ACLU Vows to Sue City Over Airport’s Ouster of Activists

ACLU attorneys announced Sunday that they will file a federal lawsuit seeking damages from the city of Los Angeles for ousting San Fernando Valley secession activists from the Van Nuys Airport during a July air show.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California alleges that officials at the city-owned airport violated the 1st Amendment and the state Constitution when they kicked out people gathering signatures on petitions that could lead to the splintering of the Valley from Los Angeles.

The legal action, which the ACLU promised to file today in federal court, will ask the city to reimburse Valley VOTE for the cost of hiring professional petitioners to collect up to 20,000 signatures. That’s the number the group estimates its volunteers would have netted had they not been removed from the Van Nuys Aviation Expo ‘98, which attracted about 250,000 spectators.

“We just want to make clear that we’re serious. Valley VOTE has suffered some serious damage,” said Peter Eliasberg, the ACLU attorney representing the Valley group.

The incident at the airport was especially harmful, Eliasberg said, because Valley VOTE must gather 135,000 signatures by Aug. 27 to prompt a state-sponsored study and potential vote on secession.

Officials at the city attorney’s office could not be reached for comment Sunday.

John J. Driscoll, executive director of the city Department of Airports, acknowledged that Van Nuys Airport officials illegally barred the petitioners during the July 18-19 air show, and publicly apologized. Driscoll blamed the incident on “miscommunication” between the airport manager and airport security.