CITYHOOD COMMISSION REJECTS CONFLICT CLAIM.

Byline: - Harrison Sheppard

The county commssion overseeing the San Fernando Valley cityhood study flatly rejected Wednesday anti-secessionists' claim that the agency's executive director is biased and has a conflict of interest.

The Valley-based One Los Angeles said Larry Calemine, executive director of the Local Agency Formation Commission, should not deal with the issue because he played a role in secession efforts in the 1970s and belongs to a group that contributed to efforts to get the cityhood study.

``As long as Mr. Calemine remains in control of this process, there will remain a perception of bias that will call into question the integrity of the entire process,'' One Los Angeles co-founder Larry Levine, a political consultant who frequently runs city election campaigns, wrote in a letter to LAFCO.

During the commission's meeting Wednesday, Calemine denounced the criticism, saying he has no conflict and has tried to be unbiased on the issue.

He is a board member of VALPAC, a Valley-based political action group which contributed $6,000 to Valley Voters Organized Toward Empowerment - the group that led the campaign for LAFCO to conduct a public study of Valley cityhood.

Calemine said he was not involved in the decision to make the contribution.

``I recuse myself from all VALPAC meetings with Valley VOTE representatives,'' Calemine said. ``I did not donate a single dollar to Valley VOTE.''

According to VALPAC members, the contribution was in support of the LAFCO study and did not indicate support for secession.

Assistant County Counsel John Krattli, who advises LAFCO, said Calemine has no legal conflict. After the meeting, several commission members said they defer to Krattli's judgment and do not believe Calemine has a conflict.

In the 1970s, Calemine was assistant treasurer of a pro-secession group called CIVICC - Committee Investigating Valley Independent City/County.