[LATimes] The California Supreme Court decided unanimously Wednesday to remove from the November ballot a measure aimed at dividing California into three states.Of course they did
The decision was a defeat for Tim Draper, a Silicon Valley venture capitalist considered an eccentric entrepreneur who spent $1.2 million on the measure.
Four years ago, the wealthy Atherton resident spent $5.2 million promoting a measure that would have split California into six states. It did not qualify for the ballot.
He reacted angrily to the court's action, calling it "corruption."
"Whether you agree or not with this initiative, this is not the way democracies are supposed to work," he said in an email. "This kind of corruption is what happens in Third World countries."
He said the state's "insiders" were "in cahoots."
In a brief order, the court said it acted "because significant questions have been raised regarding the proposition's validity and because we conclude that the potential harm in permitting the measure to remain on the ballot outweighs the potential harm in delaying the proposition to a future election."
The court, meeting in closed session, also agreed to rule eventually on the measure's constitutionality, a ruling that is likely to go against the initiative. The challenge was filed last week by the Planning and Conservation League, an environmental group.
An environmental group? Really? Why would they be against splitting the state, I wonder? Not enough opportunity for graft?