SACRAMENTO Calif. (Reuters) - The
billionaire backer of a long-shot effort to break California into six
separate states submitted signatures to state officials on Tuesday aimed
at putting his proposal before voters in 2016.
Timothy Draper, a founder of a Silicon Valley-based venture
capital firm that has invested in Twitter, Skype and Tesla, among
other companies, has been agitating for months for a ballot
initiative to chop the most populous U.S. state into smaller
entities.
"Today, we turn in 1.3 million signatures that say we are ready to
make a change," Draper said. "We are ready to create six more
responsive, representative governments."
Draper says his plan would create a more business-friendly
environment, solve the state’s water issues, and ease traffic
congestion.
But the idea has raised bipartisan hackles across the state, and
opponents say it stands little chance of gaining voter approval. If
it does win the support of voters, it must still be passed by
Congress, which opponents say is also unlikely.
“The proposed ballot measure to divide California into six new
states needs to be called out for what it is - a craven attempt to
divide California along strict socioeconomic lines," said Paul Song,
executive chairman of the progressive activist group Courage
Campaign.
Draper's plan would split the world’s eighth-largest economy along
geographic lines.
One state, to be called Silicon Valley, would include the tech hub
along with the San Francisco Bay Area. Jefferson, named after the
third U.S. president, would encompass the northernmost region. The
state capital of Sacramento would be in North California, while
South California would be made up of San Diego and the eastern
suburbs of Los Angeles.
L.A. itself would be part of a state called West California.
"This is a colossal and divisive waste of time, energy, and money
that will hurt the California brand,” said Steven Maviglio, a
Democratic political strategist who has formed the group
OneCalifornia with Republican strategist Joe Rodota to fight
Draper’s plan. "It has zero chance of passage."
