Valley VOTE at 172,000 Signatures and Rising

San Fernando Valley activists petitioning for a study and possible vote on Valley secession announced Wednesday they’ve collected 172,000 signatures, which may be more than they need but is still short of their goal.

Leaders of Valley VOTE, the group leading the petition drive, remained confident they’ll get the signatures required but backed away from earlier predictions they would wrap up the effort by the end of October.

Under state law, Valley VOTE must gather signatures from 25% of the registered voters in the Valley--about 135,000 of the 526,000 people on the voter roles--to trigger the first step required for the Valley to break away from Los Angeles to create a new, independent city. The petition deadline is Nov. 27.

“We decided to use the entire petition period to get as many signatures as we can,” said Jeff Brain, president of Valley VOTE--Valley Voters Organized Toward Empowerment.

Valley VOTE hopes to collect at least 180,000 signatures to ensure that the petition qualifies even if many signatures are disqualified by county elections officials, either because signers live outside the Valley or are not registered voters.

If the petition drive is successful, the Local Agency Formation Commission will be required to study whether secession would be feasible or create a financial hardship on Los Angeles. If findings favor Valley secession, voters citywide could see a ballot initiative on the proposal as early as 2000.

The question of who will pay for the LAFCO secession study--estimated to cost upward of $1 million--remains unresolved. The County Board of Supervisors postponed a decision on whether to help pay up to $500,000. Instead, the supervisors asked LAFCO to provide a detailed estimate of the study cost, which may be completed in December or January.

Valley VOTE Chairman Richard Close said he fears that opponents of Valley secession will try to smother the effort by blocking funds for the study.

If that occurs and LAFCO fails to intervene, Valley VOTE may take legal action. Close is an alternate member of LAFCO, the state-sanctioned agency responsible for deciding secession and incorporation applications in Los Angeles County.

Close also said that if LAFCO failed to conduct a secession study, the inaction may be considered de facto approval and the agency would be required to put the issue on the ballot.