Secession Backers Plan Statewide Vote

Frustrated by their ever-shifting fortunes in Sacramento, proponents of San Fernando Valley secession legislation are drawing up a plan to take their case directly to voters with a statewide initiative that would eliminate the veto power of city councils over secession.

Assemblyman Bob Hertzberg (D-Sherman Oaks) said he and Assemblyman Tom McClintock (R-Northridge), coauthors of Valley secession legislation, will iron out details this weekend.

While a final decision has not been made, there is already a working title for the initiative--the Local Government Independence Act--sources said.

The McClintock-Hertzberg bill suffered a key setback in Sacramento this week after being amended with what some say is a “poison pill” stipulation that could hinder its chances of passage.

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That amendment makes proposed changes in municipal secession law applicable statewide, while the McClintock-Hertzberg bill applied to Los Angeles only.

Some fear the statewide application would kill the bill’s chances because legislators outside Los Angeles would worry about its impact on their cities.

A statewide initiative would put McClintock and Hertzberg in the drivers’ seat instead of powerful state Senate President Pro Tem Bill Lockyer (D-Hayward), whose mixed messages have left proponents unsure of his commitment.

“An initiative changes the table stakes,” Hertzberg said. “It changes the negotiations.”

In response, Lockyer said the initiative strategy “seems like an odd thing to do when you are on the verge of victory.”

Moreover, trying to pressure legislators with the threat of an initiative very likely would have the opposite effect. “That would probably cause the immediate death of the bill,” Lockyer said.

One appeal of an initiative, however, is that it gives backers a chance to write the law they want, rather than having to settle for compromises over such issues as who would vote on secession.

As it stands now, for instance, McClintock and Hertzberg acceded to Lockyer and others by agreeing to a citywide vote on secession, rather than limiting the vote to the area seeking to leave Los Angeles.

McClintock was attending a policy seminar Friday and could not be reached for comment.

He and Hertzberg on Friday attended an emergency strategy session of Valley VOTE, a group supporting secession legislation. The plan was discussed at the session.

“We are weighing all our options,” said Scott Wilk, McClintock’s chief of staff.

The secession bill was amended over the authors’ objections Wednesday by a state Senate committee. It is the latest setback in the legislation’s erratic history.

When then-Assemblywoman Paula L. Boland introduced the bill last year, it was given virtually no chance of success. But after several swings of the pendulum, it made it all the way to the Senate, where Lockyer killed it in a Senate committee.

After McClintock and Hertzberg--and even Lockyer--took up the cause this year, the effort seemed to be headed for success. Then Los Angeles lawmakers such as state Sen. Richard Polanco (D-Los Angeles), who objects to any bill that could divide the city, weighed in.

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Lockyer upset backers of the legislation by putting Polanco on the policy committee that amended the McClintock-Hertzberg bill.

Proponents believe voters around the state could be sold on the idea of self-determination.

The co-chairman of Valley VOTE, Sherman Oaks homeowner leader Richard Close, confirmed that his group may be involved in launching an initiative, though he still hopes the Legislature will enact the bill.

An initiative is “something that will be done if necessary,” Close said.

Close compared the current situation in the Valley to the days leading to Proposition 13, an initiative he helped put on the ballot after state legislators failed to respond to complaints about high property taxes.

While that law was ruled constitutional, Lockyer noted how many other initiative measures are poorly drafted and spend years in protracted and often successful court challenges to their legality.

But, he said, using the initiative process “is their right and I respect it. . . . They certainly are capable of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.”