Boland’s Next Breakup Drive: Separating the Valley From L.A.

GIANT KILLER: Fresh from her legislative efforts in Sacramento that will make it easier to dismantle the giant Los Angeles school district, state Assemblywoman Paula Boland (R-Granada Hills) is now turning her eyes to an even bigger effort.

Boland, according to aides, is considering the introduction of legislation that would smooth the way for a measure to be placed on the ballot to permit the San Fernando Valley to secede from the city of Los Angeles and establish its own municipality.

For Valley old-timers, such talk recalls the grumpy CIVICC organization of yore, a veritable petrie dish of secessionist views.

Although secession talk may sound far-fetched, quaint or crack-brained, Boland’s involvement would give such a movement fresh credibility and verve.

Boland, of course, brings to the table her recent success in clearing away some of the powerful roadblocks to breaking up the Los Angeles Unified School District.

In July, the state Legislature, after years of delay, finally approved a Boland bill to sharply lower the number of signatures that supporters need to gather in order to get a breakup measure on the ballot.

According to her top aide, Scott Wilk, Boland may again be contemplating a measure that simply eases the formidable procedural obstacles to busting up L.A., not one that would actually accomplish the breakup itself. One of these potent roadblocks is the veto power the Los Angeles City Council now can wield to prevent any breakup measure from going before voters.

Wilk said his boss has far from solidified her views on the breakup issue but said he expects a comprehensive statement from her when the state Legislature goes into its new session in January.

A few city facts: Although the city of Los Angeles was founded in 1781, the areas now known as the San Fernando Valley did not begin to be absorbed until 1915; by 1923 most of the area now known as the San Fernando Valley was brought into Los Angeles. So it would be a 72-year-old urban marriage that Boland might try to tear asunder.

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SEEING RED: The Advocate, the leading magazine serving the gay community, this month dubbed Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan “one of America’s most gay-friendly mayors.”

But the article included one Riordan quote that may have residents wondering just what kind of a friend he is to them.

The story cites various anecdotes that demonstrate Riordan’s support for the city’s gay community. For example, he has ridden in the city’s Gay Pride Parade, participated in the California AIDS Ride and declared a state of emergency to allow needle-exchange programs in the city to fight the spread of AIDS.

Riordan cited another example, in which he phoned The Times to criticize a photo the paper ran after the gay pride parade showing lesbians in leather motorcycling outfits.

“I called up the editors of The Times, incensed that they did that. It’s just stereotyping of a community, and I told them, ‘You know, every redneck in the San Fernando Valley is probably venting their hatred.’ ”

Those so-called “rednecks” were instrumental in electing Riordan two years ago.

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WASHINGTON WHISPERS: Rep. Howard L. Berman’s name was floated as a possible mayoral candidate back in 1993 when Riordan ended up trouncing Michael Woo for the job. Berman, of course, never emerged as a candidate. And now, with a year and a half left in Riordan’s term, Berman’s name is being mentioned again.

Political pundits are saying that Berman (D-Panorama City), with his fund-raising clout and politically moderate ways, would be a mighty challenger to Riordan in 1997. And the talk has even reached some of Riordan’s advisers.

For his part, Berman calls a mayoral bid “about the furthest thing from my mind” and says he will run for reelection to the House in 1996.

Neither comment, of course, knocks down the rumor. And this Berman quip actually might add to the speculation: “So long as Dick Riordan builds up the L.A. police force and keeps his 1993 pledge, he has no problem with me.”

Just last week, it was reported that despite Riordan’s promise to put thousands more police officers on the street before the end of his first term, the Los Angeles Police Department has 27 fewer patrol officers now than when Riordan took office.

The number of LAPD officers overall has grown, but by far less than Riordan has called for, according to the documents cited in the report. During his 1993 campaign, Riordan vowed not to run for reelection if the LAPD did not expand by 3,000 officers in his first term. Since taking office, he has attempted to back off of such a firm pledge.

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JUST LIKE DOWNTOWN: The Los Angeles City Council meeting in the San Fernando Valley on Tuesday will be the first time in five years that the city’s governing body has gathered outside of City Hall.

Such meetings have been rare because some council members say that the agendas for such meetings usually include mostly minor local issues.

But a draft agenda for Tuesday’s meeting at Pierce College shows that some of the topics will have some considerable weight.

For example, the council will ask city staff for a report on the Police Department’s efforts to recruit and deploy more officers and a status report on implementing the recommendations of the Christopher Commission.

The council is also scheduled to consider adopting a couple of earthquake loans for damaged apartment buildings, requesting a study to consolidate and improve the Van Nuys Civic Center and calling for tougher penalties for people who illegally dump trash on city property.

On the other hand, the council will also consider proposals to change the name of Sunland Boulevard to Sun Valley Boulevard, and a hearing for people who oppose tearing up Telfair Avenue in Sun Valley for sewer repairs.

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BILL’S BACK: Bill Rivera, who “retired” from the Los Angeles Unified School District twice already, is back.

Rivera, who had said that he would remain involved with the school system even after he retired this summer, currently is overseeing operations at the school district’s television station, KLCS Channel 58.

Rivera, a Valley native who most recently was the chief spokesman for the district, will stay in the job until a permanent general manager is selected, probably by the middle of next month.

In a memo to the Board of Education, Supt. Sid Thompson said that “it makes sense to select Mr. Rivera, since he is completely familiar with the station’s operation and reorganization, [and] can hit the ground running.”

Rivera first left the school system in the late 1980s when he took a job with the Los Angeles County Archdiocese. He returned at the request of the superintendent and ran the district’s communications office.

He again retired this summer, saying the time had come to take life easier. Guess he had a hard time turning down another job with the school district.

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This column was written by Times staff writers John Schwada, Hugo Martin and Beth Shuster in Los Angeles and Marc Lacey in Washington, D.C.