California a country? Early bid falls apart
2nd group picks up new ballot initiative for independence
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Supporters of one longshot bid to make California an independent nation ended their effort Monday, while another group said it will launch a new campaign for a statewide vote next year.
The drive to make the nation’s most populous state its own country, with what would be the world’s sixth-largest economy, has drawn extra interest after last year’s election of Republican Donald Trump as president.
But the Yes California Independence Campaign faltered after its president, Louis Marinelli, revealed ties to Russia. Marinelli said in a message to supporters Monday that he is seeking permanent residence in Russia because of his “frustration, disappointment and disillusionment with the United States.”
The secretary of state’s office confirmed that Marcus Ruiz Evans, the group’s vice president, withdrew the California Nationhood ballot measure.
Evans said he was leaving the Yes California group and joining the California Freedom Coalition, which he described as a grass-roots organizing effort that evolved since last year’s election. The coalition plans to file its own ballot measure in coming weeks, without the baggage of Marinelli’s Russian ties, said Steve Gonzales, the new group’s secretarytreasurer and board member.
“It prevented Yes California from getting any serious money, I can tell you that,” Gonzales said, noting that he is a native Californian who has never been to Russia. The group will accept no foreign money, and contributions from other states must be cleared by the coalition’s board, he said.
The coalition would need to collect more than 585,000 signatures to qualify a ballot measure declaring California’s independence for the November 2018 ballot. The measure is still being written, Gonzales said. Congress and 38 states would have had to agree to change the U.S. Constitution to permit California to secede.
Marinelli said Yes California had fewer than 97,500 registered supporters. About 8,500 signed up as volunteers, but only 1,200 had contributed money.
Prior to Trump’s election, the group had fewer than 100 volunteers, Marinelli said, and the group received a social media boost with Trump’s election.