Whining Is Not the Weapon for This War

Saving the city of Los Angeles from itself is no task for the timid. To hear one San Fernando Valley activist tell it, the work is noble, difficult, brave--”a David and Goliath story.”

To allow this heroic metaphor, think of Jeff Brain and other Valleyistas collectively whirling a sling overhead, preparing to launch a rock-solid chunk of legislation. The Goliath of this tale would be L.A.’s entrenched power structure, the system more than the people. The Valleyistas and secession-minded allies in other parts of Los Angeles suggest that their missile could be launched in an election. Goliath would be stunned. Then he could be drawn and quartered, the sprawling city divided into several--the Valley, San Pedro, Venice, Eagle Rock, you name it.

That would be painful. But remember, Brain says, that slaying Goliath is not necessarily their aim--or at least not his. True, the most ardent Valleyistas want Goliath dead, dead, dead. But Brain and many others say they’d rather just knock some sense into the big Palooka. By that they mean that the power structure requires a serious threat to adopt meaningful reforms--perhaps a borough system that gives L.A.’s far-flung communities more local control.

But if the charter reform efforts now underway fail to fix L.A., he adds, then it would be time to put the City of Angels out of its misery. David, you know, was always on the side of the angels.

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Certainly the Valleyistas and their allies citywide, organized under the banner of Alliance for Self-Determination, are the underdog here. Whether they should be embraced as heroes is a matter of opinion.

Nobody, of course, likes to be called a whiner. Brain, a commercial real estate broker who co-chairs Valley VOTE (Voters Organized Toward Empowerment), was offended that I used the W-word the other day to describe their reaction to some maneuverings in Sacramento that affected the bill that would replace the City Council’s veto power over secession with a citywide vote.

It seems only fair to note that others thought I was unfair. An editor passed along a letter from Shirley Svorny, a Cal State Northridge economics professor: “Everyone always talks about how important it is for people to be active in their communities, and the people Harris is talking about have done more than their share. I don’t know where he is coming from describing them in those terms, but they don’t deserve it.”

What made the Valleyistas complain most recently was a twofold setback in a key Senate committee considering the bill. First, Senate President Pro Tem Bill Lockyer, who had earlier dropped an L.A. secession bill of his own, unexpectedly changed committee assignments, naming a critic of their cause, Sen. Richard Polanco (D-Los Angeles), to replace Sen. Charles Calderon (D-Whittier), who had indicated support for their bill. Then Polanco added an amendment that would make the bill apply to cities statewide, not just to Los Angeles.

“Sabotage!” cried the Valleyistas, describing Polanco’s amendment as a “poison pill” that would kill the bill. The next day, however, the activists calmed down, especially after Lockyer said he considered the amendment an improvement and predicted that the bill would ultimately pass.

Over lunch the other day in Sherman Oaks, Brain suggested that what I characterized as whining was more like legitimate “screaming and yelling. . . You have to scream. You have to get people focused on what’s happening.” He suggested that they at least deserve credit for their resilience.

OK, so maybe that was more of a strategic scream than a plaintive wail. The bill sponsored by Assemblymen Tom McClintock (R-Northridge) and Bob Hertzberg (D-Sherman Oaks) is sacred to Valley VOTE. Lawmakers in Sacramento, meanwhile, have used it as a vehicle to their own ends, a kind of bargaining chip.

But back to whining. Valleyistas may learn from their own history. When McClintock’s predecessor, Paula Boland, first revived the secession issue, she grandly compared the cause to that of American colonists fighting King George. But rather than seek the moral high ground, Boland led the Valleyistas to an indefensible position. Her idea of democracy would have been an election to divide Los Angeles while denying most Angelenos the right to vote. The selfish often whine. Even now Valleyistas reluctantly accept the concept of one Angeleno, one vote.

And after the recent charter commission election, Valley VOTE co-chairman Richard Close did some public mewling because his favorite candidates failed to win seats on the city’s new charter reform commission. Mayor Riordan’s slate was rejected as well. Rather than complain, the mayor had the good sense to turn the other cheek, smile and say he was pleased the reform effort was moving forward.

But who knows? Maybe David did some whining himself. Maybe he just had a friendly press.

Scott Harris’ column appears Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. Readers may write to Harris at the Times Valley Edition, 20000 Prairie St., Chatsworth 91311, or via e-mail at scott.harris@latimes.com Please include a phone number.