Council Acts on Petitioners’ Charges

The Los Angeles City Council and the city attorney called Tuesday for an investigation into allegations that city police and security officials illegally barred petitioners from collecting signatures at the Van Nuys Airport.

Volunteers with Valley VOTE, a group collecting signatures for a San Fernando Valley secession study, told the council they were escorted off the airport and threatened with arrest during an air show last weekend.

“Over the past week the people of the San Fernando Valley were subjected to a grievous violation of their rights,” Jeff Brain, president of Valley VOTE, told the council.

Brain said volunteers were singled out by airport officials because they wore red Valley VOTE T-shirts.

“This is something we used to read about in Eastern Europe or the South, but not Los Angeles,” he said. “We are asking for a full investigation. We want to know who authorized this and how high up it went.”

The council voted unanimously on a motion by Councilwoman Laura Chick ordering the Department of Airports to investigate the incident and submit a written report in two weeks.

The testimony by Brain and others was greeted by sympathetic nods, even by council members strongly opposed to Valley secession.

“I don’t think anyone on this council supports what happened, and we want to get to the bottom of it,” said Councilwoman Jackie Goldberg.

Council members Hal Bernson and Mike Hernandez apologized to the petitioners. “I’m appalled,” Bernson said.

Earlier in the day, City Atty. James K. Hahn also requested an investigation in letters to Mayor Richard Riordan and John Driscoll, general manager of the Department of Airports.

“The Constitution clearly protects the right to collect signatures on a petition such as the one being circulated by Valley VOTE,” Hahn said in a letter to Riordan.

But Riordan representatives harshly criticized the request, saying Hahn should begin by investigating the involvement of his own staff in the controversy.

Airport officials sought legal advice from the city attorney’s office before security officials were instructed on how to deal with the petition gatherers.

Noelia Rodriguez, Riordan’s press aide, suggested that Hahn called for the investigation by the Department of Airports to deflect any responsibility from Hahn’s department.

“It would seem appropriate for the city attorney to investigate his own shop’s conduct before spending taxpayer dollars to investigate something that may not lead to anything,” she said.

A spokesman for Hahn said the city attorney’s office has already reviewed its involvement in the incident and found no wrongdoing by its attorneys.

In an interview, Driscoll said he will conduct the investigation but believes the incident was due to miscommunication between airport staff and security officials.

He said Valley VOTE leaders failed to secure exhibition space at the airport for a booth, but some volunteers nonetheless attempted to set up tables at the expo on Saturday. He said security officials at the airport were instructed to keep the volunteers from establishing an illegal booth. However, Driscoll said the volunteers should have been allowed to collect signatures by walking around the event.

“I don’t think there was anything nefarious,” Driscoll said. “It sounds like somebody dropped the ball.”

He added: “We are going to do a full-blown investigation to find out what happened.”