PACHECO FORMS ANTI-SPLIT GROUP PACHECO RALLIES MOSTLY MINORITIES TO BATTLE SECESSION.

Byline: Harrison Sheppard Staff Writer

City Councilman Nick Pacheco has formed a campaign committee to persuade voters in his Eastside council district to vote against San Fernando Valley cityhood, he said Thursday.

The group, called One L.A. for Everyone, or OLE, will work to raise money and convince voters in Pacheco's mostly Latino district that Valley secession will be bad for them because it will result in less state and federal funds for programs such as affordable housing and anti-gang efforts, he said.

``I don't like the idea that people are trying to court the minority vote by trying to convince them they'll be a bigger fish in a smaller pond,'' Pacheco said. ``My viewpoint is it's meaningless to tell the minority community that you're going to have a bigger spoon, but there's going to be less food on your plate. That's how I look at it.''

Secessionists have argued that the same proportional level of federal and state funds will still flow to the remaining Los Angeles because even losing 1.35 million people, it will be the nation's third-largest city and still the largest in California.

Advocates of a Valley city also argue that minority communities would have more representative government in a smaller city through reduced population in each council district.

Although most of the Los Angeles City Council members are against secession, Pacheco is the first councilman to form a committee to work against it. Pacheco also is running for re-election in March and may face a tough challenge from former Assembly Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa, who lost the mayoral race last year but is now mulling a council run.

Also, Mayor James Hahn today is expected to announce anti-secession endorsements from three groups representing minority businesses.

Hahn will hold a news conference at a Sun Valley business to announce support from the Asian Business League, the Greater Los Angeles African American Chamber of Commerce and the Latin Business Association.

Earlier, at 9 a.m. today, Hahn was scheduled to be on Spanish-language radio station KLVE (107.5 FM) to take questions from the public. Although he knows a little Spanish, he will speak in English with a Spanish translator, aides said.