State of Jefferson View Photos

The movement calling for the State of Jefferson to become the USA’s fifty-first state continues to grow. The state would include Tuolumne, Calaveras, Amador, El Dorado and nearly every county north of Sacramento.

Joe Bick, local resident and advocate for the new State of Jefferson, was Friday’s KVML “Newsmaker of the Day”.

Last year, those behind the movement were in Sacramento Declaring the Petitions of Separation to the Secretary of State for recording and then walked them over to the Legislators office for presentation.

According to Bick, Tuolumne and the other counties included in the State of Jefferson have not had adequate representation in the California state legislature for the past several decades. The most expeditious way to restore representation is to create a new state where local issues by local people can be dealt with and representation will be restored.

The “Jefferson” state movement is using the legal method of engineering a state split through the formula required by Article IV Section 3 of the US Constitution. This formula necessitates a greater than 50% majority of both houses of the state legislature and Congress approving the split in order to create a state out of an existing state or states.

Bick stated that only nine representatives come from the twenty northern most counties of California. In comparison, thirty-five come from Los Angeles County alone. As go the large population centers, so goes the entire state.

The formula to create a new state as outlined in Article IV Section 3 of the US Constitution is fairly simple but achieving the end result requires dedication and a thorough understanding of all parties involved.

“Jefferson” must be shown to be a win-win for both the new state and California. For “Jefferson”, representation would be restored and how it chooses to govern itself will be determined within its borders. What remains of California will be two-thirds of its original land mass but greater than 95% of its population. This should enable the California legislature and governor’s office to be more efficient and effective in creating and executing laws that directly relate to the population they govern. The concentrated urban centers would benefit from a government that is familiar with the issues and solutions required of an increased population density. Those within “Jefferson” face completely different challenges that would best be met by those who share similar circumstances.

Bick acknowledged that there are critics of the plan and he knows this is not be an easy task. Bick emphasized that the pursuit is legal and that a variety of concerns will be addressed at community gatherings.

A fundraising dinner will take place at the Mother Lode Fairgrounds in Sonora on Saturday February 25th. This includes a no host bar, a Diestel turkey dinner, music, raffle tickets for a Remington 783 Rifle and an auction. Advanced tickets are $20. Tickets are $25 at the door. Advanced tickets are available at Let ‘Er Buck in Sonora, Radovich Hay & Feed in Jamestown, and Miners Mart in Groveland.

For more information, log onto www.tuolumnecountysoj.com

The “Newsmaker of the Day” is heard every weekday morning at 6:45, 7:45 and 8:45 AM on AM 1450 and FM 102.7 KVML.