BREAKAWAY 'BURBS; FROM VALLEY TO SAN PEDRO, CITYHOOD DRIVES HEAT UP.

Byline: Patrick McGreevy and Rick Orlov Daily News Staff Writers

A day after the governor signed a right-to-secede bill, Valley activists held a rally Monday to map out their campaign for cityhood while one Los Angeles city councilman formally broke ranks to launch a secession drive in the Harbor area.

City Councilman Rudy Svorinich Jr. of San Pedro said he is appointing two secession committees - one for San Pedro and one for Wilmington - to spearhead the effort and vowed to coordinate with the Valley to win the breakup of Los Angeles.

``By teaming up with the San Fernando Valley, the Harbor area can leverage its collective voting base,'' said Svorinich, noting that the Valley and Harbor areas will need a majority vote citywide to gain the breakup.

Similar discussions were under way Monday in Venice, Hollywood, Westchester and other areas where community leaders believe voter discontent is high.

All of the communities have representatives in the Alliance for Self Determination, a coalition of two dozen communities.

``What we're going to do is regroup and evaluate what we have to do now,'' said Sal Grammatico, a secession leader in the Westchester/Venice area.

Those unhappy with City Hall hope to force the city's power brokers to give outlying areas more attention and services.

``Maybe the folks downtown will get the message,'' said Richard Close, president of the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Association and co-chairman of Valley VOTE, which led the fight to end City Council veto power over secession.

``I hope the mayor and council will make it really attractive for the Valley to stay in Los Angeles,'' he said.

On Monday, Valley community and business leaders celebrated the signing of the legislation and planned to draw up the map of a new Valley city and start-up of a petition drive in January.

``This is not going to be an easy fight,'' said Assemblyman Tom McClintock, R-Granada Hills, a co-sponsor of the secession bill with Assemblyman Bob Hertzberg, D-Van Nuys. ``Power is never relinquished easily. But this is still a democracy.

``What happened yesterday is a reaffirmation of what we know is in the Declaration of Independence . . . the right of self-determination,'' he said.

Svorinich said he believes a majority of the 130,000 residents living in the San Pedro and Wilmington areas support breaking away from Los Angeles.

Community activist Herb Zimmer of San Pedro agreed, saying: ``We're 24 miles from downtown and half the time it seems we're 1,000 miles from the seat of power.''

He said communities neglected by City Hall will have more leverage now.

``I think any area that threatens to break away will get more attention from City Hall now,'' Zimmer said. ``Whether secession succeeds or not, at least we may be able to get some of the local control we are lacking.''

Close said the Valley wants its fair share of tax revenue and services and a stronger voice in city government.

He noted charter reform is scheduled to go on the ballot in 1999, the year before secessionists hope to have a ballot measure on detachment.

``If both the commissions fail to do anything meaningful, it will tell the voters we have no choice but to secede,'' Close said.

Sherry Bebitch Jeffe, a political science professor at Claremont Graduate School for Politics and Policy, said the threat of secession may spur the reform panels.

``The reason they exist was to try to head off secession,'' Jeffe said. ``This puts more pressure on them to come up with something significant. It also puts pressure on the mayor and City Council to make sure the Valley gets what it feels it deserves. All this could get very dicey and pit one part of the city against another.''

George Kieffer, who is chairman of the Charter Reform Commission appointed by the City Council, said the new legislation will get people involved in charter reform who previously sat on the sidelines.

``The secession bill puts a brighter spotlight on charter reform,'' Kieffer said. ``It will draw greater attention to the issue. I think that's terrific.''

Secession movements will have a major impact on the city, analysts said.

``This has the potential for being extremely divisive,'' said Democratic political consultant Joe Cerrell. ``This is not like cutting off your arm. It's cutting off your arm and a leg.

``I know the people in the Valley are tired of footing the bills for other (areas') services - be it police, fire or education. This will become a real wedge issue - one of the hottest issues on the future of this city as it ends this century.''

The key to success will be who steps forward to back the drive, said Democratic consultant Richard Lichtenstein.

``This is a very tangible and reachable goal,'' Lichtenstein said. ``The tell-tale sign will be who steps to the plate to finance this and what some of the larger institutions do to respond to this.''

Don Lippman, a Hollywood activist, said the Valley has a lot of clout now.

``If the Valley becomes the major voting block in a city election, it could win the right to detach because of its overwhelming numbers,'' he said. ``This is going to be a one-shot deal, and it's going to be a real fight from those who don't want to see the Valley secede.''