SURVEY DISPELS SECESSION AS 'WHITE FLIGHT'.

Byline: Harrison Sheppard Staff Writer

Far more San Fernando Valley residents believe the quality of life and police services would improve if the area became an independent city than those who believe they would get worse, a new poll says.

Key findings of the poll, conducted by SurveyUSA for KABC-TV (Channel 7), were broadcast Friday and reported in Saturday's Daily News but a more in-depth look shows most Valley residents who have formed an opinion look favorably on cityhood.

The poll also dispelled a criticism of Valley secession that it is a reflection of a type of ``white flight'' - an effort led by white suburban activists who want to abandon the problems of the inner city.

Political groups representing Latinos, in particular, have been critical of the whole movement.

But the poll found that support among Valley Latinos was 63 percent - even higher than in the white and overall Valley population, which supported it by 59 percent.

Richard Close, chairman of Valley Voters Organized Toward Empowerment, said it confirms what the group found during its initial petition drive, which was that Latinos - who slightly outnumber non-Hispanic whites in the Valley - supported the drive in higher percentages than other groups.

It also shows, Close said, that Latino politicians who oppose secession such as Council President Alex Padilla ``are out of touch with the Latino public.''

But Padilla said his experience has been that Latinos, along with all residents, are most interested in how the city will improve its services, and said support for secession dries up when people examine the details.

``My experience has been people may entertain the idea of secession on the surface level, but once the important issues come up about whether or not taxes are going to go up, fiscal viability, who's going to police the streets, where the water and energy will come from ... the support goes way down.''

The poll's main finding was that 59 percent of adults in Valley support secession - almost twice the percentage who oppose it. Citywide, the poll found that 43 percent of adults citywide support Valley secession and 48 oppose it. Valley cityhood is tentatively scheduled for a vote on Nov. 5. For it to pass, a simple majority of voters both in the Valley and citywide must approve.

Secession supporters and opponents both said they think the other has been more successful in getting their messages out, and say now is the time to begin counterattacking.

Mayor James Hahn, a secession opponent, believes the debate has been ``pretty one-sided'' so far, said his spokeswoman, Julie Wong. ``Now he's going to get involved and tell people why he thinks the city should stay together.''

Three months ago, Hahn formed an anti-secession campaign committee called L.A. United which has since raised $30,000.

Secession supporters have yet to start their own campaign organization. Valley VOTE as a nonprofit organization has been working to support a study of cityhood and to get the issue on the ballot, but is not legally a campaign organization.

Secessionists intend to launch a citywide grass-roots campaign, said Valley VOTE board member Richard Katz, a former state assemblyman. The pitch will be that after secession, the entire city will have better service, not just the Valley.

``If the Valley becomes independent, south of Mulholland gets better representation as well, in terms of smaller council districts,'' Katz said.

Several poll answers indicate that part of the work for both sides will be to dispel several commonly held misconceptions about Valley cityhood.

For example, 53 percent of Valley residents think the schools will improve if the Valley becomes its own city. In fact, Valley cityhood does not involve the school system at all, and Los Angeles Unified School District would remain the second-largest district in the nation, although the Valley might be in a better position to get its own district if it were a separate city. The State Board of Education last year killed an effort to break up LAUSD.

Calabasas Republican political consultant Arnold Steinberg said a separate Valley city council and mayor could have the power to exert political influence over the district.

``We continue to have tremendous confusion between the school system and the city system,'' said Steinberg, who has advised secessionists in the past. ``Having said that, while the two are distinct, the fact of the matter is they are related in terms of politics and pressure.''

Another misconception reflected in the poll was that 27 percent of homeowners thought their property taxes would go up if the Valley became a city. But under state law, taxes cannot increase unless approved by the voters. Generally, under the current cityhood proposal taxes would stay the same unless voters in the new city approved tax hikes.

Other poll results for Valley residents:

--Do you think your quality of life would improve or get worse if the Valley became its own city: Improve, 38 percent; get worse, 14 percent; stay the same, 43 percent; not sure, 5 percent.

--Do you think public safety would improve or get worse: Improve, 51 percent; get worse, 15 percent; stay the same, 30 percent; not sure, 5 percent.

--Do you think your property taxes would go up or down: Up, 27 percent; down, 10 percent; stay the same, 28 percent; not sure, 35 percent.

--Do you think public schools in the Valley would improve or get worse: Improve, 53 percent; get worse, 15 percent; stay the same, 29 percent; not sure, 4 percent.