Valley City: A Plum for Career Politicians

Re “Alarcon May Run for Mayor of Valley City,” April 5: What a bunch of turkeys these Valley VOTE people are. Did they really think that, after all their efforts, they would lead the new Valley city; they would be the mayor, the vice mayor, the city councilmen, the police commissioners, et al.?

We have a big plum here, and it attracts the heavy professionals with the big bucks. If Valley cityhood passes, every politician out of work because of term limits will be organizing his/her campaign, and the people who did the grunt work, whether it was well intended or not, will be pushed into obscurity. This is one of many reasons why splitting up the city is a bad idea.

State Sen. Richard Alarcon’s (D-Sylmar) announcement should be a wake-up call for residents of any Los Angeles neighborhood with an eye to independence: Take this step, and you’ll wind up with multiple bureaucracies instead of one, led by people who are in it for a life’s career.

If Los Angeles’ geographical pockets want some real grass-roots control of their local affairs and some real clout at City Hall, we should be heading toward a borough system.

Irwin Spector

Toluca Lake

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Re “It’s Right on the Tip of Their Tongues,” April 3: As a very happy resident of Encino, in the San Fernando Valley, for the past 46 years, I am appalled at the juvenile silliness of the supposed adults who are “putting the cart before the horse” and picking their favorite names for the new Valley city, on which there has not yet even been a vote.

If this represents, in any way, the mind-set of the people pushing for an independent San Fernando Valley city, woe be unto all of us who live and take pride in the Valley as an integral part of the city of Los Angeles.

Irene B. Sachs

Encino