Hahn Urges L.A. to Fight Secession

Mayor James K. Hahn declared Thursday that Los Angeles must remain whole or abandon its identity. He called on every resident to join the fight against secession--a campaign that he cast as vital for the city’s future and that, win or lose, will define Hahn’s place in the history of Los Angeles.

Confronted with a slow economy, a tight budget and a fractious city, the mayor used his first State of the City address to sound the alarm against those who would break Los Angeles apart.

“The reality is that a breakup will create more bureaucracy, more politicians, fewer resources and diminished services,” Hahn told about 1,000 students, city officials and other leaders gathered on the grassy quad of James Monroe High School in North Hills. “Secession is not a solution.”

The mayor’s 25-minute speech came after the climax of the effort to oust Police Chief Bernard C. Parks, and on the eve of his unveiling of next year’s city budget, which is expected to contain cuts in many areas.

Some residents of the San Fernando Valley, Hollywood and the harbor area are trying to break away from Los Angeles and create separate municipalities. Advocates argue that Los Angeles has become too large to function effectively, while opponents, including Hahn, say splitting the city apart would accomplish nothing but create problems, both for the new cities and for the one they would leave behind.

Although the annual address typically represents the mayor’s opportunity to evaluate the city’s well-being, Wednesday’s speech functioned less as a report on Los Angeles and more as a rallying cry against secession.

The mayor spoke before a large banner reading “Neighborhoods are Los Angeles.” He returned again and again to the notion that Los Angeles is the sum of its communities and that dividing those places would destroy the city’s sense of itself and its place in the world.

Hahn recalled episodes of Los Angeles history, sounding a nostalgic tone as he argued for preserving the city as it is.

“Whether you live in Lincoln Heights or Los Feliz, Winnetka or Wilmington, Sunland or Sylmar, breaking apart this city destroys our identity,” Hahn said. “This is a city that dreams are made of, and I will not let our dream be destroyed.”

Last fall, Hahn vowed to fight a vigorous campaign against secession, signing up some of the city’s top political consultants to run a campaign called L.A. United. In recent weeks, however, city leaders have expressed anxiety that Hahn has been distracted by the fight over Chief Parks and has given secessionists an opening to make their case.

But on Thursday, many of the city officials and civic leaders who listened to the speech said Hahn’s address would help unite Los Angeles.

“It’s time to rev up, and I think that’s what this speech was all about,” said City Controller Laura Chick. “The mayor was revving us up. I’m revved--it worked on me.”

City Council President Alex Padilla agreed.

“The lines have been drawn,” he said. “It’s imperative that we fight secession movements with every bone in our body. And it will be at the top of our agenda.”

Secession is expected to take center stage in city politics over the next few months as the agency evaluating the feasibility of creating new cities decides whether to put the individual breakaway movements on the November ballot.

Carol Schatz, president of the Central City Assn., an influential downtown business lobbying group, said the mayor’s address provided a vital framework for the debate.

“I was delighted with the one-two punch he gave secession,” she said. “It was the most critical thing we were waiting for, and he delivered. It’s important that he does this every day and make a case [for] why it is the worst thing that can happen to this city.”

Speaking at the high school at the northwest edge of the city, more than 20 miles from City Hall, Hahn argued that the improvements secessionists are seeking will not happen if Los Angeles is split up.

The Los Angeles Unified School District would not be affected by the move, Hahn said, addressing a common misperception.

Moreover, the mayor said, the new cities would not get better police or tree-trimming services because they would have to contract with Los Angeles to provide that work, at least initially. Programs could even be reduced because the new municipalities might struggle financially, he added.

“The one-sided sound-bite messages that we’ve been hearing from secessionists have got to be answered, and we’ve got to answer them with truth,” Hahn said. “Breaking apart Los Angeles won’t provide one dime of additional money to a new city and will leave our remaining city wounded.”

Hahn’s previous admonitions regarding secession have not slowed the breakaway campaigns.

On Wednesday, he did make some ground with a few secession advocates who attended the address. Former U.S. Rep. Bobbi Fiedler, one of the founders of the secession group Valley VOTE, said the mayor laid out a compelling case for keeping the city together.

“What it did is give me a clear picture of what his focus is going to be and how persuasive it will be to people throughout the city and the Valley,” she said. “The burden really lies on the pro-secession movement to persuade people that a change needs to be made.”

But Richard Close, chairman of Valley VOTE, said Hahn’s speech will not win over people dissatisfied with city government.

“Instead of him increasing his rhetoric, he has to increase his actions,” said Close, who did not attend the address.

Hahn used much of his speech to counter that impression and argue that the city is in fact improving.

The mayor noted that since he took office July 1, the LA’s BEST after-school program has expanded from 78 elementary schools to 101. The city has opened new parks and made traffic improvements.

He cited his efforts to increase the ranks of the Police Department, saying that 780 new recruits will be brought in by next year.

Hahn also touted the growth of the new neighborhood council movement, promising more money to the new groups for local improvement projects.

“When you feel good about the street you live on, you’re going to feel good about the city you live in,” he said.

For Hahn, those efforts form the core of his argument that Los Angeles is worth keeping together. And his campaign to win support for that idea is likely to crest in November, when residents may have the chance to decide whether or not to stay with Los Angeles.

“Join me,” he urged. “Fight secession with truth. Protect what we have all worked so hard for, our city of dreams.”