BACKUP BREAKUP PLAN EYED VALLEY-ONLY VOTE GOAL OF NEW EFFORT.

Byline: James Nash Staff Writer

GRANADA HILLS - State Sen. Tom McClintock and several candidates for San Fernando Valley city council vowed Wednesday to vigorously fight any move by Mayor James Hahn to prevent cityhood from returning to the ballot if voters reject it in November.

McClintock, R-Thousand Oaks, and the Valley candidates said they would push for a statewide referendum or legislation for a Valley-only election on cityhood. Measure F on the Nov. 5 ballot requires that a majority of voters in the Valley and in all of Los Angeles approve secession.

At a Granada Hills news conference, McClintock and several Valley candidates denounced Hahn for saying he would seek a law barring new cityhood ``for a reasonable amount of time'' if Measure F fails.

``Democracy is a messy business,'' said Robert Lamishaw, a candidate for the Valley council in the Winnetka area. ``It's really sort of a shame that Mayor Hahn can't be bothered with the democratic process.''

Some Valley candidates predicted that Hahn's comments - first reported in the Los Angeles Business Journal on Monday and elaborated on in the Daily News on Tuesday - would backfire on the anti-secession campaign.

Valley council candidate Paula Boland, who as a state assemblywoman sponsored legislation making the cityhood vote possible by stripping the City Council's veto power over a secession election, said Hahn's comments have energized supporters of the Valley city.

``It's a battle cry,'' Boland said. ``Here's 1.4 million people who want democracy; they just want the right to vote.''

Boland's bill died in the state Senate. Later, the measure passed after it was pushed by McClintock and former Assembly Speaker Bob Hertzberg, D-Van Nuys.

``For more than 20 years after democracy was stolen from Valley residents they dreamed of getting it back,'' Boland said. ``I cannot fathom that anyone would once again even consider hindering the principles on which our country was founded.''

Although McClintock and the council candidates insisted they are optimistic about a victory for Valley cityhood next month, they also began outlining a Plan B if secession fails.

McClintock said a scenario in which the Valley votes for independence but secession fails citywide would create sympathy for the Valley across California. Legislation or a statewide referendum supporting a Valley-only vote could succeed in such a climate, he said.

``If the Valley votes for independence and is thwarted citywide, that opens the specter of a community literally held against its will,'' McClintock said.

McClintock, a candidate for state controller, said if he remains in the Legislature he would support legislation allowing another secession attempt decided only by Valley residents.

And Boland said she would consider running for the Assembly again to champion such a measure.

In an interview, Kam Kuwata, Hahn's chief secession strategist, said the mayor has not made any formal proposals to prevent another secession election. But Kuwata said a never-ending cycle of secession elections would be costly and detract from more pressing concerns such as health care.

``What we know for certain is that these millions and millions of dollars were spent getting this on the ballot,'' Kuwata said. ``As far as I know, there's no attempt to prevent people from circulating petitions (for a cityhood measure).''

Kuwata said Hahn and other city leaders would strongly oppose attempts to limit voting on Valley cityhood to the Valley itself, since breaking away would also affect Los Angeles as a whole.

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