Secession’s Impact on Latinos Probed

Saying they fear the impact of the San Fernando Valley’s proposed secession on Latinos, several prominent community activists have called a summit--at which leaders of the secession movement are not welcome.

The invitation-only forum Saturday already has ignited a local political firestorm and may mark the emergence of the first grass-roots group to question the wisdom, for Valley residents, of secession from Los Angeles.

“This is uncomfortable for some people to address, but there are racial implications to secession,” said Irene Tovar, the head of the Latin American Civic Assn., a sponsor of the meeting. “Will this benefit one group over another?

“We’re part of the American fiber, and we’re asking questions about a very important decision,” she added. “We’re not just going to follow like sheep.”

After learning of the forum at San Fernando High School to which 50 to 75 Latino leaders have been invited, Jeff Brain, president of the secession group Valley VOTE, struck out at the event’s organizers, calling them insincere and their concerns unfounded.

He accused them of being beholden to powerful Latino politicians from other parts of Los Angeles who oppose the secession movement.

“They don’t speak for the people on this,” Brain said. “They get their money from people on the other side of the hill.”

Though the secession movement has faced concerted opposition from most entrenched city politicians, including Mayor Richard Riordan, there has been little evidence of ground-level opposition.

Tovar and the forum’s other main organizer, Xavier Flores of the nonprofit group Pueblo Y Salud, both stressed that they have not taken positions on secession. But they pointedly questioned the motives of Valley VOTE and said they were wary of the group.

With assistance from paid petitioners, Valley VOTE gathered 205,000 signatures, well more than the 135,000 needed to trigger a secession study. The study is the final legal step before the issue can be placed on the ballot, which could come as soon as 2000.

“We have never opposed secession,” said Flores, who also represents the Valley chapter of another forum sponsor, the Mexican American Political Assn. “We are very leery about seceding when we see who is leading the march.”

Such arguments lack foundation, said Valley VOTE Chairman Richard Close.

He said he was “disappointed” that his group was not invited to the forum, arguing that it could best explain why Latinos and the rest of the Valley’s diverse population could benefit from breaking away and forming the nation’s sixth-largest city.