VOTERS SENT LOUD WAKE-UP CALL TO L.A. POLITICIANS.

Byline: Keith Richman 

AS the political dust settles throughout the city of Los Angeles, it is time to examine the impact of the campaign for Valley independence and its goal of improving the quality of life in the San Fernando Valley.

To begin, just having the opportunity to vote on Valley independence was itself a victory.

Measure F was the hard-won result of nearly three decades of Valley leaders working for a better future for their families and community.

Until this year, the Valley independence movement was frequently dismissed as a fringe cause best ignored.

When LAFCO placed Measure F before the voters, Valley independence and its quality of life issues moved to center stage.

The Valley independence movement has grown as Valley residents' concerns about the quality of life in their communities have gone unanswered. While Measure F's failure is clearly a setback, the underlying quality of life issues must still be addressed.

The defeat of Measure F did not improve police response times in the Valley, pave Valley roads, improve the Valley's business climate or better prepare our children for productive lives.

Those opposing Valley independence never seriously addressed these issues in their campaign to spread fear and uncertainty. It appeared that preserving power and keeping the Valley's money is all the downtown interests really cared about.

After enduring a very negative and very lopsided campaign, it was encouraging, but not surprising, that a majority of Valley voters still supported independence. They saw through $7 million of bogus arguments and fear-mongering because they live with the Valley's challenges every day.

They sit on clogged freeways, worry about crime, watch good employers leave and too many out of desperation pay for their kids to attend private schools.

To most Valley voters, independence was about the hope for a better future.

Because remote politicians ignored their needs for decades, the only remaining solution was to break free and find new, local, responsive leadership.

The majority vote in the Valley also sends a strong message to those who have compromised their own constituencies just to earn the good graces of the downtown power brokers.

Throughout the decades of neglect, the Valley has elected mayors and council members to represent it - and Tuesday's result was a resounding vote of no-confidence for the entire generation of politicians who failed to deliver back home.

In order to rebuild confidence and boost their integrity, downtown leaders must fulfill their promises for a more locally responsive and accountable government.

They must focus on Valley issues and make sure the Valley gets its fair share of resources and services.

Measure F opponents proclaimed the $128 million alimony payment was not enough to compensate the city of Los Angeles for the surplus in taxes paid by Valley residents. Correcting this balance of taxes and services would be a great first step in building credibility and trust.

The campaign for Valley independence also brought forth a whole new group of Valley leaders.

The people who ran for mayor and the city council seats responded to the community's need for responsive and determined leadership.

These individuals, along with many other community leaders, are now in a position to hold the downtown interests accountable for their promises and must remain active in the Valley's cause. This week I will be meeting with the winning City Council candidates and others to develop a strategy and coordinate our efforts to keep the Valley's issues front and center on the public agenda.

In the days after the election, I spoke with Mayor James K. Hahn and agreed to meet to discuss the important Valley issues of crime, transportation, business climate and education.

The message sent by the majority of Valley voters was a loud call to pay attention to the Valley's needs. Making good on his promises to the Valley will be an excellent test of Mayor Hahn's leadership.

The fundamental issues that drove Valley independence - responsive government, fiscal fairness, public safety, transportation, education and business climate - must still be addressed.

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) L.A. Mayor James Hahn, center, and City Council President Alex Padilla lead an anti-secession rally in the Valley.

David Sprague/Staff Photographer

(2 -- color) City councilman Tom LaBonge stands at a podium with other council members Wednesday at Van Nuys City Hall.

Hans Gutknecht/Staff Photographer