County Votes to Secede From California

Siskiyou wants to become state of Jefferson
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 4, 2013 4:56 PM CDT
County Votes to Secede From California
Pedestrians cross Miner Street in Yreka, Calif., in this 2008 file photo. Yreka is the seat of Siskiyou County.   (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Not a big fan of Southern California? Neither is Northern California, apparently. Supervisors in rural Siskiyou County voted 4-1 Tuesday in favor of seceding from the state, reports the Times-Standard. The county thinks state officials in Sacramento are too focused on the big metro areas of the south and thus want to form a state of its own—to be called Jefferson. Supporters want to invite other northern counties, and perhaps a few from Oregon, to join, too, notes the Los Angeles Times.

”We have to have government that's local, understands our issues, and has empathy,” says one local rancher. It's clearly a very long-shot bid, one that would eventually require the blessing of both the state legislature and the US Congress. Still, neighboring Humboldt County is expected to meet soon to consider the idea. (Meanwhile, some counties in Colorado want to form a new state of their own.)

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