Secession Faces Tough Sell, Hayden Tells Group

State Sen. Tom Hayden (D-Santa Monica) warned Saturday that a bill designed to ease Valley secession may fail in the Senate unless it is amended, possibly to give the rest of Los Angeles a say in the matter.

But business and homeowner leaders responded firmly that the bill must not be laden with amendments or the Valley won’t get the boost needed to be taken seriously by City Hall.

“You can get bogged down in details,” said Bill Powers, past president of the Chatsworth Chamber of Commerce. “Let’s stay focused on what we’re after. The other stuff is details and we can take them up later.”

Hayden inquired about amending the bill at a public forum sponsored by the Valley Industry and Commerce Assn. About 100 people attended the information session at Beverly Garland’s Holiday Inn, many of them representing chambers of commerce and homeowner groups.

Two potential amendments are being discussed. One, proposed by the city of Los Angeles, would give voters in all of the city a right to vote on secession. The other, backed by Hayden, would reform the obscure but powerful agency that rules on detachments.

All but one speaker spoke in favor of the secession bill, expressing over and again their frustration with their lack of clout at City Hall.

“Most people have given up,” said Walter Prince, spokesman for a Chatsworth homeowner group. “They don’t vote. They don’t know who their representative is and they don’t care.”

After the meeting, Hawley Smith of Arleta said, “The city has got to realize the Valley is not going to take no for an answer from anyone.”

The lone dissenter, state Senate candidate John Birke, said working people, renters and union members have not been consulted by a movement dominated by business groups. Birke is seeking election in the 21st District in the northwest Valley.

Testimony was videotaped and taken down by a court stenographer for delivery to state senators who will soon be considering the measure, which was sponsored by Assemblywoman Paula L. Boland (R-Granada Hills) and passed by the Assembly last month.

The bill awaits a hearing in the Senate Local Government Committee set for June 19.

In a brief appearance at the outset of the 2 1/2-hour hearing, Boland urged decision-makers not to let their opinion on secession get in the way of supporting her bill. The legislation is the starting point of a process that may or may not lead to splitting off from Los Angeles, she said.

Boland’s bill would remove the veto power of the Los Angeles City Council over any secession requests. Only Valley voters would be allowed to vote--an expected point of contention in the Democratic-controlled Senate that is likely to spawn an amendment.

Los Angeles city officials oppose the Boland bill in its current form, arguing that residents from throughout the city should have a vote since all would be affected by it.

State Sen. Richard Polanco (D-Los Angeles) has also announced his opposition, suggesting a Valley-only vote may violate the Voting Rights Act by disenfranchising residents of the rest of Los Angeles.

Hayden said he has another amendment in mind--opening up the membership of the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO), an appointed group of nine members. So far, Hayden said, word in the state Capitol is that even if the Boland bill passes, the secession campaign would die in LAFCO.

“LAFCO has a veto every bit as undemocratic as the City Council,” Hayden said after the forum.

Hayden has not taken a position on the Boland bill, but he opposes the City Council’s veto power.

A potential candidate for Los Angeles mayor, Hayden said he prefers reforming city government by giving more power to neighborhoods rather than splitting the city in two. “I prefer one reformed city to two unreformed cities,” he said.