The man who wanted to split California into six states now wants to make it into three

A Silicon Valley venture capitalist whose saw his dream to carve California into six separate states fizzle has returned with a slimmed down idea: this time, three states.

Tim Draper filed his proposed 2018 ballot initiative on Friday asking voters to split California into three new states: Northern California, California and Southern California.

"The citizens of the whole state would be better served by three smaller state governments while preserving the historical boundaries of the various counties, cities, and towns," Draper wrote in the initiative's statement of findings. He did not immediately respond to emails sent seeking comment.

Draper's plan would draw the northernmost dividing line from Santa Cruz County eastward to Mariposa County. The middle state, which would retain the name California, would be closer aligned to the coast and would place Los Angeles and Orange counties into separate states. The state of Southern California would run from Orange County to Mono County in the north and down to the border with Mexico.

The wealthy political tinkerer's 2014 plan would have created six separate states. Draper spent $4.9 million of his own money to collect signatures on the proposal, only to find too few of them were valid to qualify for the ballot before that year's deadline. In 2015, he promised to bankroll less ambitious ideas of others at reforming California's system of government. State campaign finance records show no contributions from Draper to any efforts that year.

There have been hundreds of efforts to dissolve California's long-standing borders since the state's inception in 1849. None, including Draper's new effort, spell out the complicated choices on water rights, economic benefits or border disputes.

Draper's new effort comes on the heels of a renewed campaign to allow California to secede from the United States. Its backers must also gather the needed signatures for voters to consider the proposal next November. - Read More

The man who wanted to split California into six states now wants to ...

Tech billionaire says his plan to break up California ready for voters - 

Reuters