It is undoubtedly one of the strangest elections in history. Come Nov. 5, not only will voters in the city of Los Angeles be asked to decide whether the San Fernando Valley and Hollywood get to secede, but voters in each of those two areas will simultaneously vote for the City Council and the mayor of two cities whose fates will, at that point, be undecided.
It’s enough to make one wonder exactly who would be confident — or foolhardy — enough to run for office under such circumstances. The answer: Very few people.
The dearth of candidates can be partly attributed to the unusual nature of this election. Candidate filings for city elections in Los Angeles would normally have begun July 15. However, the L.A. County registrar is unable to process filings for the San Fernando Valley until the election is formally called by the Board of Supervisors on July 25.
For candidates interested in moving forward, the alternative was to file papers of intent to run with the city of Los Angeles’ Ethics Commission. At press time, only 24 Valley residents had filed papers to run for one of the 14 proposed City Council districts. With the exception of former Assemblymember Paula Boland, most of the candidates are unknown to the general public. The biggest name, Assemblyman Keith Richman of Northridge, is the singular candidate for mayor of the possible Valley city.
Most candidates feel so strongly about secession that any candidacy, no matter how costly, seems worth the risks. Real estate broker Richard Leyner, a founder of Valley VOTE, said his experience fighting with the city to open its books prior to the secession drive spurred him to run for the Valley’s proposed 13th District covering Sherman Oaks, Encino and Tarzana.
"Had [the Los Angeles City Council] talked about boroughs two years ago or given the neighborhood councils some teeth, I would have thought differently," Leyner said. "But they just keep putting up blockades."
However, not all candidates share Leyner’s passion. Longtime political activist Scott Svonkin, a fixture in the Jewish community because of his work with The Jewish Federation/Valley Alliance’s Jewish Community Relations Committee and B’nai B’rith, is running for the 14th District (Studio City and Sherman Oaks). He does not strongly support secession.
"The voters should decide whether they want a new city or not," said Svonkin, chief of staff for Democratic Assemblyman Paul Koretz. "I’m putting myself before the voters, because I believe I can bring a new vision for better, more responsive government that currently does not exist in Los Angeles."
Svonkin said he has received endorsements from both secession supporters and opponents. "They’re supporting me because they believe in my leadership experience, not necessarily because they want secession to pass."
As significant as who from the Jewish community is running, is who chose not to run. Although a seeming boon to termed-out politicians, the latest developments in the secession movement — particularly the decision earlier this month by state Sen. Richard Alarcon not to run for mayor — have made running for office an unattractive proposition, especially for Democrats. Assembly Speaker Emeritus Robert Hertzberg opted out early on, instead choosing to get behind the (thus far unsuccessful) push for a borough system. Former Assemblyman Richard Katz took the position of chair of the San Fernando Valley Independence Committee and is concentrating his efforts on getting secession passed.
Katz said he believes more people would have filed to run if not for the opposition of the city’s labor unions and that of the local Democratic Party organizations. The Los Angeles County Democratic Party’s Central Committee voted June 11 to oppose the breakup of the city of Los Angeles, and labor unions have actively campaigned against secession.
"There’s no question the unions exerted tremendous pressure on Richard [Alarcon] not to run," Katz observed. "There was a huge effort made and obviously it paid off. Paul Koretz is taking heat for endorsing Scott Svonkin, but Paul understands the need to support candidates even if you do not support secession. You can’t just ignore 14 council seats and a mayor with no back-up plan simply because you’re against the overall goal — it’s just wrong."
Katz said he expects to see a full slate of candidates and very competitive races develop in the next few months.
"I didn’t run, because I felt it was a good time for other people to step up to the plate. I can do more by making this dream of Valley cityhood come true," he said.
