Racefile.(California: San Fernando Valley attempts to break away from Los Angeles)(this and other items are discussed)(Brief Article)

L.A. Secession: A Racial Split

Using righteous battle cries for "independence" and "empowerment," a coalition of San Fernando Valley business owners and residents are attempting the ultimate form of white flight with a ballot initiative this November to break off the Valley from Los Angeles County.

Secession has been a racially-infused topic in Los Angeles for over 20 years, with continuous support from conservative and middle-class ranks. The forces that fought to split the Valley along racial lines back in the 1970s are the same folks who fought against busing and who rallied around the Jarvis camp for Proposition 13. And they have kept the secession flag waving, up to the inclusion on this year's ballot. The secession movement is basically a "last resistance of a constituency afraid of a majority minority city," says Marqueece Harris Dawson, associate director of Community Coalition, based in South-Central Los Angeles.

Despite its legacy, the secession campaign is being proclaimed as a colorblind effort. A recent New York Times article, for example, claims that "the era of white flight is long gone" and places heavy emphasis on polls showing that a high percentage of Latinos in the San Fernando Valley support the idea of secession. "Even if Valley Latinos go along with secession," says Dawson, "it doesn't mean it isn't a race issue."

Much of the steam for the secession campaign comes from business leaders in the Valley, especially from the real estate sector. However, nestled within the money and power brokers involved in the fight are traditionally right-wing leaders, who apparently hope to create a bastion for conservatism away from a city they believe to be plagued by liberalism.

One of the most visible supporters is Valley businessman Bert Boeckmann, who the LA Weekly calls "one of the most unabashedly ideological and conservative of the secessionists." Owner of the area's most successful auto dealerships, his political activities have included Pat Robertson's 1988 presidential campaign and membership in the Christian Coalition. Boeckmann has helped raise over $500,000 for Valley ...