Plan to break California into six states has its skeptics

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Silicon Valley venture capitalist Tim Draper presents his driver’s license to Heather Ditty, elections manager for the Sacramento County Registrar of Voters, as he turns in boxes of petitions for a ballot initiative that would ask voters to split California into six separate states. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)

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Tom Knorr holds a State of Jefferson flag in Corning, Calif. The idea of forming their own state has been a topic among local secession dreamers for more than a century in the state. (Terry Chea / Associated Press)

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Molly Kelley, 62, of Klamath River, holds up a State of Jefferson flag as she folds it inside the Klamath River Community Hall in California. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)

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Molly Kelley, 62, of Klamath River, holds up a State of Jefferson flag as she folds it on Nov. 20, 2013. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)

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Pedestrians cross Miner Street in Yreka, Calif. Yreka, the would-be capital of the State of Jefferson, began as part publicity stunt, part political gesture. (Jeff Chiu / Associated Press)

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Main Street is quiet, with very little traffic, in the small town of Etna, Calif., in scenic rural Scott Valley, in Siskiyou County. The county is one of several that backs separating much of Northern California into its own State of Jefferson. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)

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Tim Draper, a venture capitalist from Menlo Park, is pushing for a plan to split California into a half-dozen separate states. (John Todd / Associated Press)

By Los Angeles Times staff

July 15, 2014 2:57 PM PT

Breaking up California into six different states? That’s the long-shot idea of a Silicon Valley executive, who on Tuesday announced plans to submit signatures to qualify an initiative for the 2016 ballot.

Who is pushing this idea?

The idea is the brainchild of Timothy Draper, a venture capitalist from Menlo Park -- or as he hopes to someday call it, the state of Silicon Valley.

Draper said he would file the signatures in Sacramento on Tuesday, although state officials still need to review the petitions to ensure the initiative can qualify. Even if it does, and voters approve the initiative, it would need congressional approval to take effect -- a long-shot scenario that has prompted plenty of eye-rolling.

How would the state be split?

Here’s one summary:

San Diego + Orange County = South California

Los Angeles + Santa Barbara = West California

Bakersfield + Fresno + Stockton = Central California

San Francisco + San Jose = Silicon Valley

Sacramento = North California

Eureka + Redding = Jefferson

Why do backers want this?

“California needs a reboot,” Draper’s campaign said in a statement Monday. “With six Californias, we can refresh our government.”

What are opponents saying?

“This is a colossal and divisive waste of time, energy and money,” said Steve Maviglio, a spokesman for a campaign group opposing the initiative.