KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – On July 11, a group of more than 125 people gathered at Grace Church in Kelseyville for a town hall meeting to discuss the growing movement supporting the formation of a new state.
Three speakers – Terry Rapoza, Robert “Red” Smith of the Shasta Lantern newspaper and Mark Baird – hosted the event to discuss the movement to create Jefferson, the 51st state, out of parts of Northern California and Oregon.
Various maps and plans for Jefferson have shown that it would include Lake County, as well as Butte, Colusa, Del Norte, El Dorado, Glenn, Humboldt, Lassen, Mendocino, Modoc, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity and Yuba in California, along with several Southern Oregon counties.
However, www.jeffersondeclaration.net – the Web site of the group currently advocating for the movement across Northern California – does not list Humboldt and Mendocino counties among the areas where the effort to gain support is under way.
Proponents say the new state will restore power back to these seemingly forgotten Northern California and Southern Oregon counties.
A key point for those who want to found a 51st state is that Northern California has a small number of seats in the state Legislature and in the US Congress in comparison to urban areas farther south.
California has some of the highest taxes in the United States, and Jefferson supporters say that the northern counties rarely see any of this tax revenue.
They also argue that Northern California's counties are not seeing a fair share of tax revenue while California’s state debt is more than $422 billion and climbing.
A recurring theme during the town hall forum was the Supreme Court case Reynolds v. Sims, in which the court that state legislature districts had to be roughly equal in population.
The Jefferson movement's members say the decision took a lot of power from the more rural counties, and tipped the scales in favor of more populous areas like Los Angeles.
In the new state, it's proposed to have at least one representative per county, and no more than 30,000 people represented per representative.
Advocacy and answering questions
Rapoza opened the event with a prayer, pledge of allegiance, and a meet and greet where he asked the crowd to introduce themselves to their neighbors.
He started off by stating some of the main goals for creating a state, and his focus was set on limited government, fiscal responsibility and upholding the US Constitution above any law.
A key point that Rapoza brought up was what he called the misappropriation of funds from California’s Fire Prevention Fee. This fee was enacted in July of 2011, and effective July of 2013.
A fee of $152.33 is charged to anyone who has a habitable structure within the State Responsibility Area. Rapoza stated that $74 million was collected and $50 million went to the State General Fund, $12 million went to legislation, $10 million went to administration and only $1.75 million went to actual fire protection.
Smith, who followed Rapoza in speaking to the group, spoke of founding father ideals and emphasized what “We the People” actually meant.
He was adamant about the struggling economy in Northern California and Southern Oregon, and stated that nearly 72 percent of the economy in the area has disappeared.
Smith stood before the crowd and answered some of the questions he hears most when it comes to the Jefferson movement.
Many people say that splitting from California would make the rural counties poorer than they are now. Smith stated that at least they would have the legislative power to do something about growing poverty, instead of being silenced by the larger populated areas.
While some naysayers of the plan say that it would be too hard to accomplish, Smith said that the word “impossible” is a dare to an American.
Smith brought up the numbers of voters in the Jefferson area is in decline, not because of lack of interest, but because voters feel like their vote does not count against the masses of the southern counties.
He closed by asking the crowd, “Name one law that they (state legislature) pass that doesn’t make Californians criminals.”
Baird told the group that liberty is freedom with morality and responsibility.
“We are governed from afar by people with no empathy for us,” he said.
Baird counseled the audience on the necessary steps that are ahead of the state of Jefferson.
The next step is to submit a declaration to Sacramento, with petition signatures to back the numbers of people in support of the 51st state.
Baird ended his speech by inviting audience members to ask questions.
A question was raised about what would happen to California State Universities, with Chico State University and Humboldt State University falling within Jefferson’s proposed boundaries.
In-state tuitions would be available within both Jefferson and California, said Baird, who also brought up the importance of elementary and high school educations and the desperate need to improve education at all levels.
A Mendocino County resident asked why his county was not included in the plans for the state of Jefferson. Baird responded that it's the goal to include both Mendocino and Humboldt counties in Jefferson, but the counties have not responded thus far.
Has the time come for 51? With a mountain of skepticism and legislative hurdles ahead of them, the supporters of the state of Jefferson seem to think so.
If you would like more information or would like to join the Jefferson movement, visit www.jeffersondeclaration.net or add them on Facebook.
To contact your local Jeffersonians, send your question or comment emails to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
