Lawsuit Seeks Safeguards for Secession Petition Drive

San Fernando Valley activists blamed Los Angeles city officials Monday for possibly torpedoing a petition drive that might lead to secession, as their fight over Valley independence spilled into federal court and was resurrected in the California Legislature.

If the petition drive fails, it will be because officials at the city-owned Van Nuys Airport illegally ousted signature gatherers from a popular air show in July, said Richard Close, chairman of Valley VOTE, the group leading the campaign.

On Monday, Valley VOTE and the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court against the city, alleging airport officials violated the federal and state constitutions by booting signature gatherers from the air show July 18-19. The complaint also accuses officers of the Los Angeles Police Department of impeding Valley VOTE volunteers on at least two other occasions at public events.

The suit asks for an injunction against the city to prevent further interference, and also seeks unspecified damages.

Close hinted the group may ask the city to pay the expenses of a second Valley VOTE petition drive if the current one fails. Valley VOTE leaders estimate the cost of their current three-month campaign at $300,000.

“If this petition drive does not succeed . . . the No. 1 reason for falling short will be the air show,” Close said at a news conference Monday.

*

While Valley VOTE will allow a federal judge to decide how to compensate Valley VOTE for the damage caused by the city, Close said, “The court could, if the petition drive does not succeed, order the city to pay the cost of relaunching a new petition drive.”

Ted Goldstein, spokesman for City Atty. James K. Hahn, declined to comment on the lawsuit’s allegation because the office has not been served with the lawsuit. Once received, attorneys will review the action and advise the City Council on how to respond, he said.

Under state law, Valley VOTE has until Aug. 27 to collect 135,000 petition signatures to prompt a study and possible citywide ballot initiative on the secession of the San Fernando Valley from the city of Los Angeles.

However, the deadline might change.

On Monday, a key state Senate committee approved emergency legislation to give Valley VOTE an extra three months for its petition drive.

However, the bill must pass both the Senate and Assembly with a two-thirds vote before state lawmakers adjourn at the end of August, and not fall victim to a governor’s veto.

The measure is gathering support from all corners, including state Sen. Richard G. Polanco (D-Los Angeles), a staunch opponent of Valley secession in the past. Polanco was one of the five senators who voted for the legislation Monday in the Senate Local Government Committee.

Polanco said he still opposes the Valley pulling out of Los Angeles but voted in favor of the measure because of the city’s actions at the Van Nuys Airport: “It was not fair, and there needs to be some remedy for it.”

*

State Assemblyman Robert Hertzberg (D-Sherman Oaks), primary sponsor of the measure, said it merely clarifies a legal dispute over the length of time Valley VOTE has for its petition drive. Close said Valley VOTE’s attorneys believe current state law provides 90 days. The Legislative Council’s Office for the California Legislature believes the law provides for 180 days.

No matter what action state lawmakers take, an attorney for the ACLU of Southern California said the city must be stopped from interfering with the Valley VOTE’s petition drive, the main objective of the ACLU lawsuit.

“The city has already conceded that what it did at the Van Nuys air show was wrong,” ACLU attorney Peter Eliasberg said.

Eliasberg estimated that the Valley organization could have collected 20,000 to 40,000 signatures at the Van Nuys air show, which attracted about 250,000 spectators.

This is a significant increase from earlier statements by leaders of Valley VOTE, who until Monday estimated they would have collected 15,000 to 25,000 signatures. Only those spectators who were registered voters from the Valley would have been eligible to sign the petition.

The estimate is important. Valley VOTE may ask a federal court judge to require the city to reimburse the group for the cost of hiring workers to collect the same number of signatures that the volunteer activists would have netted at the air show. According to the lawsuit, Valley VOTE now pays $1.25 to $3 per signature, the price rising as the Aug. 27 deadline approaches.

Eliasberg said the estimate increased to upward of 40,000 signatures because more than 60 volunteer signature gatherers showed up at the air show, almost twice the number the group’s leaders predicted. The figure also was based on the success of one Valley VOTE volunteer, who was able to collect 80 signatures in an hour before being ejected by airport security, he said.

“It had a tremendous opportunity--250,000 people, primarily from the San Fernando Valley, in attendance at the air show,” Eliasberg said. “The city needs to be responsible for that.”

Eliasberg said the city must also make amends for harassing Valley VOTE volunteers at other public events.

*

The incidents, according to the lawsuit, were:

* A July 21 City Council meeting held at the St. Nicholas Church in Northridge, when officers from the Los Angeles Police Department told people wearing red, Valley VOTE T-shirts they would not be allowed to enter. Only when Councilman Hal Bernson intervened were the activists permitted to attend the public meeting.

* An Aug. 1 pancake breakfast held by the LAPD’s Devonshire Division, when a captain told members of Valley VOTE they would not be allowed to circulate petitions at the event. Only after Councilwoman Laura Chick contacted police officials and insisted the activists be allowed to solicit signatures did the police allow them to attend.

“When you start to get three or four incidents, it’s hard to call them isolated any more,” Eliasberg said. “City employees have an obligation to understand what the law is and not to violate people’s constitutional rights. So these issues can’t be brushed off as the acts of clueless city employees.”

The LAPD’s spokesman, Lt. Anthony Alba, declined to comment on the lawsuit, but said he was unaware of any complaints against the LAPD. Alba also was at the July 21 City Council meeting, and said he never heard of any incident with Valley VOTE.