2002 LOCAL NEWS: SECESSION FAILS VALLEY'S EFFORTS REBUKED BY VOTERS.

Byline: Harrison Sheppard Staff Writer

For the San Fernando Valley secession movement, 2002 was the year of its greatest triumph and its greatest defeat.

After six years of work - and following stunted efforts in the 1960s and '70s - activists who proposed making the Valley a separate city managed to do what no other movement of this size has done in U.S. history: call an election on the question of breaking up a major American city.

In the end, however, the effort was overwhelmed by a massive coalition built by Los Angeles Mayor James Hahn, which raised more than $7 million to beat secession. Valley cityhood lost on Nov. 5 by a 2-1 ratio in the city overall but carried by a margin of 3,906 votes in the Valley itself.

``Clearly there was both joy and sorrow this year,'' said Richard Close, a leader of the effort. ``I think it was a very productive year for the San Fernando Valley. A majority of the residents in the Valley voted for a new city, in spite of being outspent.''

Larry Levine, a Sherman Oaks political consultant who worked to oppose secession, acknowledged the effort had value in provoking discussions about the city and its government that otherwise would not have occurred.

``It focused a lot of people on, not so much the perceived or alleged inequities of city government, but the style of how city government operates not just in the Valley but everywhere,'' he said. ``And that I think was important and long overdue.''

As the year began, there was uncertainty as to whether secession would make it onto the ballot in 2002.

The Local Agency Formation Commission worked under a tight deadline to study the financial issues and help the city and secessionists negotiate terms of the divorce, such as division of assets and ``alimony.'' Some LAFCO officials even considered delaying the election by two years, but the agency decided in May the measure was ready and placed it on the Nov. 5 ballot.

Under LAFCO's terms, the new city would protect Los Angeles from financial harm by paying it $127 million in the first year, decreasing to zero over a 20-year period. The Valley would keep most of the municipal assets located in the Valley, such as police stations and libraries.

The decision launched what ended up as a lopsided campaign.

The mayor's money, coupled with several strategic mistakes by secessionists and their failure to raise significant funds, doomed the effort but didn't entirely break their spirit.

Winning in the Valley was a consolation prize, one they used to justify continued political activism. Several new political groups sprouted from the secession election, and Valley activists say they plan to continue pushing for reform at City Hall.

They also talked of trying secession again someday, perhaps getting state lawmakers to establish a Valley-only vote in the future, or filing a lawsuit to overturn the non-Valley votes.

Hahn and other city officials said they heard secessionists' message and, even before the vote, launched efforts to bring city government closer to the people. Among them was a plan to establish a system of ``neighborhood city halls.''

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1) Myra Ferrant of Tarzana, left, and Jodell Hays of Studio City watched secession vote returns in Sherman Oaks. A majority of Valley residents voted to secede, but it lost.

Tina Burch/Staff Photographer

(2) Los Angeles Mayor James Hahn holds hands with his sister, City Councilwoman Janice Hahn and council President Alex Padilla to celebrate the secessionists' apparent defeat.

John Lazar/Staff Photographer