San Bernardino County OKs possible secession measure: ‘Time for us to get our fair share’
Voters in San Bernardino County will decide if they want their elected representatives to study whether the county is receiving a “fair share” of state funding and possibly explore breaking off or seceding from California.
The county Board of Supervisors approved 4-0 the advisory measure during a special meeting Wednesday evening. Supervisor Paul Cook was not at the meeting.
The measure will be back for final adoption on Aug. 9 and asks voters in November: “Do the people of San Bernardino County want San Bernardino County elected representatives to study and advocate for all options to obtain the county’s fair share of state funding up to and including secession from the state of California?”
The measure is simply an advisory question, however, which, if the voters approve, will not be controlling or force the supervisors to pursue any action if they choose not to.
Jeff Burum, a real estate developer from Rancho Cucamonga, spurred the debate after asking supervisors last week to consider placing a secession measure on the ballot and turn the county into a new state with the possible name of “Empire.”
He argued the state wasn’t providing the county with enough resources or funding to deal with its issues, including an increased population growth.
“It’s time for us to get our fair share allocation,” he said during a July 26 supervisors’ meeting.
With roughly 2.18 million residents, San Bernardino County has the fifth highest population in California. The county's population is roughly equal to New Mexico’s and larger than 14 other states and the District of Columbia, according to census data.
The county is also the largest in the contiguous United States with 20,068 square miles and could fit New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware, and Rhode Island within its borders.
The idea of secession isn’t new, but whether San Bernardino County could realistically break off on its own is unlikely.
“There is a very low probability of success in this case,” Jack Pitney, a professor of American politics at Claremont McKenna College, said in an email Friday.
The Constitution requires that a secession be approved by the state Legislature and the U.S. Congress to become a new state. The last time a new state was formed this way was in 1863 with West Virginia, Pitney said.
Since California first became a state in 1850, there have been at least 220 attempts to break it up, according to the California State Library. None have succeeded.
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Elected officials at Wednesday’s meeting seemed to acknowledge the remote possibility of becoming a new state and emphasized the need to see if the county was getting the funding it deserved.
“I am not in favor of secession, you know. I just don’t believe that we have the resources or wherewithal, the staff or the ability to create our state,” said Supervisor Joe Baca, Jr., who added he supported a study that would analyze whether funding received was equitable.
County spokesperson David Wert said a finance team conducted a per-capita comparison of state and federal revenue “captured” by California counties based on state controller data.
A list he emailed to the Daily Press showed San Bernardino County ranked 36 out of 56 counties in 2020.
“The County is taking a deeper dive into this and other data to reveal specific areas of concern, but clearly there are significant disparities,” Wert said.
Read the full ordinance
San Bernardino County Ordinance Regarding Measure on Ballot by West Hub on Scribd
Daily Press reporter Martin Estacio may be reached at 760-955-5358 or MEstacio@VVDailyPress.com. Follow him on Twitter @DP_mestacio.
This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: San Bernardino County supervisors approve potential secession measure
