EDITORIAL SECESSION PERSPECTIVES.

THE mayor and City Council of the city of San Fernando have come out against independence for their Valley neighbors in the city of Los Angeles. And if their stated objections, and not the pressure of Democratic Party politics, are their motivation, then they raise an important point

The city of San Fernando's population is overwhelmingly Latino. Its city leaders are concerned about the L.A. Valley's Latino residents and whether their interests are being looked out for in the secession movement.

Fair enough. Even though 61 percent of Valley Latinos back secession, according to polls, there's little doubt that Valley independence leaders could do a better job of showing how cityhood would benefit all Valley residents as well as all of Los Angeles by empowering neighborhoods to be able to balance the power of downtown special interests.

But then, there's good reason to be concerned about how Angelenos, Vals in particular, fare under City Hall.

Former Associate Justice of the California Supreme Court Armand Arabian expressed how many Valley residents feel when he declared himself a secession supporter.

``The key to this issue is in the spelling,'' said Arabian. ``To Valley residents, it's San Fernando; to the uninformed, it's San Fernanduh and to the downtown elite, it's San Fernandough.''