As a resident of Lake County, I was surprised to hear that the county Board of Supervisors invited advocates of the proposed state of Jefferson to speak at Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors’ meeting.

Our county has many pressing issues, and I am not convinced that the Board of Supervisors should be spending any time considering the pros and cons of Lake County joining the effort to make “Jefferson” a state.

My premise is based on the notion that Lake County has no jurisdiction in creating a new state from an existing state, based on Article 4, Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution:

“New States may be admitted by the Congress into this Union; but no new State shall be formed or erected within the Jurisdiction of any other State; nor any State be formed by the Junction of two or more States, or Parts of States, without the Consent of the Legislatures of the States concerned as well as of the Congress.”

Board members – why do think it is a good idea to discuss this issue as a part of the Board of Supervisors duties and responsibilities?

Pierre Cutler lives in Kelseyville, Calif.