Threats, riot prompt 'secession act' petitioners to withdraw proposal

One day after stirring up the idea of Oregon secession with an initiative, two Portlanders have withdrawn their proposal.

Christian Trejbal and Jennifer Rollins said in a brief statement Friday afternoon that threats aimed at them and their families, and violence during a night of anti-Donald Trump protests in downtown streets, prompted the withdrawal. They filed paperwork Friday, Nov. 11, to withdraw the petition.

Like most Oregonians, we watched with horror and dismay as peaceful political protests became violent riots that included assaults and property damage, Trejbal and Rollins said in the statement. We do not want to be associated with such behavior, but too many people who committed these acts were jumping onto our petition.

Meanwhile, we received threats and vulgar communications from a shocking number of Oregonians and Americans opposed to even discussing our suggestion. We will not continue to expose our families, our friends and our colleagues to that.

They might consider re-filing the proposal after the current furor calms, just to jump start a civic conversation on the issue.

Trejbal and Rollins filed Thursday, Nov. 10, an initiative petition to put the Oregon Secession Act on a 2018 ballot.

Trejbal, a North Portland writer, and Rollins, an attorney from Southwest Portland, hoped to collect 1,000 signatures to get an official ballot title through the secretary of states office. After that, they would have to gather 88,184 valid signatures to put the measure on a ballot.

If adopted, the proposal would require the governor and lawmakers to actively pursue Oregons peaceful secession from the United States. Lawmakers could work with other western states  California, Washington, Nevada, Alaska, Hawaii and Canadas British Columbia  to form a new nation, according to the one-page proposal written in a day by Trejbal.

Trejbal and Rollins both say the measure really was a way to start a conversation about the future of the state and how it fits into the future of the nation, especially in light of the election of Republican Trump as the 45th president.

If you look whats happening on the West Coast, its very different from whats happening in the rest of the country, Rollins said. All these progressive things were doing here are something we care about. Thats not the case in other parts of the country.

We think that Oregon needs to have a conversation about the values that Oregonians hold dear, like life, liberty and equality, and if those are the same values being held in the rest of the nation, said Trejbal, in between Thursday morning phone interviews with regional media outlets. We want to know if there is a place for Oregon in the United States anymore.

Election as catalyst

Both Trejbal and Rollins said their proposal wasnt promoted by Trumps election, but by a cascade of political and social events during the past two decades.

The election of Donald Trump was just the final straw, Trejbal said. Weve had a dysfunctional Congress for eight years. Given what has been happening in the nation for the past several years, we felt like we needed to do something. The election was the catalyst. Things in the United States are going in a direction that really arent working for Oregon.

Tuesday night's general election in Oregon mirrored results across the nation. Democrat Hillary Clinton, who had a big lead in the polls ahead of the election, won eight of Oregon's 36 counties  mostly urban Multnomah, Clackamas, Washington, Hood River, Clatsop, Lincoln, Benton and Lane counties. Trump won by large margins in the remaining rural counties, including by the widest margin in Lake County, 78 percent to 16 percent.

Overall, Clinton won Oregon 50 percent to 39 percent.

Trejbal is registered as a non-affiliated voter and describes himself as politically middle of the road. Rollins is a registered Democrat and a liberal with a practical streak. Theyre friends and engaged political observers. The Oregon Secession Act was their brainchild. They arent part of an organized group or larger effort.

We lean liberal, but were very practical in our approaches to issues, Trejbal said.

Fifth-largest global economy

The idea of secession is gaining ground in the West, with California leading the way. TheYes California Independence Campaign will ask voters in 2019 to approve a referendum on the states peaceful departure from the United States. The group is calling its push Calexit, after the Brexit movement in the United Kingdom away from the European Union.

On its own, California has the worlds sixth-largest economy, just behind the United Kingdom and ahead of France, India, Italy and Brazil. When combined with a handful of other western states, it could be the worlds fifth-largest economy, Trejbal said.

California investor and entrepreneur Shervin Pishevar, co-founder of Sherpa Ventures, is openly advocating that states secession. Pishevar, an Iranian venture capitalist, told CNBC Wednesday, Nov. 9, that Trumps election spurred his support for independence, calling it the most patriotic thing we can do.

Pishevar also resigned from the J. William Fullbright Foreign Scholarship Board because he refused to serve on any federal group under President Trump.

Another longtime Northwest independence movement called Free Cascadia, was also getting a lot of attention after Tuesdays election. The groups proposal calls for a bioregional country formed by combining Oregon, Washington and British Columbia. The movement has a flag  green, white and blue bars with a fir tree in the center  a website and a couple of Facebook discussion boards, which have lit up since Tuesday.

Theres a huge buzz about Cascadia, said Alexander Baretich, an activist who helped organize the effort. Personally, I think we could see the U.S. American empire implode or crumble and see the need for regions to focus locally.

Baretich, a Southwest Portland educator who has been part of the Free Cascadia movement for more than two decades, said it wasnt a secessionist effort, but a proposal to recognize the regions biodiversity in human terms.

Were getting a lot of attention since Tuesdays election, Baretich said. I knew this was going to happen.

He called the suggestion of secession a quick reactionary proposal rather than a fully thought-out process.

Im totally anti-secessionist, Baretich said. Ive always maintained that the goal should be resistance to empire and to creating a bioregional awakening in our state. Its a place, not a country, as opposed to a nation-state.

California has long been the focus of independence movements, dating back to the mid-1800s. Recent attempts have included a ballot measure to partition the large state into smaller states based on geography and economic status.

In the early 1940s, Southern Oregon residents wanted to combine their region with Northern California to create the State of Jefferson. Supporters of the cause even set up roadblocks on Highway 99 south of Yreka, Calif., collected tolls from drivers and declared their independence.

Trejbal and Rollins planned to start gathering the initial 1,000 signatures Thursday evening, but later dropped that idea. With the public effort, coupled with increased media attention, people will take notice, Trejbal said. Whether or not we start to gather the 88,000 other signatures is still being considered. Right now, were just thinking about Oregon and having the conversation.

I hear people saying (they want to talk about secession) all the time, Rollins said. Lets take baby steps and see what happens."



Kevin L. Harden is digital media editor for Pamplin Media Group. 503-546-5167. email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Follow us on