By Brooke Thames

Published April 26, 2019

In the heart of California's Central Valley, on the edge of a patchwork of orchards in Stanislaus County, sits the Grizzly Rock Café. Truckers and others who pull off Golden State Boulevard in Turlock for the Grizzly's taco bar and three-dollar pints are also greeted by a green four-foot sign with a message painted in yellow block letters: "Join the State of Jefferson."

On a recent Wednesday night at the very back of the café, Marie Roberson, dressed in a Jefferson sweatshirt with her greying hair pulled back in a ponytail, addressed a group of about 20 men and women assembled for the weekly meeting of the Stanislaus Concerned Citizens—the local chapter of the regional Jefferson movement. Their goal: to join with other counties in the northernmost reaches of California, break away from the rest of the state and create a separate 51st state called Jefferson.

Most meeting attendees were white and over the age of 50, dressed in hunter green sweatshirts, hats and t-shirts bearing the "Great Seal of Jefferson"—a gold circle with two bold, black X's to represent how the government has "double-crossed" them. Roberson, a leader of the group, praised members who had recently braved an especially cold day to attend an outdoor gun show to rally support for their cause. "Goodness gracious, that's what you call patriotism," she said. "You'll freeze to death but you're still out there." (If audio does not play, click here)

Marie Roberson, 54, was born and raised in Turlock, California in the agricultural county of Stanislaus. There, she co-leads the local State of Jefferson group. Photo by Brooke Thames

Near the end of the meeting, Roberson discussed an upcoming trip out of state by some members of the group to meet with others sympathetic to the movement. "The rest of us to have stay back in Communist California," Roberson said, and then playfully stuck out her tongue and blew a raspberry.

Roberson and other backers of the Jefferson movement say they've been neglected by their elected leaders and feel alienated from their fellow Californians. Nearly all 23 of the counties in the proposed Jefferson region voted for President Donald Trump, from the state's Central Valley to the Oregon border. They oppose the sanctuary city status for undocumented immigrants approved in San Francisco and Los Angeles. They decry any taxes on gasoline because the far-flung nature of their rural and semi-rural communities forces them drive miles just to reach their mailboxes.

"Bit by bit, our government in California is taking away our freedoms that God gave us, stripping our rights away," Roberson said. "In Jefferson my voice will be heard. In Jefferson, my rights will be protected."

Mark Baird, 66, leads the State of Jefferson group in Siskiyou County. Photo courtesy of YouTube

(If audio does not play, click here.)

What's most important to many Jefferson supporters—and a central point of their contention with the rest of California—are environmental regulations on water, timber and farming. They claim environmental laws limiting logging and mining have killed the backbone industries of northern counties, leaving families financially crippled. Supporters in the Central Valley, whose farms produce eight percent of the nation's food, vehemently oppose a plan to alter water delivery from the California Delta. The plan aims to restore habitats in the delta, but many farmers and Jefferson sympathizers embraced the Trump administration's recently filed lawsuit opposing it.

Roberson said Jefferson supporters admire Trump's efforts to subvert the "status quo" in Washington. His anti-establishment agenda has inspired the movement to ramp up its efforts over the past few years. By overhauling California's political system, supporters believe they will subdue an over-reaching government that has become too autonomous and neglectful of their interests.

"People in Sacramento, San Francisco and Los Angeles sitting in their condos watching someone wash their BMW while they sip on their lattes are saying, 'We just have to save the environment.' They don't even know what the environment is," said Mark Baird, a retired deputy sheriff who leads a Jefferson group in Siskiyou County. "We live here. We know how to manage our own environment. But we don't have enough political representation to blow ripples in a teaspoon of water."

The current iteration of the State of Jefferson movement emerged in 2013. Supporters say that if the movement achieved its primary goal, there would be no separate state of Jefferson. Instead the state would agree to upend its legislative system, created in 1879, which capped the number of state senators and assembly members at 120. In its place, a new approach to representation would apportion one assemblymember for every 2,500 residents and one senator for every 6,000. (If audio does not play, click here)

With more representatives, Jefferson supporters believe they would have more say over taxes and environmental regulations. If California won't expand its legislative branch, that's when the "state of Jefferson" concept kicks in with option two: split off from the rest of the state. Secession would require approval by both the state senate and assembly, followed by a final nod from Congress, as outlined in Article IV, Section III of the United States Constitution.

In 2017, Baird led a collective of northern Californians to form the nonprofit Citizens for Fair Representation to bring a lawsuit against the state in an attempt to get the court to demand California increase its number of representatives. The group included the California Libertarian Party, the California American Independent party, the Shasta Nation Indian Tribe and a handful of individual plaintiffs.

"One hundred twenty legislators cannot possibly represent 40 million people in any effective, equitable and meaningful manner as contemplated by the United States Constitution," the plaintiffs argued. In 2018, Ninth Circuit Court judge Kimberly Mueller dismissed the case, ruling that the issue disenfranchises all Californians equally and therefore cannot be corrected by the court.

But Citizens for Fair Representation says that, under federal law, a three-judge court must be convened in cases questioning the constitutionality of the apportionment of state legislators. Muller dismissed their suit solo. Baird said CFR plans to file its appeal in the Ninth District Court May 8.

In the meantime, leaders of the Jefferson movement are working to bolster morale. "A lot of people got discouraged by the court decision, and that's unfortunate," Roberson said. "But when you fight, you gotta be in it for the long haul. So, we'll just keep going, and we are gonna keep fighting until the bitter end."

In November, Stanislaus became the most recent county to join the Jefferson movement. With a population of over half a million people, it is also the most populous. The county is one of the state's many food founts. Family-owned cattle farms, fruit groves and nut orchards surround its moderately-sized cities of Modesto and Turlock. Here, residents measure time according to changes in crops—with delicate, pink almond blossoms signaling spring and growing corn stalks marking the passage of summer.

Aaron Tamraz, 49, co-leads the State of Jefferson group in Stanislaus County. Photo by Brooke Thames

(If audio does not play, click here.)

"Between the real rural north and urban south, Stanislaus County is in the agriculture middle of those two worlds," said Aaron Tamraz, who co-leads the county's Jefferson group with Roberson. "But the way our system is here in California, the rest of the state—like the LA and Bay areas—are taking our resources, like water, for their own needs. We're having to conserve up here. They view it as them taking it for their own use—who cares what we think about it up here? Our way of life will be sacrificed for their needs."

Tamraz and Roberson are among Jefferson supporters attempting to spread the movement southward. Directly south of Stanislaus county is Tuolumne County, where the movement has drawn visible support. Jefferson's signature green and yellow flags fly over neighborhood lawns. Posters nailed to houses compare the nine assembly and senate seats in California's northernmost counties to the rest of the state's 111 representatives; they prompt passersby to ponder "who wins" in state elections. Supporters can often be spotted attending town hall meetings and county fairs.

In Stanislaus, Roberson, Tamraz and their crew have been working to collect 20,000 signatures to present to its county board of supervisors. They hope the signatures will demonstrate the strength of support for separation, and convince the board to ratify a Declaration of Independence from California. The Declaration asks the board to "recognize the lack of representation for rural and frontier counties in the California Legislature, and [to recognize] an increasing tendency by the State of California to exercise legislative and fiscal malfeasance."

As of early April, six months into the petition drive, the Stanislaus group had managed to gather just 5,000 of the signatures they seek.

Tamraz said he believes his group has the largest hill to climb as they garner support in a relatively well-off county. A growing number of Stanislaus residents support their families with paychecks earned in Stockton or San Francisco, 90 minutes away. Small cities like Turlock are steadily growing into buzzing urban oases in a sea of sprawling farmland.

"I think what they might feel is, 'Why do I care? I have a good job. I still make a really good paycheck. My family is doing fine—we barbeque and go to the lake on the weekends.' But take that same family in a northern county, and they're not doing so well," Tamraz said. "People aren't hurting enough here in this area. That's the main hindrance I've seen in getting people to come onboard for Jefferson."

Indeed, conversations with residents reflected sympathy for Jefferson's motives, but reluctance to embrace the cause.

Cobed Ambita has lived in Stanislaus for nearly 20 years and said he'd heard of the movement. But he thinks splitting the state would tank the economies of both northern and southern California.

"The state is financially stable enough and splitting may destabilize the two areas. The south relies on the north and the north relies on the south," he said. "Look at places like Los Angeles—they have the film industry, which is a huge economic booster for California. If it were to split, we'd be losing that financial piece."

Turlock resident Manny, who asked to be identified only by his first name, said he frequently saw Jefferson signs along Interstate 5 when driving to Redding for work. He doesn't think splitting the state is a good idea, though he understands the movement's arguments.

"The whole idea of admitting a 51st state is just not gonna happen," he said with a laugh. "The needs of Los Angeles and San Francisco can certainly steamroll the needs of Northern California. That's because we are such a big state. But I don't think a separate state is a solution, and I don't think it's necessary."

Madeline Marello, 23, first heard of the Jefferson movement as a high schooler in Placer County just north of Sacramento. She recalls seeing the green signs pepper the streets in her hometown of Lincoln, California. Marello said she voted for Trump in the last election and believes conservative counties don't receive proper representation in state government.

"There are a number of red strongholds in California where people have different opinions than those in the urban areas. The higher you go on the map, the more those voices get cut out," she said. "I don't think we should get a whole army of representatives—that would be a bit unfair to other states. But some kind of remedy should be considered."

Some local officials seem supportive of the movement's goal. When Turlock Mayor Amy Bublak spoke at a recent Jefferson meeting, she praised them for demanding better representation. "The people being in charge of the people," Bublak said. "I think it's better than the way we're going right now."

Efforts to split California date back centuries. The most successful was in 1859, when pro-slavery Confederates and residents disgruntled by tax laws rallied to separate Southern California into a new province called the Colorado Territory. The effort culminated in the Pico Act, which was signed by the governor and passed by 75 percent of Southern California voters, only to die in Congress shortly after the onset of the Civil War.

Since then, secession efforts have resulted in a number of failed ballot measures and bills that couldn't clear both the senate and assembly. Reasons to split the state range from fierce battles over water distribution to increasing the power of local governments in rural areas.

The first iteration of the State of Jefferson movement began in 1941 along the California/Oregon border, where secessionists sought to separate from what they perceived to be the neglectful leadership of politicians in Sacramento and Salem. That year, California's northernmost counties—Siskiyou, Del Norte, and Modoc—joined with four of Oregon's southernmost counties to draft a "Proclamation of Independence."

If Jefferson is established, the new state's population will be over 70 percent white and mostly Republican. Some observers of the movement criticize it as an attempt to create a hegemonic, conservative utopia. The "Free of Censorship" State of Jefferson Facebook page, moderated by members of the movement, includes xenophobic rhetoric, cartoons poking fun at "libtards" and posts praising President Trump. A recent post with a photo collage of prominent Democratic leaders claims "the greatest threat to the U.S. isn't ISIS, North Korea or Russia—it's the Democratic Party." Multiple posts addressing the issue of immigration claim "'Illegal' is not a race. It's a crime," in bold, capital letters.

Spend enough time in the Jefferson movement's target region and you can find residents with strong opinions on both sides.

Brittaney Castner works as a barista at Christina's Coffee Shop in Turlock while she finishes her graduate degree at Stanislaus State University. She said she'd never heard of Jefferson but is aware of the various efforts to split the state. Doing so would hamstring California's liberal voice in Washington D.C., she said.

"For people who have a conservative opinion, I don't want to be one of those a**holes who says 'move,' but…" Castner paused to laugh before suggesting that conservative Jefferson supporters flock to Arizona, the nearest red state.

"As long as people have conservative opinions out of good-natured reasons, then it shouldn't be that big of an issue," she continued. "If the thing you're really concerned about is people coming into 'your country' and having rights that you don't think they deserve, then shut up. If you care so much about the water, maybe care about where the water comes from—the environment."

Most Jefferson supporters in Stanislaus County approve of President Donald Trump. Photo by Brooke Thames

Norma Martinez, who is in her 60s and lives in Stanislaus County, described herself as a firm supporter of the Jefferson movement. She said her sense is that most Jefferson supporters share her views and are Christians opposed to "progressive politics," including abortion rights, open borders and socialist approaches to government. Martinez often posts her opinions on her Facebook page, including warnings against what she describes as the effort by Muslims to "destroy" America.

"If you wanna call being progressive also being anti-religion and anti-moral, then most of us are against it," Martinez said. "Most of us are biblically oriented."

Norma Martinez said she believes both the state and national governments must be reined in. Photo by Brooke Thames

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Though many Jefferson members describe themselves as conservative Christians, the movement claims to be non-partisan. Baird said the separatist effort is founded on only one belief—that the U.S. Constitution is an inflexible document and should be followed to the letter.

The Stanislaus Jefferson group includes registered Independent Sheryl Saltkill, who said she joined because she believes every voter's voice in California should be heard. Guy Wilson is an African-American Merchant Marine who organizes the Stanislaus group's "Fly It Friday" events, where supporters dress in green and wave Jefferson flags on street corners. Wilson said he was raised in Los Angeles and then lived in the Bay Area until he was "cold-shouldered" out for not being "liberal enough."

Wilson said he struggled to see how, as a black man, he could support the Democratic party, which in the mid-1800s formed the Ku Klux Klan to combat the reconstruction-era policies of the Republican Party, intended to create economic and political equality for black people.

"You know, soul brothers are supposed to be down with the Democrats. But I couldn't be down with the people who started the Klan," Wilson said. "I'm down with the state of Jefferson [because] we need freedom. We have to control our own destiny. Being in the state of Jefferson is like walking out the gate of the plantation and saying, 'Bye!'"

Roberson said she herself has declined to register with a political party. She said Jefferson supporters welcome collaboration with Democrats, especially Blue Dog Democrats who tend to hold fiscally conservative views. "When you find that Democrat who has the same values and beliefs you do, you need to work with them," she said. "They've lost their party, too. Both parties have failed us."

Though Jefferson supporters acknowledge the odds of the California legislature greenlighting a state split are stacked against them, they hope their agitating will eventually get lawmakers to bend. Roberson said it'll take time, but the modest movement won't give up until liberty is secured for every Californian who feels neglected.

"Rome wasn't built in a day, and Jefferson won't be built in a year or two. It's a battle and we have to stick with it," she said. "Three percent won the Revolutionary War, so three percent can win Jefferson."