OPINIONS UNCHANGED IN LATEST POLL VALLEYITES STILL FAVOR SPLIT, CITYWIDE VOTE STILL OPPOSES IT.

Byline: James Nash Staff Writer

Support for San Fernando Valley cityhood remains strong among Valley voters but opposition to secession citywide remains equally solid, according to an independent poll released Wednesday.

The public opinion survey, conducted by SurveyUSA for KABC (Channel 7) ``Eyewitness News,'' suggests that opinions on secession have barely budged despite intense anti-secession advertising and stepped-up campaigning by candidates for Valley city offices.

With the Nov. 5 election less than two weeks away, the third poll by SurveyUSA showed voter sentiment has changed little since August. Polls by the Los Angeles Times which has long opposed secession have suggested opposition to Valley cityhood is growing.

``This campaign started out with a large component of the electorate against secession,'' said Fred Bierman, SurveyUSA's polling editor. ``It appears to be the case that Valley VOTE hasn't been able to change their minds, at least this far. We're getting close to the election, though.''

Richard Katz, co-chairman of the Valley Independence Committee, called the poll numbers encouraging when viewed against the backdrop of relentless anti-secession advertising.

``The onslaught of the mayor's money hasn't influenced many people,'' Katz said. ``When you consider the fact that we're being bombarded by millions of dollars of special-interest advertising, the results are very good.''

The poll of 555 seldentified likely voters in the Valley shows support for cityhood at 58 percent, up 1 percent from polls issued on Aug. 9 and Oct. 2. The new poll measured opposition in the Valley at 39 percent.

A separate poll of 540 likely voters citywide, including the Valley, found support for secession at 40 percent, the same as Aug. 9 but down a statistically insignificant 3 percent from Oct. 2. Citywide, 57 percent of likely voters indicated that they oppose secession.

The polls had margins of error of 4.4 percentage points citywide and 4.3 percentage points in the Valley.

Anti-secession leaders criticized the language of the poll question. The poll asked whether the Valley should ``become its own incorporated city'' or ``remain a part of the city of Los Angeles.'' The actual ballot language is more complex, including references to the financial terms of the split.

``It's oversimplifying a terribly complex ballot measure,'' Larry Levine, co-chairman of One Los Angeles, said of the poll question. ``This question of secession is a terribly complex question that has voters thinking very deeply about it.''

Bierman defended the poll's language, noting that most likely voters in Los Angeles already are familiar with the secession issue and don't need a detailed explanation of Measure F.

The KABC poll did not address the question of Hollywood secession, Measure H, which also is on the Nov. 5 ballot.

Gene La Pietra, leader of the Hollywood secession campaign, said the numbers validate the strategies of secessionists in both Hollywood and the Valley.

``Our campaign has again confounded the experts,'' La Pietra said.

La Pietra and Katz said the poll numbers point to the need for a strong voter turnout in the Valley and Hollywood to counter opposition to secession in other parts of the city.

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SOURCE: SurveyUSA