California leaving? San Bernardino county votes to study secession from the state and forming their OWN due to soaring cost of living and rampant crime

• e-mail

California's largest county by size one of its largest by population has voted to consider secession in response to the state's liberal direction.  

An advisory ballot proposal, known as Measure EE, approved in San Bernardino County with a majority of 51.26 percent, home to 2.2 million people, directs local officials to study the possibility of secession. 

It's unlikely to actually occur as any secession plan would need the approval of the California Legislature and Congress, both of which are held by the Democratic Party who oppose secession.  

The razor-thin margin of victory is the latest sign of political unrest and economic distress in California. 

San Bernardino County is the largest county in California in terms of land mass and the fifth largest by population

A passing of the bill asks the county's representatives to 'study and advocate for all options to obtain the county's fair share of state funding, including secession from the State of California.'

A real estate mogul from the area, Jeff Burum told Newsweek that the measure was passed because the state has not done enough to deal with a rising population. 

San Bernardino residents are also upset with the distribution of federal and state funds for the populous county. 

According to the state controller's office, on the list of California's 58 counties and how much money it receives, San Bernardino places at 36th.

This attempt to create a new state, which would be the first since Hawaii in 1959, is a longshot proposition for the county just east of Los Angeles that has suffered from sharp increases in cost of living. 

A homeless person's tent sits in an empty lot next to a parking structure in San Bernardino, California, the state's homeless problems continue to spiral out of control

Campaign sigs supporting former President Donald Trump hang on the gate of a home in San Bernardino, California, the area was typically a Republican stronghold but a changing population has leveled the playing field

'A lot of Californians are unhappy in many ways,' said Claremont McKenna College political scientist Jack Pitney, citing record gas prices, the rising cost of living, and real estate prices that make home ownership unattainable for many working-class families.

'The vote on secession was like smashing the china. It´s a way of getting attention but in the end it doesn´t accomplish much,' Pitney said.

It´s significant that the vote came from a racially and ethnically diverse county that is politically mixed, as well as the fifth-most populous in the state and the largest in the nation by area. San Bernardino´s 20,000 square miles is composed of more land than nine states.

The votes speaks to the alienation that some voters feel from a statehouse long dominated by Democrats who have made little progress on the growing homeless crisis, soaring housing costs and rising crime rates while residents pay among the highest taxes in the country.

Rain clouds hover over Rancho Cucamonga, California, the recent vote peaks to the alienation that some voters feel from a statehouse long dominated by Democrats who have made little progress on the growing homeless crisis

A sign with a Bible verse is seen in Hesperia, California, soaring housing costs and rising crime rates while residents pay among the highest taxes in the country

There is 'a lot of frustration overall' with state government and how public dollars are spent - with far too little coming to the county, said Curt Hagman, chairman of the Board of Supervisors that placed the proposal on the ballot 

There is 'a lot of frustration overall' with state government and how public dollars are spent - with far too little coming to the county, said Curt Hagman, chairman of the Board of Supervisors that placed the proposal on the ballot. 

The county will look at whether billions of dollars in state and federal funds was fairly shared with local governments in the Inland Empire.

From record inflation to friction over the state's long-running COVID-19 pandemic policies, 'it´s been a rough few years' for residents, Hagman said.

Kristin Washington, chair of the San Bernardino County Democratic Party, dismissed the measure as a political maneuver to turn out conservative voters, rather than a barometer of public sentiment.

'Putting it on a ballot was a waste of time for the voters,' she said. 'The option of actually seceding from the state is not even something that is realistic because of all the steps that actually go into it.'

Kristin Washington, chair of the San Bernardino County Democratic Party, dismissed the measure as a political maneuver to turn out conservative voters, rather than a barometer of public sentiment 

A construction worker is silhouetted against the sky in Fontana, California. In San Bernardino County, Democratic voters now outnumber Republicans by 12 points. Still, in November Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom lost in the county by 5 points

In San Bernardino County, Democratic voters now outnumber Republicans by 12 points. Still, in November Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom lost in the county by 5 points. 

He easily defeated a recall last year driven by opposition to pandemic health orders that shuttered schools and businesses. California was among the first states to close schools and turn to online learning, and also among the last for students to return to in-person teaching.

Democrats dominate the California Legislature and congressional delegation, and the state is known as an incubator of liberal policy on climate, health care, labor issues and immigration, and the vote could be seen as partly a reaction to the state´s priorities. 

Curt Hagman, chairman of San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors, stands for a photo outside his office in Chino Hills, California

A building with graffiti sits in a commercial lot for sale in San Bernardino, California

Once solidly Republican terrain, with recent population growth San Bernardino County has become more diverse and Democratic, much like San Diego and Orange counties.

Throughout its 172-year history, California has weathered more than 220 failed attempts to dismantle the state into as many as six smaller states, according to the California State Library. 

Earlier breakaway efforts sought to carve out a new 'State of Jefferson' from nearly two dozen Northern California counties, though they were largely rural, conservative-leaning and sparsely populated.

Competition between mining and agricultural interests, as well as opposition to taxation, have driven some of these secession efforts. 

Children play soccer at the Ontario Soccer Park in Ontario, California

Competition between mining and agricultural interests, as well as opposition to taxation, have driven some of these secession efforts 

There have been proposals to divide the sprawling state into north and south sections, as well as splitting it lengthwise to create separate coastal and inland regions.

'Everybody outside this county thinks we are the wild, wild West,' said Ontario Mayor Paul Leon, whose city is one of the largest in the county. 

Despite the county's size, it 'gets a pittance' when it comes to state and federal aid for roads, courthouses and transit, said Leon, who backed the measure.

The city of San Bernardino, with a population of about 220,000, anchors the third largest metropolitan area in the state, behind L.A. and San Francisco. Beyond the urban centers, its communities range from placid suburbs crisscrossed by freeways, mountain towns framed by towering pines and isolated desert havens such as hippie Joshua Tree. 

Inflation and economic stress are challenging many communities. Before the pandemic, the county's unemployment rate was already 9.5% in 2019, with 12.2% of households living below the poverty line.

'I tend to be very skeptical of these secession maneuvers,' said William Deverell, director of the Huntington-USC Institute on California and the West.

'The state´s problems are not likely to be addressed by the jurisdictional chopping block,' Deverell said in an email. He's wary of the 'hubris' of: 'If only this part of the state could go its own way, as we aren´t the root of the problem.'

Since the proposal passed, the county's next step is to form a committee - likely composed of public and private sector members - to conduct an analysis of funding that will compare San Bernardino to other counties.

Many Inland Empire communities are struggling financially even though California's economy - by itself - may soon become the fourth largest in the world, up from fifth. 

The state announced last month that it had recovered all of the 2.7 million jobs it lost at the start of the pandemic. However, there are projections for a $25 billion budget deficit next year and signs of an unsteady economy, as even the historically powerful tech industry has seen layoffs.

From 2018 to 2021, 352 companies moved their headquarters from California to other states, according to a Hoover Institution study. After decades of growth, the state population of 39 million has been shrinking, partly because residents are leaving for states that offer more affordable housing and lower taxes.

Because of decreased population, the state is even losing a congressional seat in 2023, dropping from 53 to 52.

Housing prices in Los Angeles, San Francisco and other metropolitan hubs frequently top $1 million and are sharply increasing. Billions of dollars in spending statewide has made no visible difference in the homeless crisis in many cities. 

This has all fueled a reckoning with the direction of the state, which has long been mythologized as a land of opportunity.

Even Hagman said he doesn´t want to see his home state broken apart, though he sees approval of the measure as an important statement on frustration with Sacramento.

'I want to remain part of California right now,' he said. 'I´m proud to be a Californian.'