We’ve heard and read way too many “the sky is falling” lies designed to scare us into opposing Measure A.
The Big Brother government types who are spearheading the “Keep It California” opposition to Measure A have been spreading false rumors and phony statistics about Measure A and the State of Jefferson concept. They have been doing so with a reckless disregard for the truth.
Whenever you see or hear someone throwing a number at you in an effort to convince you to fear Measure A, understand that that number is a fabrication. Financial forecasts for a future State of Jefferson are impossible to make with any accuracy at this point in the process. Even if we had accurate figures for government income and expenditures here in Del Norte County [which we don’t], we wouldn’t have any idea what those numbers would tell us in the State of Jefferson without combining the figures from ALL the counties potentially included in that State.
Would the State of Jefferson be able to support itself? Would the State of Jefferson be able to provide us in Del Norte County the support we now receive from California? If not, how big would the short-fall be? How many dollars that we receive from California came from us originally? How much comes to us through California from the Federal government in the form of “pass throughs”?
THE TRUTH – Measure A does NOT create the State of Jefferson. Measure A does not take Del Norte County out of the State of California. What Measure A DOES do is ask our Supervisors to reserve a place for us at the table while as many as twenty Northern California counties explore ways by which we regain representation in government. Together we can gather and crunch the numbers and come up with the REAL answers to the important questions at the heart of Jefferson. When the facts are available each county will have the ability to move forward with a new state or remain in within the political grasp of California.
THE CONSEQUENCES – If we do not opt for a place in this learning and decision-making process, we will be left out of the benefits of regained representation, whatever the direction the other counties go. And go they will.
Please, in the interest of gaining an open-minded opportunity to decide our own future, vote “Yes” on Measure A.
Aaron Funk
Crescent City, Ca.
