Venture capitalist Tim Draper of Silicon Valley has filed paperwork for a November ballot measure that would divide California into six states, calling the Golden State as presently constituted "too big and bloated."
"Six Californias is an opportunity, an opportunity for Californians to get a fresh start, an opportunity for Californians to build new platforms for growth and prosperity," Mr. Draper said at a Dec. 23 live-streamed press conference. "An opportunity to be awesome."
Mr. Draper has shown that he is willing to put his money where his mouth is: He sank $20 million into Proposition 38, a 2000 initiative to create a state-funded private-school voucher system. That measure lost by 71 percent to 29 percent.
Unfortunately, the very problem Draper is trying to remedy is likely to be the reason the proposal, if it gets on the ballot, will fail. The large populations of the cities will most likely decide the issue. This is the same problem that the red states have in Presidential elections.
Asked how much he plans to spend on the initiative, Mr. Draper said "as little as possible, but I will make sure it gets on the ballot so that Californians have a chance to make this a reality."
Jack Pitney, a political scientist at Claremont McKenna College, said California's sheer size -- the state ranks first in population with 38 million and third in area behind Alaska and Texas -- lends credibility to the ungovernable argument. |