Romy Varghese reports for Bloomberg that the proponent of the initiative seeking to split California into three states will not further oppose the legal challenge to the initiative’s validity. Last week, the Supreme Court agreed to decide the merits of the challenge, but also blocked the initiative from appearing on this November’s ballot, leaving open the possibility of it going to the voters at another election.
Bloomberg quotes the proponent, Tim Draper, as answering an inquiry whether he would continue fighting for the measure by saying, “the same six lawyers are going to make the decision. What would be the point? They have just proven that California has a runaway government and the people have no say.” The “six lawyers” apparently refers to the Supreme Court justices who signed last week’s order.
Of course, the petulant response ignores that the last time the court took a measure off the ballot just four years ago, it later concluded the measure was indeed valid, clearing the way for a vote two years later.
If Draper has lost interest in defending his initiative’s validity, the writ petition challenging the initiative — Planning and Conservation League v. Padilla — could be moot. We should know more by August 20, when Draper’s formal opposition to the petition is currently due.
