State of Rebellion

Dan reclaimed some notes from the credenza behind his desk, then returned to his seat. “Ted, I had a visit last week from the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services, asking for our cooperation in locating farms where illegal immigrants are working.”

“I see,” Ted replied. “What’s immigration worried about in Yolo?”

“Same as everywhere. Illegal workers being preyed upon and jobs lost to local laborers. Will these additional workers be employed by the co-op?”

Franchi hesitated momentarily, glancing at Alverez. “No. As with most temporary workers, including those clerks you use here in the county building, they’ll work for a temporary agency. That’s where Hank comes in. MexiCal Labor Services will employ the workers and assign them out to us for the duration of the harvest.”

Great dodge, Dan thought. No taxes, no benefits-and deportation for anyone who complains. “I see. How can we help?”

“Housing. We’d like to contract with the county to house some of these workers in the facilities at the county fairgrounds. We’ll provide the bedding, but we’ll need the toilets and showers activated and electricity to the buildings turned on, including the kitchen facilities.”

“I see. As I recall, you’ve arranged this before, haven’t you, Ted? Before my time?”

“Yes, we have. Supervisor Hernandez put forth the first proposal about eight years ago, and since then, whenever we’ve needed to bring in a larger group of workers, the temporary housing has been provided at the fairgrounds.”

“Fine,” Dan said, standing. “I’ll add the proposal to the next agenda packet. Mr. Alverez, it’s been a pleasure meeting you. Please come again.”

The two men rose, and Ted offered his hand. “Thanks, Dan. Coming to Rotary today?”

Dan laughed. “We’ll have near perfect attendance. Everybody wants to see Senator Turner’s dog and pony show.”

“He makes a lot of sense, as proven by the election results. Californians are fed up with all the garbage rules and regulations coming out of Washington.”

“Could be, but killing a couple of federal judges who disagree with you seems a rather harsh approach, wouldn’t you say?”

“Turner didn’t kill anybody.”

“Really? His rhetoric goaded those who did, and they don’t need much goading, especially from a United States senator, to make them feel in the right. You know, my grandmother used to warn against throwing the baby out with the bath water. We still get some benefit from being part of this nation. Besides, the last time a state tried this, it brought on a devastating war.”

“Granted, we don’t want a war, but Washington saddles us with a lot of regulations and expensive welfare requirements for which we don’t get any federal money. I like Turner’s thinking, and so do millions of Californians.”

“I can’t argue with that,” Dan said, seeing them to the door and following them out into the foyer. “Thanks for coming.”

After Dan’s visitors entered the elevator, he stopped in Jim’s office and closed the door. As Dan took a seat on the couch, Jim looked up from the staff classification project he was working on and smiled.

“Days like this, do you wish you were a financially secure author?”

“I suppose I’d trade places with John Grisham-and he was once a humble lawyer, too,” Dan replied. “I don’t know, Jim. It seems we’re caught in the middle here.”

“How so?”

“Well, I just met with the rice co-op about housing for migrant workers. The Feds want California to crack down on illegals, but the farms in the county need the labor.”

Jim smiled again, leaning back in his chair and placing both hands behind his head. “That’s why they pay you the big bucks, and I get to do the staffing paperwork,” he drawled, nodding toward the stack of papers on his desk.

Taking a big breath and exhaling forcefully, Dan leaned back, resting his head on the couch. “Time was, as my grandfather says, when the braceros came up from Mexico legally, worked the fields through the harvest season, and earned enough money to last them through the winter. All that came to a halt years ago when many of them stopped going back to Mexico and became illegals. Now, we deny them the legal right to work, but at the same time covertly foster their illegal work to raise profit margins. Then we require our government agencies and schools to provide all health, welfare, and education services that they need, whether they’re here legally or not. It’s a lousy system, and it needs to be fixed.”

Jim stood and tucked in his shirttail. “Tell you what, Daniel. Let’s go see what Turner’s solutions are. Maybe he knows a way to make all these problems disappear,” he said, grinning. “He’s still drumming up support to overturn the court injunction against the governor proceeding with the secession.”

Dan also stood. “You know, only last week I was writing about one of my characters who lived in Utah during its pursuit for statehood. Originally, they thought they would be an independent nation, or state, calling themselves Deseret. That changed when the U.S. finally offered statehood.” Dan grew more serious. “Jim, what do you make of Turner’s platform about this secession? Posture or substance?”

“Posture, initially-at least before the primary elections. But, once the results were in, it took everyone by surprise. And then in November, it turned into a tidal wave. What was initially just a groundswell has practically become a mandate. Courts or no courts, we’re going to have to contend with it, and it’s going to hit the County Board sooner or later. The city council already addressed it last week. They voted to instruct the city manager to prepare Woodland for a transition to an independent republic. They’re already fighting amongst themselves for the revenues they expect to flow from Sacramento.”

“Yeah, I read their minutes. They’re a bit premature. . I hope.”

Jim’s eyes narrowed, and his facial expression became sinister. “Politicians, Daniel, my boy. Politicians. They will be dead set for-or against-as soon as the polls are in. Situational Ethics 101. Didn’t they learn you nothin’ at Stanford?”

“Cynical, Mr. Thompson. Very cynical,” Rawlings said. “Well, let’s get over to Rotary in time to get a good seat where we can hear from the leader of ‘Turner’s Rebellion.’ That’s what they’re calling this in the press, in case you Wyoming boys can’t read. I’m beginning to feel like a colonist heading for a Thomas Paine lecture.”

Chapter 5

Woodland, California

The Woodland Rotary Club meeting was packed, the number in attendance bolstered by the many guests brought by members to hear Senator Turner. Ever since the state superior court had overturned the election results, preventing the governor from proceeding with the secession, Turner had stumped his way through California, voicing his support for an appeal to the California Supreme Court. While publicly decrying the murder of two of the three superior court judges who had issued the ruling, Turner nevertheless made certain his audiences knew that he thought the justices had been wrong. The California Supreme Court would rectify that, he always added.

Having been previously alerted by the senator’s staff, reporters from the Sacramento Bee, Woodland Democrat, and Davis Enterprise newspapers, as well as a film crew from the Sacramento CBS Television affiliate, Channel 13, were on hand to report on Senator Turner’s comments. His original call for secession had shocked even his staunchest supporters, and press pundits had initially dismissed it as a trial balloon in response to his younger, more energetic opponent. But now, having retained his senatorial seat in the November, 2010 elections, and with two successful statewide votes for secession behind him, that had all changed-dramatically.

Every speech given by the senator over the past month had been covered by the local and national press-as seen to by the senator’s public relations staff. Even two foreign journalists had taken to following the senator in an