In December of 2013 venture capitalist Tim Draper launched a movement to divide California into six states instead of the one big one.  His stated reasoning for doing this was that the state is too large and ungovernable, and he therefore wanted to split California to produce six smaller and more efficient state governments. Opponents have argued that it is a waste of money and resources to split California and create these new governments.  They also charge that this was a money and political power grab designed to separate California’s wealthy areas from the poor, and to diminish the state’s reliability as a predominantly Democratic Party-supporting “blue state”.

Many might think that this sounds like a long shot or kooky idea but, USA Today is reporting that the necessary signatures for this proposal to make it on the ballot has been achieved.  A Twitter account belonging to the nonprofit Six Californias tweeted on Monday that “#SixCalifornias will be submitting signatures in Sacramento tomorrow for placement on the November 2016 ballot. Stay tuned for coverage!”  On Tuesday, Draper told USA Today the campaign had garnered 1.3 million signatures, well over the approximately 808,000 needed.

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 overview of the website www.sixcaliornias.com states:

California needs a refresh. Our public schools have gone from the top in the nation to 47th. We are ranked 50th out of 50 for the worst business climate in the United States. We have high unemployment and the percentage of people living below the poverty line is steadily increasing. Our state needs a massive investment in infrastructure and a streamlined process to help grow and keep businesses. Our state needs our help.

Six Californias is our opportunity to solve the many problems we face today. Our opportunity to create a better future for all 38 million of us.

Six Californias means creating six smaller states with more local and more responsive government. Six states that are more representative and accountable. Six states that embrace innovation and strive to improve the lives of residents.

With Six Californias we can refresh our government. We can rethink our systems of education. We can revitalize markets and innovation. We can reassure a brighter future.

California is a beautiful place to live. Let’s make it a great place to thrive.

We’ll have to keep watch on this one to see how it turns out.