RIORDAN, VOTE DEBATE CITY REFORMS; MAYOR BALKS AT SUPPORTING GROUP'S PETITION DRIVE.

Byline: David R. Baker Daily News Staff Writer

Meeting for the first time Wednesday, Mayor Richard Riordan and the group exploring San Fernando Valley cityhood agreed on the need to reform Los Angeles city government but clashed over how to do it.

Riordan told the executive board of Valley Voters Organized Toward Empowerment that the cure to Los Angeles' ills lies in rewriting the municipal charter and giving his office more power - not secession.

Members of Valley VOTE, which recently launched a petition drive calling for a public study of Valley cityhood, argued that charter reform would never happen without the threat of secession.

By the end of the meeting, neither side seemed convinced. Although supporting in principle the right to explore secession, Riordan did not endorse the group's petition drive.

``The reality is, this group is taking the steps for secession,'' Riordan said.

He also said the group should have paid for its own study of secession before starting its petition drive, which calls on a government commission to conduct the research. Under state law, such a study must be conducted by the Local Agency Formation Commission before the issue can go before voters.

``Why didn't you do the study before you got signatures?'' he asked.

Although Riordan has long opposed fragmenting the city he leads, Valley VOTE leaders had hoped Wednesday's meeting at Galpin Ford would help them find common ground. Chairman Richard Close introduced Riordan by noting that they share the fundamental goal of restructuring Los Angeles.

``All of us in this room are working very hard for the same thing,'' he said. ``We may disagree on the details, but we are united in that goal.''

He also praised the mayor's efforts to reform the charter, the blueprint for Los Angeles government.

``Whatever happens with Valley cityhood, we need a new charter for the city of Los Angeles, whether it's our city or the city on the other side of Mulholland,'' Close said.

They also found agreement on some surprising topics. At one point, Riordan said the many communities within Los Angeles might have been better off had they not been welded into a single city.

``If L.A. had not been put together a hundred years ago, we would be better off as a collection of small cities - smaller is better,'' he said.

But he quickly added that breaking apart an existing metropolis would be foolish.

``If you're already in a big city, I don't think it will work,'' he said.

Secession, Riordan said, would not free the Valley from big-city problems, since an independent Valley would still be immense.

Despite that opposition, VOTE members pressed Riordan to support their petition drive. Although the group officially supports only a secession study - not secession itself - they argued that the credible threat of secession will force other city officials to take reform seriously.

``Shouldn't you be supporting this effort to keep the pressure on for charter reform?'' asked VOTE legal adviser John Isen.

``I think we should all support this democratic process,'' Riordan replied.

But when Isen pressed Riordan further on the petition drive, noting VOTE's neutral position on secession itself, the mayor balked.

``You've thrown me a tough one,'' he said. ``If we took a secret ballot of everyone in this room, I think the majority would be in favor of secession.''

After the meeting, he told a group of reporters that although he had no objection to a secession study, using a petition drive to trigger it could generate momentum for secession.

``Once these other steps are taken, they'll have a life of their own,'' he said.

CAPTION(S):

Photo

PHOTO Mayor Richard Riordan speaks during a meeting of Valley VOTE on Wednesday.

Tom Mendoza/Daily News