Valley VOTE

Re “Valley VOTE, Civil Rights,” Letters to the Valley Edition, Dec. 17.

This Valleyite lives in the Northeast Valley, which had the highest percent of signatures by voters on the petitions for a study of possible secession from Los Angels. Fifty-four percent of the people of Pacoima and 50% in Sylmar [were] in favor of the Local Agency Formation Commission study, while only 19% in Toluca Lake, 27% in Studio City and 30% in Tarzana, Encino and Sherman Oaks signed. So much for the myth that the wealthy “elite” are behind this secession movement.

It’s just common sense that a council member with 50,000 constituents will be more accessible than one with 250,000, as presently. Compare Los Angeles with Burbank. Which city has a better quality of life?

I believe life in the Valley will improve after we succeed in seceding from L.A.

JAN HOLLE

North Hollywood

*

As an executive board member of Valley VOTE, I was very happy to read that people consider me a member of an elite class. As a 21-year-old full-time community college student who struggles just to pay for books, I was extremely gratified to find out that I am a member of an elite class. Now that I know what elite-class people look like, I will look at the people on Valley VOTE with a different awe. Before I respected those retired teachers and school principals, union members and business owners, grandmas and grandpas, professionals and working people for their character. Now that I have found out that we are members of some sort of elite class, I can only conclude that we are members because we won’t stand for the status quo. We want to see our communities reach their potential. We are people who want to study the city, get the skeletons out of the closet, figure out what assets the city owns so that all the residents of the city can benefit.

Although I sit on Valley VOTE, I do not know if the Valley will benefit if the Valley is reborn into its own city. I can only be patient and wait for the study. But I encourage everyone, even critics of Valley VOTE, to come to our meetings, ask to become members, be loud, get out there and debate us. But don’t resort to some sort of class division, because it doesn’t exist on our board.

MICHAEL TRUJILLO

Mission Hills