Charter Reform

Here is an interesting quandary to ponder: Having voted for charter reform in Tuesday’s election, and seeing it pass by a large margin, do I continue to support the San Fernando Valley’s initiative to break away from the city of Los Angeles?

Before the election, I was 100% behind the move for the Valley to form its own city. Now it seems hypocritical to vote for a complete overhaul of the City Charter, then to tell the residents outside the Valley that they have to live with the reform, for good or bad, that I so eagerly voted for. Given the percentage the reform passed by, I doubt if I was the only person in the Valley to vote for it.

This is a question we all must face now. By voting yes on the new charter, we were expressing our hope that the changes would affect us for the better. I think the sensible thing to do is to allow the new charter to be implemented and see if our quality of life improves. After all, that is what we really are after, isn’t it? As current residents of the city of Los Angeles, we owe our fellow citizens no less.

MARK HARTZELL, Tujunga