supports. “I’m in favor of job training. I’m in favor of anger management. I’m in favor of relationship, healthy relationship learning and classes and anything we can do to change the outcome of people’s lives and reduce recidivism and help reform and rebuild.”
The California Republican said that he has even seen criminals “graduate” from reform programs, even in his own country, but emphasized that “there are violent criminals that are beyond reform at this stage. Until they have their spiritual awakening [or] until they have their ‘come to Jesus moment’ or a recognition that looking in the mirror or being locked up is just not for them, and they need to make better choices in their life that are going to be transformational until they are there.”
If he is elected to Congress, he mentioned that he hoped to bring Tyson to Washington, DC, and “be a voice for the inner city: What is going on? And why do we have a crime? Why do we have an escalation? Why do we have challenges in despair and generational poverty?”
Breitbart News Saturday airs on SiriusXM Patriot 125 from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Eastern.
Jacob Bliss is a reporter for Breitbart News. Write to him at jbliss@breitbart.com or follow him on Twitter @JacobMBliss.