Secession Activists Present Check to LAFCO

Living up to their end of a deal with the county, but with firm objections, activists pushing to divorce the San Fernando Valley from Los Angeles handed over an $8,252 check Thursday to cover the initial costs of verifying the 202,000 signatures collected to kick-start the secession process.

Valley VOTE, the group leading the breakaway drive, gave the check to Larry Calemine, director of the Local Agency Formation Commission, which oversees the secession process. The money will pay for checking a random sample of the signatures.

Valley VOTE, however, submitted the check under protest, reserving the right to raise issue with the payment later. Valley VOTE has objected to any fee for signature verification, calling it unconstitutional.

For a secession study to take place, signatures from 132,000 registered Valley voters are needed. If the study determines Valley secession is economically viable without hurting the rest of Los Angeles, the issue could be on the ballot as early as 2000.

Under a deal approved Tuesday by the Board of Supervisors, Valley VOTE will only pay for the 3% random sample of signatures. If the sample is not definitive and all signatures have to be checked, the county will pick up the full tab, which could total $270,000.

Valley VOTE initially collected more than 205,000 signatures, but only turned in 202,000 after weeding out some that were clearly invalid, activists said.