Secession Backers See Movement Spreading Nationwide

Is secession fever contagious?

Will the breakup movement that began in the San Fernando Valley and caught fire in San Pedro and Hollywood now spread across the country, like the tax-cutting fervor of Proposition 13?

Richard Close, chairman of the secession group Valley VOTE, believes so.

Appearing on the cable television network C-SPAN, Close predicted before a national audience Wednesday that other areas of the country will take up the cause of carving up large city bureaucracies to provide more local control.

“I think what is happening here in Los Angeles and probably will spread across the United States is the whole concept of reorganization of local government,” Close said. “What we are trying to do, and I think we will find this across the country, is efforts by local businesspeople, local community leaders determining how to make their community even better.”

The Sherman Oaks attorney likened the secession movement to Proposition 13, the tax-limitation initiative that had roots in the Valley and was overwhelmingly approved by California voters in 1979.

“After that happened, many other states started to look at property taxes and there were changes throughout the country,” said Close, who was a leader of the Proposition 13 campaign. “And I think what we are going to see because of the Valley cityhood effort is this concept of looking at how we deliver local services.”

Close made his comments on the C-SPAN call-in show “Washington Journal,” which is focusing on Los Angeles in advance of next week’s Democratic National Convention.

Several viewers from other cities called to congratulate Close on his rebellion against Los Angeles, and some suggested they could use similar campaigns in their areas of the country.

“I agree with you totally,” said a woman caller from Portland, Maine. “Why should you pay for services that your community does not benefit from?”

A woman from Olympia, Wash., also voiced support for Close, saying she used to live in Canoga Park and was a “victim” of the poor service of the Los Angeles school system.

“I am so excited to hear they are finally going to break away and let the Valley be on its own,” she said.

A woman from Georgia called to say she saw the breakup effort as a “good move” for the Valley.

Added a male caller, “Could we join you here in San Diego? We’d like to secede too.”

Others were more ambivalent. A man who called from Humboldt County in Northern California said he found it amusing that Los Angeles residents were complaining of inadequate services when other parts of the state are worse off. But he suggested the state should be divided in three.

There were also callers who said the breakup movement is not something that should be encouraged.

“What happens to the city of Los Angeles?” asked a caller from Apple Valley, Calif. “What happens to the barrios?”

Another caller, from Los Angeles, suggested Valley secession is “basically a racist movement” that will “strip the tax base” from minority areas, including South-Central and East Los Angeles.

Responding, Close said about 40% of Valley residents are minorities, so secession, he said, is not about white flight. And he said the cityhood proposal cannot be placed on the ballot unless a county study finds the breakup will not hurt other areas of Los Angeles financially.

The Valley VOTE leader told C-SPAN his group has raised $500,000 to pay consultants and attorneys to draft a proposal for a new Valley city, and that he is confident the secession issue will be on the ballot in 2002.

“There is no other opposition to this other than the powers-that-be in downtown Los Angeles,” Close said.

FALLOUT: As Valley civic leaders choose sides in the hotly contested mayor’s race, the level of political tension is rising.

Consider the extraordinary length that Los Angeles Public Works Board President Ellen Stein of Encino went to recently in an effort to show her neutrality.

Mayor Richard Riordan had recently removed Stein’s husband, Ted Stein, from his post as president of the city Harbor Commission. Ted Stein and Airport Commissioner Leland Wong were ousted after backing James Hahn for mayor over Riordan’s favorite candidate, Steve Soboroff.

So the timing was not good last week when an invitation was sent by former congresswoman Bobbi Fiedler that listed Ellen Stein as a member of the host committee for a Hahn reception at Fiedler’s Northridge home.

Fiedler had been told Ellen Stein was remaining neutral in the race, Stein said, so the city official moved into damage-control mode when she saw her name on the invitation.

Stein said she was not concerned about losing her city post, but said taking sides would create problems for her position, noting that council member and mayoral candidate Joel Wachs is chairman of the council’s Public Works Committee.

“I was very upset,” recalled Stein, who receives an annual salary of more than $75,000 for her city post. “Because of what I do, I need to stay out of it.”

Ellen Stein took the extraordinary step of asking Fiedler to call Riordan to tell him the inclusion of Stein’s name on the host committee list was a mistake.

“I did ask her to call the mayor and tell him I was not a part of this,” Ellen Stein said.

Fiedler said Riordan took her call and was understanding.

The extra steps to assure the mayor apparently had an impact.

“The mayor has assured me that I have nothing to worry about,” Ellen Stein said Wednesday.

OUSTER PROTESTED: Ted Stein’s removal by the mayor is not the only one that has City Council members up in arms.

Water and Power Commissioner Marcia Volpert of Encino has not taken sides in the mayor’s race and is at a loss why Riordan decided not to give her an extension when her term expired last month.

City Council members, however, were not going to let Riordan’s decision go unnoticed, holding an unusual public ceremony last week to honor Volpert’s 25 years of city service.

Councilwoman Laura Chick of Tarzana could not let the ceremony end without a dig at Riordan.

Chick said she believes Volpert will someday return to city service.

“I am very much hoping that the next mayor is intelligent enough to see the kind of talent you have to give to the city,” Chick said.

A representative of the mayor did not return calls for comment.

A report by the City Council’s top advisor this week has only added to the friction between the mayor and council over commission appointments.

The report by chief legislative analyst Ron Deaton found a few council districts covering affluent areas of West Los Angeles and the south San Fernando Valley have many more city commissioners appointed from those areas than from other parts of the city.

The two council districts with the least number of city commissioners are the 2nd and 7th, covering the East Valley, with nine and 10 commissioners, respectively.

In comparison, the 11th Council District that extends from West Los Angeles to Encino is home to 57 commissioners.

Wachs, who represents the 2nd District, offered a cynical reason why the East Valley is not better represented on city commissions.

“We don’t have enough rich political donors in our area,” Wachs said.

THE PADILLA WATCH: City Councilman Alex Padilla, 27, of Pacoima is being honored next week by the Democratic Leadership Council as one of the “top 100 Democratic leaders to watch in the future.”

But apparently he is not the top young Democrat.

Another up-and-comer has trumped Padilla by being selected as keynote speaker at the Democratic National Convention.

That honor has gone to Tennessee Rep. Harold E. Ford Jr., 30, who was described by presidential candidate Al Gore as “a rising star of the Democratic Party.”

Padilla gained attention locally after he won election to the Los Angeles City Council at age 26.

Ford was the same age when he won election to Congress.

Then again, it probably doesn’t hurt that Ford is from Gore’s home state.