HAHN TO SECESSIONISTS: `DON'T KILL L.A. DREAM'.

Byline: Rick Orlov Staff Writer

NORTH HILLS - Mayor James Hahn turned his State of the City address Thursday into the kickoff of his campaign against secession, accusing breakup movements of threatening to destroy ``this ... city that dreams are made of.''

Speaking to an audience of some 1,000 officials, supporters and students at James Monroe High School, Hahn said the city is strong and vibrant despite the challenges of a slowing economy for the past year and the Sept. 11 attacks.

The bigger challenges facing the city now, Hahn declared, are the secession drives in the San Fernando Valley, Hollywood and Harbor areas.

``I want to talk seriously about the movement to break our city apart,'' Hahn said from a stage before a large purple, blue and white banner proclaiming, ``Neighborhoods are Los Angeles.''

``We must defend this city from the empty talk of secessionists with straight talk about what a breakup would really mean to all of us. There would be no more Hollywood, San Fernando Valley or San Pedro as we know them. The one-sided sound bite message of secession supporters must and will be answered with the truth.''

Hahn has formed a political action committee that already has raised some $2 million to campaign against the measure if it is on the Nov. 5 ballot as expected and put political consultant Bill Carrick, whose strategies got Hahn elected and twice got former Mayor Richard Riordan elected, in charge.

Creating new cities would not break up the Los Angeles Unified School District, Hahn said, nor would it improve services because the new cities would have to contract from Los Angeles for police, fire and other services, at least initially.

``In fact, services will have to be reduced if the new city struggles financially. The reality is that a breakup will create more bureaucracy, more politicians, fewer resources and diminished services. Secession is not a solution. Working together to fulfill our dreams, meet our shared goals - that's the solution.''

Richard Close and Jeff Brain, leaders of the Valley Voters Organized Toward Empowerment group that pushed for a public study of Valley cityhood, disputed Hahn's views.

``Once again, the mayor has not given us even one reason that the city should stay as one city,'' Close said. ``The mayor, since July 1, promised us changes but has not delivered on his promises.

``If you look at what he's done, all we've heard is promises and if you look at the Valley, it is not substantially different today than it was last July 1 when he took office.''

Close said only a relative handful of advisory neighborhood councils have been formed, with little real power, and crime has continued to rise while Hahn has been embroiled in the dispute over Police Chief Bernard C. Parks, who lost his bid for a second term at Hahn's urging.

As for the issue of a school district breakup, Close said it is something that new cities in the Valley, Hollywood and Harbor could pursue more effectively than the city of Los Angeles.

``It will be a logical extension of a new city.''

Brain, too, criticized Hahn's effort.

``We would welcome straight talk,'' Brain said. ``We don't believe we've seen that so far. The mayor talks about contracting for city services, that's only for an 18-month transition period. After that, we could go on our own.''

Former Rep. Bobbi Fiedler, a longtime supporter of an independent Valley, said Hahn will prove to be a formidable opponent. ``I haven't seen anyone on the pro-secession side who offers the presence and arguments that he does.''

What is important for the city, Hahn said, is to make sure every neighborhood begins to feel it is getting its fair share.

Hahn also used the speech to discuss his accomplishments of the past year as well as to reflect on the need for police reform - without mentioning Parks by name - and what he expects from the Los Angeles Police Department and a new chief.

``We must build a Police Department that not only protects but also respects every community in Los Angeles, led by a Police Commission that understands its role as an overseer of the department,'' Hahn said.

``And I call on the police union to join with the new chief to shatter the police culture within the department that has blocked reform for so long. We will build a new culture within the LAPD that is founded on community trust.

``To our next police chief and to every police officer, I say that there can be no more Ramparts, no more code of silence and no more scandals,'' Hahn said, in a reference to the Rampart Division case in which anti-gang officers were implicated in wrongdoing.

During his first 10 months in office, Hahn said, he has attempted to focus on neighborhoods and make city government responsive.

``To strengthen each neighborhood is to strengthen the whole city, to make the dreams of every Angeleno possible. To do that, my priorities for Los Angeles are to make every neighborhood safe, to make them enriching for our kids and attractive to business, to give every neighborhood its fair share.''

Hahn acknowledged the rise in crime - particularly violent and gang crimes - and said he is doing what he can to hire more officers and improve morale with a flexible work schedule and speeding up the hiring process.

The mayor said the city has been challenged economically through a national recession and the impact of the terrorist attacks.

Hahn said there are signs of an economic rebound through a return to tourism and programs that encourage residents to shop and do business within Los Angeles.

Also, he said he has pushed efforts to speed up work on projects that are funded through voter-approved bonds and is working with his business team to attract new firms and work with others to expand while pushing to reform the city's business tax.

Throughout his speech, Hahn referred to film director Billy Wilder, who recently died, and who had made Los Angeles his home after emigrating from Austria.

``In every joke and every dramatic moment, Billy Wilder saw Los Angeles for what it is - a city of beauty, individuality and inspiration,'' Hahn said.

``This is the city that dreams are made of, and I will not let our dream be destroyed.''

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Photo:

Mayor James Hahn laughs with a supporter after delivering his annual State of the City address to a gathering of 1,000 at James Monroe High in North Hills.

Tina Burch/Staff Photographer