The Mindset Shift We Must Make Right Now
Right now, most of us, New California State County senators are still wearing the “State Representative” hat. We think our job is to write one-size-fits-all state bills that apply to all 58 counties. We think the BOS is the only real county government. We think sovereignty flows top-down from Sacramento (or the new NCS capital). It’s time to take that hat off. Put on the County Steward Captain hat instead.
Under the True Constitutional Republic we are Restoring, each county is a Sovereign Steward
— independent, equal in voice, and directly accountable to its own people.
The county senator’s first duty is not to pass state-level laws. It is to protect the county’s God-given rights from state or federal overreach.
What the 1849 Constitution Actually Says About Counties.
When we say we are restoring the 1849 Constitution, let’s actually read what it says about counties
e.g Article I Sec. 38 – The Legislature shall establish a system of county, city, and town governments which shall be consistent as nearly as practicable, throughout the State.
Sec. 39 – The Legislature shall have the power to provide for the election of a board of supervisors in each county, and these supervisors shall jointly and individually perform such duties as may be prescribed by law.
Article XII Sec. 5 – Each county, town, city, and village shall make provision for the support of its own officers, subject to such restrictions and regulations as the Legislature may prescribe.
- The Legislature shall establish a system of county and town governments…
- The Legislature shall have the power to provide for the election of a board of supervisors in each county…
- Each county… shall make provision for the support of its own officers…
Notice what it does NOT say:
It does not say counties are powerless subdivisions that must wait for Sacramento to tell them what to do.
It does not say one state bill must apply uniformly to all 58 counties.
It says the Legislature sets up the system — but each county is expected to run its own affairs, support its own officers, and act as a real government.
It does not say one state bill must apply uniformly to all 58 counties.
It says the Legislature sets up the system — but each county is expected to run its own affairs, support its own officers, and act as a real government.
In the original American understanding (the one the 1849 framers knew), counties were the front-line stewards of the people’s rights. They were never meant to be branch offices of the state capital.
Current Issues That Prove We Need Real County-Level Legislation:
Think about the crises hitting our counties right now:
- Toxic soil and water contamination in rural counties from old industrial sites or fires. One statewide “environmental” bill can’t fix Paradise’s burned soil the same way it treats San Mateo’s tech runoff. Each county needs its own restoration authority — now.
- Property taxes and housing mandates forced down from the state level that ignore local realities. A county senator should be able to write county-specific relief that actually fits the people living there.
- Education and Wisdom Academies — why should one Sacramento bill dictate what our children learn when each county knows its own families best?
- Land use and agriculture — rural counties need fiber-waste-to-bio-fuel hubs. Suburban and urban counties need distribution networks. One state bill cannot possibly steward 58 different economies.
Yet we keep trying to solve 58 sovereign counties with one state bill. That is the old centralized mindset talking.
Why We Need County Senators Writing County Legislation?
The county senator is not a mini-state-rep.
The county senator is the constitutional captain of the county ship.
The county senator is the constitutional captain of the county ship.
- First duty: Guard the county’s inalienable rights against state or federal overreach.
- Second duty: Steward the county’s own prosperity (land restoration, bio-fiber economy, sovereign energy, Wisdom Academies, etc.).
- Third duty: Give every county an equal voice at the state table — not as subordinates, but as sovereign partners.
The BOS is no longer the only recognized government body.
In the restored republic, the people’s elected county senator becomes the direct constitutional steward alongside them.
One State Bill for 58 Sovereign Counties? Really?
Ask yourself the question out loud:
Why would 58 sovereign counties — each with its own geography, economy, people, and challenges — ever accept one single state bill written in a distant capital as the final word?
We would never accept that for 58 independent nations.
Why do we accept it for 58 counties that are supposed to be the foundation of our republic?
The 1849 framers never intended counties to be rubber stamps.
They intended them to be living, breathing governments of the people, by the people, and for the people — right where the people actually live.
The Mindset Shift:
From State-Directed BOS to County-Led Stewardship
Right now, most California Boards of Supervisors (BOS) operate like branch offices of Sacramento. They wait for state mandates, state funding, and state “guidance.” Their ordinances, budgets, and policies are heavily shaped (or outright required) by state law. That’s the old centralized mindset.
The constitutional republic mindset flips it:
The county serves its own people first.
The BOS, county senator, and county assembly work for the county, not for the state.
The BOS, county senator, and county assembly work for the county, not for the state.
The county is the sovereign steward. The state is the servant that coordinates between sovereign counties.
Current BOS Legislation Examples (Old Mindset)
Here are real, everyday examples of how BOS currently function under state direction:
- Housing mandates (SB 9, SB 10, etc.): BOS must approve high-density housing projects even if the local community opposes them, because the state sets the quotas.
- Wildfire & environmental rules: BOS must adopt state-mandated fuel reduction plans, zoning changes, and CEQA rules, even when they conflict with local rural realities.
- Tax and fee increases: Many counties are forced to implement state-passed sales tax extensions or new fees (e.g., transportation or climate adaptation taxes) without true local consent.
- Public health & education policies: During COVID or on school curriculum, BOS often rubber-stamped state directives rather than passing county-specific ordinances that fit their people.
- Land use & agriculture: State laws override local zoning for “climate-smart” farming or solar projects, even when the county wants to protect prime farmland or rural character.
In every case, the BOS is acting as a state enforcement arm, not a sovereign county government.
The Constitutional Way: County Senator + County Assembly + BOS
Under the 1849 California Constitution (the one NCS is restoring), counties are not subdivisions of the state. They are the foundational units of government.
How it works in practice:
- County Senator : The constitutional steward and captain of the county.
- Primary duty: Protect the county’s God-given rights and inalienable rights from state or federal overreach.
- Writes county-specific legislation (ordinances, resolutions, charters) that serve the county’s unique needs.
- Brings the county’s voice equally to the state table — not as a subordinate, but as a sovereign partner.
- County Assembly (the people’s voice): Elected representatives from districts inside the county. They debate and pass local laws alongside the senator and BOS.
- Board of Supervisors (BOS): Still handles day-to-day administration, budgets, and local ordinances — but now receives its primary direction from the county senator and assembly, not from Sacramento.
Together they form a county-level constitutional government:
- The senator and assembly set the policy direction rooted in the 1849 Constitution.
- The BOS executes and administers it.
- No single state bill can override the county unless the county voluntarily agrees.
This is iron sharpening iron — the senator, assembly, and BOS work as partners, not as top-down bosses.
Other Government Officials
- Sheriff: Constitutional officer — elected by the people, answers to the county, not the state. Can refuse unconstitutional state mandates (e.g., certain gun control or immigration enforcement rules).
- District Attorney / Public Defender: Serve the county’s justice system, not state directives that conflict with local rights.
- Assessor, Clerk, Treasurer: Handle county finances and records independently.
- All other officials: Their loyalty is to the county charter and the people, not to Sacramento bureaucrats.
The goal: every elected official inside the county sees themselves as a steward of the county’s sovereignty, not a cog in the state machine. Giving Power Back to the City, Community, and the People
This is the beautiful part of the 1849 model:
- Cities and towns inside the county can pass their own local ordinances on issues that don’t affect the whole county (zoning, business licenses, parks, etc.).
- Communities can use referendums, initiatives, and town-hall votes to decide major local issues.
- The people regain direct sovereignty through:
- County-level initiatives and referendums (easy to trigger).
- Nullification of unconstitutional state mandates at the county level.
- Local charters that give cities and neighborhoods real autonomy.
Example: A rural county could pass its own bio-fiber restoration ordinance and sovereign energy pilot without waiting for a state bill. An urban city inside the county could pass its own Wisdom Academy funding measure. The county senator’s job is to protect that local power, not to override it.
This is how we return sovereignty to the people:
County → City → Community → Individual.
The state coordinates between sovereign counties. It does not rule over them.
The Iron-Sharpening-Iron Moment Is Here
We are not here to be right. We are here to learn, grow, and restore the Constitutional Republic Abba Father is bringing back.
Not to argue — to provoke better thinking.
Because when we finally take off the “State Rep” hat and put on the County Steward Captain hat, something powerful happens:
Each county becomes its own Garden of abundance.
Each county protects its own people.
Each county has an equal, sovereign voice. That is the New California we are building.
Each county protects its own people.
Each county has an equal, sovereign voice. That is the New California we are building.
The old mindset is fading. The new one is rising.
Are you ready to take off the old hat? Let’s talk about it.
The people are watching. The ducks are lining up. Statehood is coming. And the counties are ready to lead.
We are not two Californias.
We are 58 wounded parts of the same body.
We rise when we restore the equal sovereignty for each county.
What do you think, fellow stewards?
Louisa Ip, a NCS County Senator Learning to Wear the Right Hat, Make My County Great Steward hat
New California State
Restored California
New California State
Restored California
San Mateo County Chair and Senator
Economic Development Committee Chair