Secessionists, Tim Draper proposes splitting California into six states

December 20, 2013

Tim Draper proposes splitting California into six states

http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalert...x185-79686.jpgSecessionists in California's rural, northernmost reaches may have found a kindred spirit in theBay Area.
Tim Draper, the Silicon Valley venture capitalist, is proposing to split California into six states, according to an initiative filing received by the state Friday.

He'd let the northern counties have their state of Jefferson, while adding North California, Central California, Silicon Valley, West California and South California.

Draper did not immediately return a telephone call for comment Friday, and the website Six Californias offers little information about his idea.

The website TechCrunch quoted Draper as saying a divided state would receive improved representation in the U.S. Senate while allowing each new state to "start fresh" with government.

That may be particularly appealing to a Republican like Draper living in what is now one large, increasingly Democratic state.

Draper's proposal comes after supervisors in Siskiyou and Modoc passed declarations this fall supporting withdrawal from California. The movement's prospects are dim. Even if Draper could get a ballot measure passed, redrawing state lines would require one other Herculean step: an act of Congress.

http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalert...ix-states.html
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California voters like their state intact, scorn secession talk, poll shows


By David Siders
dsiders@sacbee.com
Published: Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2013 - 12:00 am
Last Modified: Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2013 - 11:54 am

Officials in Siskiyou and Modoc counties may want to secede from California, but the rest of the state has no desire to see them go.

Just one-quarter of California voters support allowing the state’s northernmost counties to break away from California, according to a new Field Poll.

Fifty-nine percent of registered voters statewide oppose such an effort, according to the poll. Opposition to the effort is bipartisan, with majorities of Democrats, Republicans and independent voters all opposed.

“I just think it’s an aversion to breaking up California,” poll director Mark DiCamillo said. “They look at the whole state as one entity, and they’re not thinking too fondly of different parts of the state splitting off.”

The poll comes amid renewed agitation in northern, mostly rural California counties to form a new state of Jefferson. Despite little chance of such an effort succeeding, county supervisors in Siskiyou and Modoc passed declarations in September formally supporting withdrawal.

Residents in those areas have long complained that a Legislature dominated by the state’s population centers has failed to protect rural property and water rights, while imposing gun control and other regulations they say are overly burdensome.

A poll that shows Californians disapprove of secession only “makes sense,” said Modoc board Chairwoman Geri Byrne.

“That’s the whole problem in the state right now is that the people in the south are controlling our destiny,” Byrne said. “They make rules and laws that we live under with little or no knowledge of how things are in California.”

Byrne said support for secession is much higher locally, a measure the Field Poll did not take. Because counties near the state’s northern border represent such a small share of California’s total population, the poll said it could not report the sentiment of voters there with any degree of statistical reliability.

Sally Stewart Graham, a Eureka resident who was among those polled, said housing is too expensive and wages too low in Humboldt County. It might benefit Northern California counties to split off, the 45-year-old customer service representative said.

“The rest of California isn’t helping us,” she said. “It’s a whole different way of life up here than Sacramento or L.A.”

But her mother, Suellen Stewart, 76, noted the state social services on which many residents in rural, Northern California rely.
She called secession “a silly idea.”

Secession would require approval of the state Legislature and U.S. Congress.

Field also measured public opinion on an alternative proposal to form a special territory – not a state – in Northern California. The margin of opposition is similar, with voters disapproving of the idea 58 percent to 27 percent.

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Call David Siders, Bee Capitol Bureau, (916)321-1215. Follow him on Twitter @davidsiders.

http://www.sacbee.com/2013/12/11/599...eir-state.html

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This is going to go no where

just like all the other secessions.

Doesn't matter. Mexico has already annexed the entire SouthWest ..

http://www.alipac.us/f12/new-york-ci...w-high-294182/

June 3, 2014 election results.

Measure A (Del Norte, support for breakaway state)

Precincts reporting: 18 / 18 (100.0%)

Name	Votes	Pct.
No	2,922	58.6%
Yes	2,065	41.4%

Measure A (Tehama, support for breakaway state)

Precincts reporting: 46 / 46 (100.0%)

Name	Votes	Pct.
Yes	4,897	55.7%
No	3,888	44.3%

Measure C (Siskiyou, support for breakaway state)

Precincts reporting: 57 / 57 (100.0%)

Name	Votes	Pct.
No	4,883	55.9%
Yes	3,856	44.1%

Measure N (Lake, marijuana regulation)

Precincts reporting: 70 / 70 (100.0%)

Name	Votes	Pct.
Yes	4,974	52.6%
No	4,488	47.4%

'Six Californias' plan may make 2016 ballot

SIX CALIFORNIAS PLAN
A proposal backed by venture capitalist Tim Draper to divide California into six states has received enough signatures to make the November 2016 ballot, according to the nonprofit Six Californias. Here's how the plan would divide the state:

• 1
  JEFFERSON
• 2
  NORTH CALIFORNIA
• 3
  CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
• 4
  SILICON VALLEY
• 5
  WEST CALIFORNIA
• 6
  SOUTH CALIFORNIA

Sources: USA TODAY research
[COLOR=#999999 !important]Kevin A. Kepple, Anne R.Carey, Denny Gainer and Paul Overberg, USA TODAY[/COLOR]


http://www.usatoday.com/static/images/usat_network.png Laura Mandaro, USA TODAY Network 12:21 p.m. EDT July 15, 2014

http://www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/1985...Daily-Life.jpg
(Photo: Joshua Sudock, AP)

SAN FRANCISCO — A plan backed by venture capitalist Tim Draper to split California into six states has gained enough signatures to make the November 2016 ballot, the plan's backers say.

A Twitter account belonging to the nonprofit Six Californias tweeted on Monday that "#SixCaliforniaswill be submitting signatures in Sacramento tomorrow for placement on the November 2016 ballot. Stay tuned for coverage!"

Roger Salazar, a spokesman for the campaign, said it's gathered more than the approximately 808,000 signatures needed to place the measure on the ballot,Reuters reported.

Draper is a founding member of the venture capital firm Draper Fisher Jurvetsen, known for its investments in successful growth ventures such as Hotmail, Baidu, Tesla Motors and Skype. Recently, Draper won the federal government's auction of bitcoins once owned by online drugs portal Silk Road. He's championed the political break-up of the state for over a year, but it's taken until recently for the plan to gain some momentum.
http://videos.usatoday.net/Brightcov...-180246248.jpg
A movement to split California into six states gained enough traction to land on the 2016 ballot. Other states have also tried, unsuccessfully, to split up. Find out which ones on USA NOW.

Draper and other supporters of the break-up argue that the state's 38 million people would be better served by smaller governments and elected officials who would be able to work more closely with their constituents.

"If we have six Californias and we in effect dissolve the one we've got, those six allow us a new start," Draper says in a video posted on the Six Californias website. Each state, which would have its own capital and legislature, would be able to write its own constitution.

The six carved out states would look like this:

• Jefferson: The northern part of the state, including Humboldt and Mendocino counties.
• North California: The wine country counties of Sonoma and Napa, as well as the Sierra Nevada region.
• Silicon Valley: Including San Francisco, San Jose and most of what's considered the San Francisco Bay Area.
• Central California: The vast central valley farm region, including Tulare and Fresno counties.
• West California: Including Santa Barbara and Los Angeles.
• South California: Including what's called the Inland Empire of San Bernadino and Riverside, plus San Diego.

The plan has met with resistance from California's Democratic majority, and a Field Poll found 59% of Californians surveyed were against the plan, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

Democratic strategist Steven Maviglio didn't mince words criticizing the plan. He tweeted Monday:

But interest in the plan has been strong enough to send Draper and his campaigners to Sacramento — for now, the one and only capital of California. They'll reveal the exact number of signatures they received on Tuesday in a news conference, according to the Chronicle.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2014/07/15/six-californias-tim-draper/12661161/

7/15/2014

Draper, a Silicon Valley venture capitalist, said his campaign will deliver 1.3 million signatures to elections offices around the state this week. Slightly more than 800,000 valid voter signatures are needed to qualify for the ballot.

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http://www.alipac.us/f19/6-californi...ballot-310856/

California clears first hurdle to breaking into three states