Missing November Ballot May Be Final Blow to Harbor Secession

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Missing November Ballot May Be Final Blow to Harbor Secession

POLITICS

by Howard Fine

Harbor secession proponents have put a brave face on the Local Agency Formation Commission’s decision to postpone placing the matter on the Nov. 5 ballot, probably delaying a vote until 2004.

Late last month, Andrew Mardesich, a secession leader, said he favored a two-year delay to give proponents more time to make the case that the new Harbor city would be financially viable. Of course, such a strategy is preferable to outright rejection, which was LAFCO’s original recommendation before its executive director, Larry Calemine, agreed on May 29 to delay the issue to consider new financial data.

But the strategy could backfire nonetheless.

At this point, the arithmetic isn’t there for the Harbor area to win a secession vote if it’s not on the same ballot as the Valley. A mere 145,000 people live within the boundaries of the putative Harbor area city, about 4 percent of the current city of L.A.’s population of 3.6 million. Even if every registered voter in the Harbor area went to the polls and cast a ballot for secession, proponents would still need at least 48 percent support from the rest of the city to break the 50 percent citywide barrier. More likely, they would need a majority vote from the remainder of the city to win.

“If the Harbor area were on the ballot alone, it would be an incredibly tough sell to the rest of the city,” said L.A.-based political consultant Jorge Flores.

By comparison, Valley secession supporters say that if they can get a high Valley turnout and 60 percent support in the Valley, they can squeak by with just 40 percent support in the rest of the city. Additional votes from Hollywood and the Harbor area would help, but Harbor secession proponents need Valley support to win at the ballot box much more than Valley secessionists need the Harbor.

To boost their chances, Harbor secessionists may try to bring in other areas with disaffected residents, like Eagle Rock or Westchester.

Of course, if the Valley secession measure fails this fall, it could be back in 2004, giving the Harbor secession vote a greater chance of passage.

Weiss on Football

L.A. City Councilman Jack Weiss has called on his colleagues to disband its new ad-hoc committee formed to review the proposal put forward by Anschutz Entertainment Group for a football stadium next to the Staples Center. But last week, he made clear he was no party pooper when it comes to football.

“Believe me, no one on the City Council is more of a fan of the National Football League than I am,” Weiss told a group of business and civic leaders at the Current Affairs Forum. “I love the NFL so much I took my children down to San Diego to watch the Chargers.”

So why is Weiss against the AEG proposal?

“It’s unseemly and bad public policy that so many people in government have rushed to the altar to make deals with the NFL,” Weiss said last week.

Staff reporter Howard Fine can be reached by phone at (323) 549-5225, ext. 227, or by e-mail at

[email protected].

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