All Reform Measures Have Failed, Secessionists Say

San Fernando Valley and Hollywood secession leaders told a debate audience Monday night that breaking up Los Angeles is necessary because all other attempts to reform city government have failed.

But Assemblyman Bob Hertzberg (D-Sherman Oaks), one of the secession opponents appearing at the USC debate, said a borough system should be tried because it would provide more local control without the downsides of a municipal divorce.

“You don’t know what you’re going to create at the end of the day” with secession, said Hertzberg, standing beside a map that showed how Los Angeles could be carved into nine boroughs.

Richard Katz, Valley Independence Committee chairman, said similar proposals for reform over the years went nowhere. He called the charter changes adopted three years ago “reform-lite.”

“People have petitioned their government to respond to their concerns and that has fallen on deaf ears,” Katz said.

Hertzberg’s debating partner on the anti-secession side, City Council President Alex Padilla, responded to Katz, saying “the structure of government isn’t driving secession so much as the desire for better city services.”

“Ninety percent of what I hear from people supporting the breakup of the city is about service delivery,” Padilla said. “A new leadership at City Hall is improving services.”

He also said the neighborhood councils created as part of the charter reforms “allow people a formal voice to participate in city government.”

But Katz said a smaller government promised by the Nov. 5 secession measures is the only real solution. “You talk about governance as if it has nothing to do with delivering services,” he said to Padilla.

Hollywood Independence Committee Chairman Gene La Pietra, who joined Katz in speaking for secession, said the city has neglected Hollywood for 75 years, treating the area like a colony.

“Hollywood is a poorly managed regional resource” for Los Angeles, La Pietra said.

Monday’s university-sponsored debate drew about 150 people to USC’s Town and Gown.

The City Council in July voted against putting Hertzberg’s borough plan on the ballot as an alternative to secession. On Monday, Hertzberg said he will form a group after leaving office in December to study potential new forms of government for the city, including boroughs.

The former Assembly speaker said he wants to eventually get a borough plan before voters but doubts one would be ready in time for the March 2003 election.

“It should be revived if secession doesn’t succeed,” he said. “I do believe the borough system is the future of Los Angeles.”

Meanwhile, the money-strapped Valley secession campaign stepped up its use of e-mail to spread its message citywide. Conventional mailers have proved too expensive for the campaign.

Valley VOTE President Jeff Brain said secession supporters will forward the latest “e-mailer” to an estimated 20,000 voters. “It’s a different way of reaching voters, but it is effective,” he said.

On the other side, the anti-secession group One Los Angeles announced Monday that it is distributing fliers to 90,000 voters.

The Democratic Party of the San Fernando Valley also is mailing more than 127,000 voting guides in the Valley, urging a “no” vote on secession.

Another anti-secession recommendation came from the American Jewish Committee on Monday. The committee announced its opposition to Measure F, the Valley secession proposal, saying it would not address the need across Los Angeles for better city services.

“The consensus was that splitting the city apart really just creates new layers of bureaucracy and doesn’t solve the problems,” said Rabbi Gary Greenebaum, the committee’s western regional director.

Also Monday, Valley city council candidate Frank Sheftel filed a small-claims action against Mayor James K. Hahn, accusing him of misrepresentation and fraud and “intentional infliction of emotional and financial distress.”

The candidate for the proposed 12th District filed the case in Van Nuys Court. He contended the city improperly spent $40,000 on a senior citizens fair Saturday that featured anti-secession literature and speeches..

Hahn said the fair was not a political event, even though his campaign passed out the anti-secession literature.

In another development, Valley council candidate Scott Svonkin acknowledged that he no longer works as an aide to Assemblyman Paul Koretz (D-West Hollywood). Svonkin, who is running for the 14th District seat, said he left the staff voluntarily but wouldn’t say why.