Secession: The Law’s the Law

Rules, who needs them? That’s apparently the attitude of the citizens group selling the snake oil of San Fernando Valley secession--a troubling trait in a secretive bloc whose leaders fancy themselves the founders of a new city government.

A random sampling of signatures on a petition submitted by Valley Voters Organized Toward Empowerment, or VOTE, revealed too few valid names. State law requires that all 202,514 signatures now be checked. Estimated cost to taxpayers from Long Beach to Lancaster: nearly $300,000.

Valley VOTE’s response earlier this week was to suggest that its petition demanding the dissolution of Los Angeles proceed anyway, without the lengthy verification process. “We have enough [signatures],” said Valley VOTE Chairman Richard Close.

But state law cannot be so easily avoided. Since the 3% sample tested by the Los Angeles County registrar-recorder could not be extrapolated to yield enough qualified signers, the law clearly requires a full count.

Granted, it’s almost certain that VOTE ultimately will have the 131,771 verified signatures it needs to launch the first step of secession--a million-dollar study on the potential effects of a municipal divorce. If not, state law grants the group 15 additional days to gather more. In the end, there no doubt will be a study.

That’s not the point. Valley VOTE and its leaders rightly criticize Los Angeles city government for not playing fair with the public, for manipulating the letter of the law. Yet the very group arguing for fairness and openness has at every turn sought to wriggle away from responsibility or financial burdens. It refuses to disclose its financial backers but demands that taxpayers shoulder the costs. Its leaders call for secession in one breath and in the next insist they want only to study the issue.

VOTE’s obsession ultimately will be unleashed on Los Angeles--and the political, financial, legal and social toll surely will be enormous. To allow it to proceed outside the rule of law would be an invitation to even greater disaster.