Wilmington to L.A.: We Want Out : ‘It Will Be Difficult,’ Flores Says

Harbor Councilwoman Joan Milke Flores on Thursday pledged cooperation with, but not outright support for, Wilmington activists who are seeking cityhood for their community.

“I want to be very honest with you and tell you it’s going to be very difficult to get approval for this,” Flores told a breakfast crowd in Wilmington two days after she won the GOP primary for secretary of state. “But I’m committed to providing whatever information my office can about the procedure. And I will continue to work with you as you go ahead, if that’s what the community wants to do.”

After her third annual state of the community address in Wilmington, Flores said she understands the reasons why some Wilmington residents want to secede from Los Angeles but warned that their path is fraught with political and economic obstacles.

And with one of those obstacles being the Los Angeles City Council, Flores said she would not even consider supporting incorporation until Wilmington residents understand and support such a move. Even then, she said, her support may not give them success.

Acknowledging Wilmington’s neglect over the years, Flores suggested that the drive toward cityhood was inadvertently sparked by her office’s commitment several years ago to finally develop a community plan.

“There is no question, particularly with the lack of zoning in the community, that there has been no organized plan for improvements,” Flores said in an interview. And when the community plan effort was launched, Flores said, she realized that it “may come back and reflect on the services the city has given to this community.”

“It was no surprise to me,” she said, “that people started getting concerned and angry about things that were going on in their community.”

At the same time, Flores said, Wilmington’s residents and business owners should consider whether the community’s problems would be solved, or even reduced, with cityhood.

“I believe every community has the right to pursue independence. But I think they should be cautioned that if this becomes a separate city, that doesn’t necessarily mean the problems will go away,” she said.

Moreover, Flores said Wilmington’s large industrial base, and the resulting revenues to Los Angeles, will work against the drive toward cityhood. “The City Council is in a budget crunch right now,” she said. “And to in any way detract from the amount of income the city gets would, I believe, have an impossible time of getting through the council.”

For that reason and others, Flores said, she has withheld judgment on the cityhood movement, waiting to assess its support in the community. “I don’t believe it’s the role of a legislator to tell a community what to do. . . . It’s up to the people who are going to be taxing themselves and governing themselves,” she said.

“At such time that there is an indication that everyone knows and understands what the alternatives and consequences are . . . I would seriously consider supporting it when it gets to council.”

She added, however, that cityhood drives elsewhere in Los Angeles have always failed. “No one has ever been successful at this in the city, even areas that have no industry,” Flores said. “So even with my support, I think it would be very difficult.”