Valley VOTE Petition Effort

There is no question as to how Valley residents attempting to circulate petitions at the Van Nuys Airport Aviation Expo were treated by city employees (“Group Deserves More Time to Submit Petitions, Chick Says,” July 31). Anyone just wearing a VOTE T-shirt was prevented from entering the air show event, using restroom facilities or getting water on airport property unless they removed their T-shirt. Have we lost our 1st Amendment rights?

When a citizen violates a city ordinance, regulation or directive, he is charged and must pay a penalty. If a food and / or beverage facility owner or manager allows a patron to smoke a cigarette, there is hell to pay--a fine, even possible closure of the business and / or jail time. But government employees can apparently deny citizens their constitutional rights at any time with no problem. Something is really wrong here.

Any government employee who denies anyone their constitutional rights is unfit to be a government employee. Any government employee--that includes department heads, administrators and commissioners--unwilling to discipline civil servants who have clearly denied the civil rights of citizens is also unfit to continue in any capacity as a part of our government.

The Van Nuys Airport Aviation Expo [incident] raises the question of whether any department should be allowed to have its own police department. I doubt that the Los Angeles Police Department would have handled the VOTE volunteers the way airport police . . . did at the Aviation Expo.

The time has come to make all government employees fully accountable for their actions, even a first mistake, and particularly when it comes to denying people their civil rights as provided in our Constitution.

THOMAS E. HANSON

Sherman Oaks

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In regard to Valley VOTE, I do not like the propaganda they are putting out. They make one think that you are either for them or you are a Nazi! Take VOTE Co-Chairman Jeff Brain’s characterization of the Van Nuys air show’s officials as reminiscent of Nazi Germany (“Valley Group to Probe Petition Ban at Airport,” July 21). Millions died by the Nazis! No one has died in San Fernando Valley secession efforts!

The Times editorial, “City Went Too Far With VOTE,” on July 26 stated that the city would not allow VOTE members to set up petition booths. I attended the air show on both days. As soon as we got off the parking lot shuttle buses on the tarmac at the air show, we were greeted by tables and personnel asking us to sign the Valley VOTE petition. The editorial states that VOTE denied that they set up such tables. I saw them. They were there both days. A simple check of the petitions will show signatures of air show visitors.

Also, what ethics does VOTE possess when they get not just business owners but pharmacists, such as those at Northridge pharmacy, to discuss and debate with customers why the petition should be signed (“Valley Secession Drive Enters Crucial State,” July 26)? Physicians and pharmacists have a duty to those who are not feeling well and should not take advantage of their prestige in the community by forcing their political views onto those who have sought out medical professionals to aid their afflictions. I am sure it is against the ethics of California pharmacy practice to foster a pharmacist’s political views in the course of the pharmacist performing his or her professional duties.

I don’t like the tactics of Valley VOTE.

Gary Gray

Woodland Hills

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In answer to those who restricted the right to petition, I believe that those elected and appointed officials should be fired or dismissed. Not to know the basic right of the Constitution to petition in America gives them no right to serve. There is no excuse for misunderstanding this basic right.

NORMAN S. BERNEY

Legislative Analyst

Van Nuys Post No. 193

American Legion of California

Van Nuys

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The San Fernando Valley, as we know it, would not be the desirable, exciting community it is if it had not evolved as part of the city of Los Angeles.

Now Valley VOTE is whining because they wanted to gather volumes of votes for their petition in one easy, fell swoop at the Van Nuys Aviation Expo. Their presence there would have been inappropriate and disruptive.

A petitioner asked me for my signature in front of a Ralphs. I questioned him, “Are you a volunteer or paid?” He replied, “Paid.” If divorce from Los Angeles is so desirable, why don’t they have volunteers clamoring to be petitioners? And who is paying for all this?

Valley VOTE’s whole concept is damaging to the Valley and the rest of Los Angeles. I wish all of these self-serving whiners would move elsewhere!

PATRICIA M. ALCORN

Studio City