California to Split Into Two States?
Hopes to split California into two states have “struck a chord” again, this time with Riverside County Supervisor Jeff Stone.
Proposing to split the state in half, with 13 conservative counties, including Riverside, Fresno, San Diego, and San Bernardino, the politician voiced his desire to separate Southern and Northern California after his frustration with Sacramento.
Stone accused Democratic Governor Jerry Brown of engaging in policies that did not reflect half the state and called California “ungovernable,” according to The Los Angeles Times.
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“The state of California is too big to govern...[and] the political priorities of Southern California and Northern California are completely different,” he wrote in his proposal report.
Speaking to the Times, Stone said, “This has struck a chord with a lot of people who have suffered economically. We know it’s going to be a challenge to form a second state, but it’s not impossible. We’re sending a message.”
Although requests for a split state have been made over 220 times since the 1800’s, Stone is not discouraged and is “undaunted by scores of failed similar attempts.”
But a spokesman for Brown told the Times that the proposal was a “supremely ridiculous waste of everybody’s time” and said that the Riverside County supervisors should pay more attention to closing their upcoming $130 million revenue shortfall.
Nonetheless, the Riverside County Board of Supervisors will review the proposal on Tuesday, where Stone requests to host a statewide summit for city and county leaders outlining actual plans for secession.
Many are skeptical of the campaign and believe it will never pass.
Not included in the proposed South California is largely Democratic Los Angeles County.
“Los Angeles is purposely excluded because they have the same liberal policies that Sacramento does. The last thing I want to do is create a state that’s a carbon copy of what we have now,” Stone stated to the Times. “Los Angeles just enacted a ban on plastic grocery bags. That put three or four manufacturers out of business.”
However, Stone appears flexible e and added that he could still shift boundaries and include other counties who were interested.
