The Six Californias campaign had some good news and some bad news for its supporters. The good news is that it gathered 1.3 million signatures in its petition drive – half a million more than the number necessary to get it on the ballot. The bad news is that the proposal to split our state six ways won’t go to a vote in November. Instead, the initiative’s backers intentionally slipped the 26 June deadline for filing the petitions – the advice they gave to circulators was to mail signatures back by 7 July.
Assuming that there wasn’t massive fraud or illegible handwriting involved – and of course, the professionally aggrieved have already filed complaints to that effect – Californians will have a chance to vote on the plan in November 2016. Which means we’ll have more than two years to talk about it.
That’s the main purpose – I believe – behind the drive. The proposal is not going anywhere, even if voters approve – the measure is riddled with suicide pills. But it will be healthy for Californians to have an existential debate. Contrary to what the petition claims, our state is not ungovernable. Execution isn’t exactly optimal, but the mechanism of Californian governance is functional. The problems with the actual operation of it – starting with the trump card of campaign cash – are likelier to be multiplied by six than subtracted from the equation if we split apart. And California isn’t exactly an aberration in that regard.
North or south, east or west – we have common interests as Californians. Let’s not miss this opportunity to discover it.