Mayoral Candidates Vow Support for Vote Next Year on Secession

The six major candidates for mayor of Los Angeles have pledged support for a vote next year on San Fernando Valley secession from the city, according to a survey released Thursday.

The survey by the Valley VOTE secession group offers the clearest picture to date on where the candidates stand on the potential breakup of the city they hope to lead. All oppose cityhood for the Valley.

But the survey put them all on record as promising “to work to make sure Los Angeles voters will be able to vote on the proposal in November 2002” if the autonomous Local Agency Formation Commission puts it on the ballot.

Moreover, the six candidates agreed to oppose any effort by the City Council or any other group to block or delay a vote through court action.

One of them, Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-Los Angeles), hedged on that issue, saying he would not fight such an effort if “legitimate legal grounds necessitate my review of the cases before the court.”

The other candidates are state Controller Kathleen Connell, City Atty. James K. Hahn, commercial real estate broker Steve Soboroff, former Assembly Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa and City Councilman Joel Wachs.

Richard Katz, chairman of Valley VOTE’s governmental relations committee, called the survey results encouraging. “One of these six is going to be the next mayor, and the Valley will have the tools to hold that person accountable,” he said.

Although united on a secession election, the candidates were divided on education and transit issues facing the Valley.

Soboroff and Wachs were the only unequivocal supporters of breaking up the L.A. Unified School District and setting up at least one new district in the Valley. Hahn said “if LAUSD cannot show positive results quickly, I would look at breaking up LAUSD as a potential solution.”

A proposal to create a new transit agency in the Valley won support from Hahn, Soboroff, Villaraigosa and Wachs. Connell said she would support a Valley transit zone only if labor contracts are honored. Becerra opposed the proposal.