An El Dorado county resident has launched a campaign to secede from California and become a new federal state in the USA. The Mayor of Tahoma has recently become aware of this campaign and will now investigate the situation. Apparently, the vocal advocate for this political transformation believes that county residents will benefit in many different ways, not to mention the federal government which could use a couple more US senators.
Locally, in Tahoma and the southern part of the West Shore of Lake Tahoe, political problems persist because of geography. Looking at the map of the county and the boundary lines that define the space, it becomes obvious that the largest real estate of El Dorado county lies west of the Sierra Crest, the west rim of the Lake Tahoe Basin. This section of the county also house the vast majority of the permanent residents. Somehow, in the distant past, the far east section of the county, which includes Tahoma town and portions of the lake itself, were included in El Dorado county. All's well with the situation until winter arrives. And then the eastern section, including the City of South Lake Tahoe, is cut off from the county seat in Placerville, 50 miles west of Lake Tahoe. Countless administrative issues must be put on hold until Highways 89 and 50 are reopened. Not too long ago, Highway 89 around Emerald BAy was closed by hard barriers for the entire winter, forcing residents to take a 76 mile round-about trip from Tahoma to Placerville to conduct business, whether for permits, legal issues, tax problems, recording of documents, and or health issues.
On the other hand, those west shore residents located north of Pine St. in Tahoma reside in Placer county. Placer county has had an office in Tahoe City for many years to facilitate the needs of county residents in the eastern section of that county. It is my contention that this move to secede has been caused by this very real problem as it currently exists in El Dorado county.
The article describing in detail the information on this individual effort by a resident can be found in various media online. A Substack post by a Ms. Sharon Durst explains some of the reasons for the move and plans going forward. An article in the Sacramento Bee by Michael Mccough also covers the topic.
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