Supervisors Back Down from Secession Plan

Riverside County supervisors approved a proposal by Supervisor Jeff Stone to host a summit in Riverside with representatives from all cities and counties focusing on how to reform state government -- without breaking up the state.

Stone with a proposal to form a 51st state, the State of South California.

Tuesday was the day to gauge his fellow supervisors' support.

City government representatives from Murrieta and Temecula were in attendance at the meeting and spoke in support of his proposal.

"California is the quintessential land of fruits and nuts," said Murrieta City Councilman Doug McAllister. "The (governor's office) has made it clear they already consider us two separate states. We should at least have a conversation about statehood. We need to remind the state that power flows from the bottom up."

McAllister and others blasted comments by Gov. Jerry Brown's press secretary, Gil Duran, who said conservatives unhappy with California should move to Arizona. Duran last week told reporters Stone's idea was a "joke."

"The state is no longer governable," said Temecula City Councilman Mike Naggar. "Tens of thousands of us are no longer represented in Sacramento."

When the proposal was first publicized July 1, , as did

Some Riverside County residents who oppose secession came to Tuesday's Board of Supervisors meeting where they questioned Stone's motive.

Norco resident Julie Waltz wondered whether he proposed a new state to further his  “political career," while Meadowbrook resident Gary Grant compared the action to "breaking from the foundation on which this country was established."

Stone said he came up with the idea shortly after the 2011-12 state budget was signed. He begrudged the budget that includes provisions which shift revenues away from counties and cities and increase the vehicle license fee -- without a two-thirds approval by the Legislature, as required under the California constitution.

Four new cities in Riverside County -- Wildomar, Menifee, Eastvale and Jurupa Valley -- are the only new cities in California and will be particularly hard hit by the budget measures, Stone said.

"The state has looted Riverside County to the tune of $166 million," the supervisor said. "Our friends and neighbors are losing jobs and homes and marriages are breaking up because of the stress the economy has placed on working families, yet lawmakers in Sacramento make one job-killing decision after another."

He described California as "too big to govern," and envisioned the counties of Riverside, Fresno, Imperial, Inyo, Kern, Kings, Madera, Mariposa, Mono, Orange, San Bernardino, San Diego and Tulare joining forces in forming the new state.

He proposed a part-time legislature--like Texas--where there would be no subsidies for illegal immigrants and an emphasis on automating many government functions.

His fellow supervisors cooled to the idea of secession, though.

Supervisor John Tavaglione, president of the California State Association of Counties, commended Stone and shared his "frustration with the state," but shied away from supporting secession.
  
“Perhaps there's a time when that should occur," he said, suggesting that for now, a forum be convened for elected officials and residents from across the state to discuss reforms and how to implement them.
  
Supervisor John Benoit called Stone's secession plan “an interesting proposal." The former assemblyman said he could relate to his colleague's disgust with various legislative acts but couldn't support a convention on secession because of the county resources that would be expended.

“We have too many critical issues on our own plates," Benoit said.
  
Supervisor Marion Ashley liked the concept, but also worried about using public funds for something that might be better suited to a grassroots movement.
  
Board Chairman Bob Buster said California's problems could be fixed.

"The state is an improvisation," he said. "It's like jazz. Sometimes you don't know what's going on."
  
He said he is  confident California would be able to "leap over its problems.''
  
After hearing the comments, Stone modified his proposal, asking for the board's endorsement of a privately-funded summit at the Riverside Convention Center, with the goal of identifying how to change the way the state does business. Any resident or local representative from anywhere in the state would be invited.

"Only something positive is going to come out of this," Stone said.
  
The board voted 4-0 in favor. The summit will likely be held in late September or October.

City News Service contributed to this report.