Hahn Calls Valley Safer and More Business-Friendly

Addressing an audience crucial to his reelection, Los Angeles Mayor James K. Hahn said in his annual “State of the Valley” speech Wednesday that the San Fernando Valley was a better place to do business because crime was down, business taxes had been cut and neighborhoods had easier access to city services.

Hahn’s upbeat assessment less than six weeks before the March 8 election was delivered to about 150 business leaders at an event sponsored by the Valley Industry and Commerce Assn.

The speech provided Hahn with a high-profile opportunity to make his case to Valley leaders for another term. The Valley played a critical role in his 2001 election as Hahn won 55% of the vote there, a slightly higher margin than he received citywide. The Valley made up 42% of the electorate four years ago.

But in this election, Hahn faces challenges from two veteran Valley politicians: former Assembly speaker Bob Hertzberg from Sherman Oaks and state Sen. Richard Alarcon from Sun Valley.

During his speech at the Airtel Plaza Hotel in Van Nuys, Hahn touted a 14% drop in violent crime citywide last year and a 19% decline in auto thefts in the Valley as signs that he and Police Chief William J. Bratton were making Valley streets safer.

“My administration has been and is focusing on making the Valley safe, economically viable, and a great place to live and raise a family,” Hahn said.

The mayor also claimed victory on a pledge he had made to the Valley business association more than a year ago to adopt major business tax reforms.

In November, Hahn signed a law that exempted 61% of the firms in Los Angeles from the city’s business taxes and that will phase in reductions that will eventually slash levies by $92 million annually.

The measure eliminated the gross receipts tax for about 130,000 companies that make $100,000 or less in a year and gradually cut taxes by up to 15% for all other businesses.

Hahn also said he has given Valley neighborhoods more say in city government by including them in setting budget priorities, giving each neighborhood council $50,000 annually for local needs and setting up mini-city halls so residents do not have to drive downtown for services.

“These new neighborhood councils will make sure City Hall understands the Valley’s needs,” Hahn said.

Hahn has sometimes had a stormy relationship with the Valley business association.

“We have occasionally disagreed with the mayor,” said association Chairman Martin M. Cooper, who runs a public relations and marketing firm.

In 2002, the association went against the mayor’s wishes and voted to support San Fernando Valley cityhood. Hahn was campaigning hard against secession.

Hahn put off a “State of the Valley” speech before the association in November of that year, but did deliver it a month later, after the secession measure had been defeated.

The association also stood up to the mayor last year, opposing key elements of his $11-billion plan to modernize Los Angeles International Airport.

Hahn was supposed to deliver the “State of the Valley” speech last Dec. 9 at the Sheraton Universal during the Valley association’s annual membership meeting but canceled, citing illness.

Cooper said that the business tax reform was a “positive step” but that overall, the state of the Valley was mixed. “It’s slowly and marginally better,” Cooper said. “We still need more public safety personnel and attention to infrastructure.”

Other mayoral candidates offered dissenting views.

“The promises made during the anti-secession campaign have gone largely unfulfilled,” said Alarcon, who attended the speech. “The Valley still has far too few police officers on the streets. The high school dropout rate is abysmal. Valley communities are having trouble getting city services.”

Alarcon disputed Hahn’s contention that the neighborhood councils had a meaningful role in city government.

Hertzberg accused Hahn of paying “lip service” to the Valley without improving services. “The state of the Valley is that the Valley needs a new mayor,” he said.

Ace Smith, a campaign consultant for Councilman Antonio Villaraigosa, also challenged the mayor’s rosy assessment.

“If the mayor was giving an accurate speech it would be called ‘State of the Valley: Neglected,’ ” Smith said.

In an indirect attack on three of his major rivals, Hahn said he improved services although “Sacramento politicians” had withheld money from the city to solve the state’s budget problems.

He also complained that the council has taken too long to adopt ethics reforms that he proposed last April. Those include a ban on city contractors raising money for candidates.