Get the news that matters to all Californians. Start every week informed.The latest bid to break up California is the brainchild of a real estate developer in San Bernardino County. It taps into growing resistance to the state’s liberal governance by more conservative residents.Jeff Burum knows this may sound crazy.
“I’m never going to be deterred based on other people’s beliefs,” Burum told CalMatters in a series of recent interviews. “If you can see a path to get there, then for the betterment of mankind, you need to pursue it.” “Oh man. It’s a long list,” said Jose Rodriguez, a 42-year-old union electrician from Rialto, as he loaded his purchases into his car at the Lowe’s in Fontana.
First: A slogan on a wall at the Hope through Housing Foundation, which provides homes for low-income families in San Bernardino County on April 18, 2024. Second: At right, Jeff Burum at the foundation offices in Rancho Cucamonga on April 18, 2024. Photos by Zaydee Sanchez for CalMatters “None of it is common sense,” Burum said. “There’s a lot of distrust of government in our state, so let’s show them how to do it right.”Naturally, the response of an entrepreneur was to take on a project. Burum wanted to dig deeper into the numbers, to find out if San Bernardino County was getting what it was owed, and if not, to fight for more — or leave California.
Elected officials and business leaders complain that state support for San Bernardino County is inadequate for its size and importance to the California economy. They point to courthouses without enough space for every judge and insufficient funding for new housing and roads in one region where California’s population is still growing. It’s common to hear “red-headed stepchild” invoked when describing the county’s treatment by the ruling Democrats at the state Capitol.
A draft report was due on March 3 and a county spokesperson said it is “working on the logistics of releasing” the findings this month. A representative for Supervisor Curt Hagman — who once wrote aIn the meantime, Burum has largely gone quiet since his electoral triumph.
Some San Bernardino County elected officials have enthusiastically embraced Burum’s plan, including Acquanetta Warren, a self-described “Republican with common sense” who serves as mayor of Fontana, the second-largest city in the county.