VALLEY HOPEFULS IN CITY RACES SECESSION DRIVE SPARKING FURTHER POLITICAL ASPIRATIONS.

Byline: Harrison Sheppard Staff Writer

The secession election pumped up San Fernando Valley activists to the extent that a dozen of them are running in the March 4 primary for Los Angeles City Council.

``People have been energized,'' said Richard Close, a leader of the secession effort and head of the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Association. ``Candidates have been out in the communities the last few months. They're familiar with the issues; they're familiar with what the public wants.''

A total of 111 people ran for Valley mayor and city council in the secession election last week when a majority of Valley voters opted for independence while voters citywide blocked it by 2-to-1.

In the election next March, seven of the 15 Los Angeles City Council seats will be on the ballot as well as four spots on the Board of Education and four on the Los Angeles Community College District's Board of Trustees.

In the Northwest Valley - a secession stronghold - half the 10 candidates in the March 4 race for Los Angeles City Council ran for Valley city offices. Among the more prominent names in the spring campaign to succeed Councilman Hal Bernson - forced out by term limits - are former Assemblywoman Paula Boland, Bernson deputy Greig Smith, school board member Julie Korenstein and Northridge activist Walter Prince.

The East Valley seat being vacated by Councilwoman Ruth Galanter - also due to term limits - has attracted a number of hopefuls, including Assemblyman Tony Cardenas, D-Mission Hills, and a host of secession candidates including Jose Roy Garcia, Noel DeGaetano and Jose Bonilla.

A total of 44 people are seeking seven council seats in the March primary. In addition to the dozen secession candidates from the Valley, one person who ran for Hollywood city council last week is also seeking a Los Angeles Council seat: attorney Michael Ackerman, one of three people challenging incumbent Councilman Tom LaBonge.

Also, one secession candidate is seeking a Los Angeles Unified School District board seat, and six secessionists are seeking spots on the college district's board of trustees.

In the race for City Council in the 8th District, incumbent Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas on Tuesday endorsed former police Chief Bernard C. Parks to be his successor.

``I consider Bernard Parks to be a man of faith, values, energy and vision,'' said Ridley-Thomas, who was recently elected to the Assembly. ``He is an honorable man, a man with a strong work ethic and a man who has proven himself to be worthy of the 8th District's leadership mantle.''

The race on Los Angeles' Eastside has already turned nasty, as a supporter of incumbent Councilman Nick Pacheco has mailed out at least two harsh fliers against candidate Antonio Villaraigosa, the former Assembly speaker and 2001 mayoral candidate.

The fliers, sent by Pacheco supporter Ricardo Torres, accuse Villaraigosa of being a womanizer and make other personal attacks.

Villaraigosa has filed complaints with the city Ethics Commission and the District Attorney's Office, claiming the fliers were not true independent expenditures because he believes they were linked to the Pacheco campaign.