Chick Seeks Council’s OK to Lengthen Petition Drive

A proposal to grant San Fernando Valley activists more time to petition for a study that could lead to secession received overwhelming support in the City Council on Friday, and city attorneys started preparing possible court action to back the petitioners.

Council member Laura Chick called for city intervention after an investigation concluded that Van Nuys airport officials illegally barred workers from collecting signatures at the popular Van Nuys Aviation Expo held July 18-19.

But a vote on Chick’s proposal was postponed until Tuesday because of protests by Councilman Nate Holden of South Los Angeles, whose opposition was enough to block the measure from reaching the council agenda Friday. The nine other members at the meeting voted to consider Chick’s motion.

Holden called the motion a political stunt to inflame Valley residents over the secession debate. Leaders of the petition drive said they would have gathered at least 15,000 signatures at the air show, a claim Holden said was grossly overstated.

Despite Holden’s opposition, Chick was confident the council on Tuesday will approve her proposal calling on the city to intervene via the courts or a government agency and extend the petition drive by 30 days.

“The city needs to right the wrong that was committed,” said Chick, who represents the West Valley.

The incident at the Van Nuys airport, a city facility, hoisted the often caustic debate over Valley secession back onto the council’s agenda after months of relative calm. Many city officials, including Mayor Richard Riordan, openly oppose Valley secession and are pushing for reform of the city charter as the best way to address the Valley’s political grievances.

Still, Councilman Hal Bernson, who also represents the Valley, said secession was not the topic before the council Friday and said Holden had allowed his feelings about secession to cloud his judgment.

“This is not an issue of secession,” Bernson said. “This is an issue of constitutional rights.”

Leaders of Valley VOTE, the group collecting signatures for a Valley secession study, praised Chick’s action and other members who supported the measure.

However, Valley VOTE President Jeff Brain said the three-day postponement of a council vote could be costly. Under state law, petitioners for Valley secession have only 90 days to collect the 135,000 signatures required to prompt a study and possible vote on secession from the city of Los Angeles.

Valley VOTE’s deadline is Aug. 27. Postponing the vote also delays possible court action that might grant the 30 day extension, Brain said.

“Every day in the petition drive is critical,” Brain said.

Brain said Valley VOTE has collected more than 100,000 signatures but hopes to gather at least 80,000 more before the deadline. The extra signatures act as an insurance policy, since some will likely be invalidated by county elections officials.

Timothy B. McOsker, chief deputy city attorney, said his office already is exploring possible legal options to win Valley VOTE an extra 30 days. McOsker said it will be up to those leading the Valley VOTE petition drive to initiate court action, because the city would have no legal standing in the case. Once Valley VOTE files a lawsuit, the city attorney’s office could assist with the case, if the City Council so desires, he said.

Brain said the Valley VOTE board of directors will discuss their legal options over the weekend.

If the city fails to take action, the American Civil Liberties Union will likely file a lawsuit against the city for violating the state and federal rights of the Valley VOTE petitioners banished from the air show, said Elizabeth Schroeder, the ACLU’s associate director in Southern California.

An investigation by the city Department of Airports found that Van Nuys Airport manager Ron Kochevar instructed security “not to allow petitioners to collect signatures inside the venue.”

Kochevar said he intended only to prevent the Valley VOTE volunteers only from setting up an unauthorized booth at the air show but did not make his instructions clear.

John Driscoll, executive director of the city Department of Airports, blamed the incident on “miscommunication,” and discounted allegations by Valley VOTE leaders that the city attorney may have advised airport officials that the petitioners could be barred.

Valley VOTE has asked the district attorney to conduct an independent investigation into the incident. Rep. Howard P. “Buck” McKeon (R-Santa Clarita) also asked the U.S. attorney’s office to look into the matter.